Staff

Angus Phillips, Director

Professor Angus Phillips is Director of the Confucius Institute and the Oxford International Centre for Publishing. He has degrees from Oxford and Warwick universities, and before joining Oxford Brookes he ran a trade and reference list at Oxford University Press. He works as a consultant to the publishing industry and is often invited to speak at international conferences and events. His recent books include Inside Book Publishing (with Giles Clark), The Oxford Handbook of Publishing (with Michael Bhaskar), and Turning the Page – all three are being translated into Chinese. He is on the European Advisory Board of Princeton University Press and was a judge for the Bookseller industry awards for four years in a row. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the premier publishing journal Logos.

Angus Phillips

Xi Chen, Co-Director

Xi Chen has been working for FLTRP and BFSU for more than 10 years. She holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies. She has previous experience engaging in intercultural communication via her work in Germany and Switzerland. Since 2022 Xi has held the co-directorate position at the Confucius Institute at Oxford Brookes University.

Xi Chen

Spring Zhang, Deputy Director

Spring Zhang obtained an MSc in E-Business and Innovation Management from Lancaster University and an MSc in Educational Research from the University of Manchester. Prior to joining Oxford Brookes University, she was the office manager and Chinese Language tutor at the Confucius Institute at the University of Manchester for seven years. She has developed innovative learning methods and teaching materials during her teaching experience.

Spring Zhang

Francesca Leiper, Business Development Manager

Francesca holds an MA in Chinese Art History from Nanjing University of the Arts and a BA in Chinese and Art History from SOAS. Before joining Oxford Brookes University, she lived in China for seven years where she worked at Guangxi Normal University Press and Zhu Yingchun Book Design Studio, as well as developed and led history and architecture walking tours in Nanjing.

Francesca Leiper

Katie Nicoll, Marketing Assistant (Temporary Administrator) 

Katie Nicoll is a Marketing Assistant at Oxford Brookes University's Confucius Institute. Katie believes that learning and enjoying languages and other cultures are not only beneficial in academia but also believes they are fundamental for connecting to new people and engaging in new opportunities. In addition to this, Katie currently runs an award nominated Bookstagram account with over 78,000 followers that reviews and discusses a whole range of books and titles. Katie holds a BA (Hons) in English and Creative Writing from Plymouth University, a PGCE in Secondary English from Exeter University and a MA in Digital Publishing from Oxford Brookes University.

Katie Nicoll