Big Ideas, Cross-Continental Talks: Professor Christos Salis Visits Tianjin University

To advance interdisciplinary international cooperation and support the Healthy China Initiative, Professor Christos Salis—Professor at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University (UK), Editor-in-Chief of the international leading journal Aphasiology, and qualified Speech and Language Therapist—visited Tianjin University's School of Foreign Languages from April 7 to 16. During his ten-day academic visit, Professor Salis delivered a series of seven lectures on core topics in speech-language pathology. He also held a dedicated symposium with English Department faculty on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in education and talent cultivation, held in-depth discussions with the School on integrated undergraduate-graduate pathways and future collaborative initiatives, and conducted an interdisciplinary research exchange with Professor Jianguo Wei's lab at the School of Cybersecurity.

The lecture series systematically covered seven key themes: core concepts of communication, language, and speech; childhood speech-language disorders; adult speech-language disorders; neurological mechanisms; and social impact. The well-structured progression from foundational theory to clinical practice provided faculty and students with a comprehensive theoretical framework. Notable for their theoretical depth, rich case studies, and cutting-edge perspectives, the lectures successfully integrated linguistics, neuroscience, and rehabilitation medicine. Each session generated lively discussion and active engagement, with attendees commenting that the series helped fill significant gaps in their knowledge and offered valuable insights for academic research, practical application, and professional development.

During his visit, Professor Salis also held a symposium with English Department faculty, focusing on two main areas: the application of AI in language teaching, and talent cultivation.

Regarding the application of AI, Professor Salis shared Newcastle University's institutional policies and faculty attitudes toward AI use. As a leading UK institution, Newcastle encourages students to use AI tools as learning aids within appropriate guidelines. However, the university imposes clear restrictions on AI use in dissertations and course assignments, requiring students to declare specific usage details to uphold academic integrity and independent thinking. Both sides exchanged practical strategies on guiding students to use AI appropriately and effectively in educational settings.

On talent cultivation, Professor Salis provided a detailed overview of Newcastle's curriculum, clinical practice system, and student training pathways for the Speech and Language Therapy program. He highlighted the university's experience in interdisciplinary education, including cross-fertilization between linguistics and medicine, psychology, and education. In turn, Tianjin University faculty shared their practices and reflections on English program development, integrated talent cultivation, and international education. The two sides engaged in productive discussions on curriculum optimization, practical skills enhancement, and global perspective broadening, offering mutually beneficial insights for talent cultivation reform.

Professor Salis was also invited to the School of Cybersecurity for an academic exchange with Professor Wei Jianguo's lab team. Discussions focused on intersections among speech-language pathology, cybersecurity, signal processing, and AI. Key topics included the potential application of speech signal analysis in speech disorder assessment, multimodal data processing methods, and possibilities for interdisciplinary research collaboration. The exchange opened new horizons for deeper integration of linguistics and engineering and laid a strong foundation for future cross-disciplinary cooperation between the two universities.

During the visit, Yin Shiyu, Assistant Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, held a dedicated meeting with Professor Salis to discuss integrated undergraduate-graduate training mechanisms, curriculum articulation, and credit transfer. Professor Salis introduced Newcastle's bachelor's, master's, and doctoral training systems in speech-language pathology and related fields, while the School of Foreign Languages shared its achievements and ongoing efforts in interdisciplinary talent cultivation. Both sides expressed readiness to explore future collaboration in faculty and student exchanges, joint training programs, and cooperative research, establishing a solid foundation for Tianjin University to further expand high-level international partnerships.

Professor Salis expressed great appreciation for the friendly relationship with the School of Foreign Languages and affirmed his commitment to promoting deeper cooperation between the two universities in speech-language pathology and linguistics. This lecture series and exchange activities not only provided a valuable international academic dialogue platform for Tianjin University faculty and students but also brought new ideas and momentum to the development of foreign language disciplines and internationalized talent cultivation, further strengthening the collaborative bridge between China and the UK in language sciences and humanities.

By: Yu Boyang