✨ Why this page?

I built this page to record and reflect on my academic (and sometimes personal) journey. It is not meant to be a competition with others, but it’s a reminder to myself that every step and experience matters. At the same time, I hope it also offers a glimpse into my work and interests for those who may be curious.

👋 About me

Hi there! I’m Dr Yuemiao Ma, and I recently completed my PhD in Education at the University of Edinburgh, where my research explored (Global) Citizenship Education in Model United Nations (MUN). My journey with MUN started in secondary school - I’ve been a delegate, and now an organiser-teacher-researcher.

I’m an education researcher and educator working across (global) citizenship education, global/international education, and qualitative research. My work is informed by ethnographic fieldwork, discourse analysis, postcolonial and decolonial perspectives, and participatory approaches to educational research. My master’s dissertation looked at MUN in Scotland and the Curriculum for Excellence, through a placement at United Nations House Scotland (UNHS). I’ve since stayed involved with UNHS, helping to bring MUN into more primary and secondary schools so that these opportunities reach students who may previously have had limited exposure to extracurricular programmes like MUN.

Across all these, my concern is how educational initiatives intersect with broader questions of inclusion and participation, which is a thread tying all my work, research, education and personal life.

📖 Education

2021 - 2026, PhD in Education, University of Edinburgh.
2018 - 2019, MSc in Education (Comparative Education and International Development), University of Edinburgh.
2014 - 2018, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing
- BA in Translation and Interpretation
- BEcon in Finance

💻 Research Experience

2021 - 2026, Doctoral Research: (Global) Citizenship Education Embedded in Model United Nations Activities - An Ethnographic Case Study of a Secondary School in China
- Reviewed literature on (Global) Citizenship Education, drawing on critical and discursive perspectives to explore how citizenship is shaped by discourses in particular cultural and institutional contexts
- Engaged with key anthropological and sociological concepts to examine identities, participation, and student agency
- Conducted 9-month fieldwork at a Chinese secondary school, with research methods including Critical Discourse Analysis, participant observation, fieldnotes, semi-structured interviews, surveys and reflective journals
2024 - 2026, Research Assistant, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS) Research Office, University of Edinburgh
Supporting ad hoc research projects across various schools within the College. Selected contributions include:
- Stakeholder Perspectives on an Intensive and Hybrid Model for Postgraduate Education (Jun - Aug 2026)
  - Co-designed workshop and interview protocols to investigate stakeholder perspectives on intensive and hybrid postgraduate education
  - Facilitated workshops with on-campus students, online students, and teaching assistants
- Ethical Leadership Amid Precarity (Sep 2025 - Jun 2026)
  - Designed and facilitated five focus groups and conducted 12 semi-structured interviews with academics in precarious positions
  - Reviewed leadership development programmes across participating universities
  - Contributed to a reflective guide for precarious academics and an infographic on ethical leadership for principal investigators and managers
- Creating a Curriculum Framework for Climate Literacy in Secondary Mathematics Education (Apr - Jun 2025)
  - Conducted a literature review on climate literacy and sustainability in mathematics education, producing a 1,300-word synthesis of current research and good practices
  - Proposed an engagement plan for collaboration with environmental organisations, and identified funding opportunities
- Research Impact projects (various)
  - Analysed REF impact case studies to identify recurring structural and rhetorical strategies, and produced practical guidance for future impact case studies
  - Reviewed policy and parliamentary records to trace pathways from research to policy development
  - Organised different forms of impact evidence and drafted REF-style narratives connecting research with public engagement and educational reach
- National Security Corpus and Dataset Project (Apr - Sep 2024)
  - Processed a multilingual dataset of 575 policy documents, applying metadata standards, data ethics protocols, and supporting open access publication of the dataset
- Discourses of Advertising Self-Regulation: A Pilot Project (Mar - Apr 2024)
  - Catalogued and structured over 10,000 archival materials from a UK advertising agency to support qualitative analysis of self-regulation practices
2018 - 2019, Master’s Dissertation: Implementing Model United Nations into the Curriculum for Excellence: An Exploration of Scottish Teachers’ and Students’ Participative Experiences

👩🏻‍🏫 Teaching Experience

2026, Tutor, School of Social and Political Science, UoE
- Understanding Race and Colonialism
- Facilitated weekly undergraduate tutorials through interactive activities such as role play, case studies, and reflective writing
- Covered topics including race, racialisation, intersectionality, and indigenous sovereignty
2023 - 2026, Postgraduate Teaching Assistant, Edinburgh Futures Institute, UoE
- Assisted in the delivery of PG courses in hybrid formats, including:
  - 2025-26: Future of Learning Organisations; Future Governance; Narratives of Digital Capitalism; Coloniality of Data
  - 2024-25: Future of Learning Organisations; Coloniality of Data; Future Food Systems
  - 2023-24: Knowledge Integration and Project Planning; Culture, Heritage and Learning Futures
- Facilitated discussions in both online and in-person formats, and supported students through hybrid teaching environments
- Received the Edinburgh Award (Hybrid Teaching) in recognition of effective use of digital tools in blended learning environments
2023 - 2024, Postgraduate Tutor, Moray House School of Education and Sport, UoE
- Led workshops for The Anthropology of Education and Learning
- Supervised postgraduate dissertations, supported research proposals and ethics applications, and contributed to dissertation moderation
- Contributed to formative and summative assessment, including marking and internal moderation
- Awarded Associate Fellowship (AFHEA) following completion of the Introduction to Academic Practice (IntroAP) course
2023 - 2024, Course Facilitator, Institute for Academic Development, UoE
- Getting Started with Postgraduate Research
- Supported an asynchronous online course for new postgraduate researchers, facilitating discussion and signposting academic support
2020 - 2021, English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher for IELTS

🔖 Other Professional and Administrative Experience

2024 - 2025, Project lead, Towards Publication: progressing work seminars and writing retreat
- Led the planning and delivery of a five-session seminar series and a one-day writing retreat for PGRs and staff at Social Justice and Inclusion Thematic Hub, such as coordinating logistics, confirming guest speakers and topics, and managing budget
2021 - now, Co-coordinator of Model United Nations project, United Nations House Scotland
- Organised Model UN conferences for primary and secondary school students in Scotland
- Supported school-based MUN clubs through workshops, training, and learning resources
- Currently leading the restructuring and consolidation of existing materials into a school-facing Resource Pack and an internal Organiser Pack
2024 - 2025, Facilitator of Early Career Researcher (ECR) Network, Academic Network of Global Education and Learning (ANGEL)
- Co-organised events to support early career researchers in global education, including the 2024 online conference and 2025 ECR Day in Berlin
2022 - 2024, Associate Officers for Student Engagement (formerly Postgraduate Research Student representative), Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences (SGSSS)
- Organised annual student-led symposium
- Initiated and developed a wellbeing toolkit for PGRs
2022.03 - 2022.07, Building Communities PhD Intern, UoE

📝 Publications

Book chapter

Ma, Y (2026). Practising global citizenship education through Model United Nations activities in China. In W. Gaudelli & R. Römhild (Eds.), The Handbook of Global Citizenship Education. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035350186.00036

Blogposts

Others

Donn, G., Ma, Y., & Shono, H. (2025). Civil Society Engagement in Scotland with the Mission, Vision, Values and Goals of the United Nations. University of Edinburgh Journal, 52(1), 57–65.
Contributor to the Simplified Chinese section: Global Education Digest 2025. Academic Network on Global Education & Learning (ANGEL). Development Education Research Centre, UCL Institute of Education. Link to report.

💬 Presentations

Conferences

2026.09, ‘Reworking Global Citizenship Education in Practice: Discursive Agency and Participation in Model United Nations’
Academic Network of Global Education and Learning (ANGEL) Conference, Bologna
2026.09, ‘How Is Participation Pre-structured in Model United Nations? Rethinking Simulations as Open Dialogue’
British Association of International and Comparative Education (BAICE) Conference, Glasgow
2026.09, ‘Encountering ‘International Perspective’ in Everyday School Practices: A Case of Model United Nations in China’
British Association for Chinese Studies (BACS) Annual Conference, Lancaster
2026.03, ‘Decision about establishing positionality: negotiating self-presentation and authority in ethnographic fieldwork’
British Education Research Association (BERA) ECR Conference, Birmingham
2026.03, ‘Ethical Leadership Amid Precarity’
InFrame Symposium at Scottish Research Culture & Integrity Week, online
2025.09, ‘Writing as a reflexive practice across boundaries’
British Association of International and Comparative Education (BAICE) ECR Conference, online
2025.09, ‘Addressing the Implementation of UN SDGs from Active Civil Society Engagement’
The Scotland Forum 2025, Edinburgh
Speaking on behalf of Dr Gari Donn, Executive Director of UNHS
2025.06, ‘Student perspectives of Model United Nations (MUN) in relation to Global Citizenship Education (GCE)’
Academic Network of Global Education and Learning (ANGEL) Conference, Berlin
2024.11, ‘(Global) Citizenship Education in Model United Nations’
Scottish Education Research Association (SERA) Conference, Dundee
2024.09, ‘Exploring discourses of citizenship through ways of participation in Model UN activities’
British Education Research Association (BERA) Conference, Manchester
2023.08, ‘Global Citizenship Education Embedded in Model United Nations (MUN) activities – A Case Study of a Chinese Secondary School’
BAICE Early Career Researchers Conference, online
2023.04, ‘Global Citizenship Education Embedded in Model UNs: How Does It Work in China?’
New voices in global education & learning seminar by ANGEL (Academic Network of Global Education and Learning), online
2023.02, ‘Citizenship Education in Model United Nations: Does It Work in China?’ (poster)
Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference, online
2022.09, ‘Implementing Model United Nations into local contexts: different conceptualisation of Global Citizenship Education’
British Association of International and Comparative Education (BAICE) Conference, Edinburgh
2022.07, ‘Global Citizenship Education in Model United Nations: Does it work in China?’
The 10th European Conference on Education (ECE), London
2022.06, ‘Do Model United Nations work in China? Looking at Global Citizenship Education from the perspective of Tianxia (天下)’
British Postgraduates in Chinese Studies (BPCS) Annual Conference, Oxford

Seminars, invited talks, and workshops

2026.05, Invited panellist, ‘Navigating Linguistic Tensions in International Higher Education Classrooms’
Race and Inclusivity in Global Education Network (RIGEN)
2025.06, Final Panel: Reflections & Importance of Research for Policy (video)
Academic Network of Global Education and Learning (ANGEL) Conference, Berlin
2024.10, Promoting Model United Nations in universities and schools
United Nations Association Northern Ireland, Belfast
2024.06, Preparatory workshop for MUN Conference
Aimed at Scottish students; organised by UNHS, Edinburgh
2024.02, Global Citizenship Education embedded in Model United Nations (MUN) activities
British Postgraduate Network of Chinese Studies (BPCS) Fellowship Seminar, online
2023.11, What I wish I knew – perspectives from current PhD students
Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS) Induction, Stirling
2023.10, Researchers Realities Q&A
Part of the Getting Started with PGR Degree course; organised by Institute for Academic Development UoE, online
2022.11, Educational benefits of Model United Nations
Aimed at Scottish teachers; organised by UNHS, online
2022.05, Working with supervisors on MSc Dissertation – Alumni perspectives
Practice worth sharing sessions; organised by MHSES, online

🎖 Qualifications, Awards and Grants

2026, ‘Exploring and Addressing Participation Barriers in School MUN Clubs: A Participatory Action Research Pilot’, funded by Moray Endowment Funding
2026, ‘Building a Postgraduate Tutor Community for Sharing Teaching Practices’, funded by Student Experience Grant
2025, ‘Methodology Café’, funded by Student Partnership Agreement (co-applicant)
2025, Hybrid Teaching Assistant Edinburgh Award
2024, ‘Towards Publication - a research writing support programme for staff and PGRs at Social Justice and Inclusion (SJI) Hub’, funded by Student Partnership Agreement (lead applicant)
2024, Associate Fellowship of Advance HE
2024, ‘Expanding Model United Nations for Scottish Schools’, funded by Foundation Scotland (co-applicant)
2023, British Postgraduate Network for Chinese Studies PGR fellowship
2023, Tweedie Research Fellowship
2023, Moray House School of Education Research Cost/Conference Funding
2022, Digital Skills Specialist Edinburgh Award
2018, Outstanding Graduate of Beijing, awarded by Ministry of Education of China
2016, Overseas exchange programme to Canada, funded by China Scholarship Council
2016, China National Scholarship
2016, First-class Scholarship, UIBE