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Dr. Sang Kun joined Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) as an Assistant Professor of Advertising Programme in September 2021. In April 2022, he arrived in Malaysia and started offline teaching for the first time.

“XMUM places equal emphasis on teaching and research, allowing faculty members to do more research in their spare time,” Dr. Sang Kun said, “It is my first job after graduation and I’m quite satisfied.”

Dr. Sung Kun received his PhD degree in Geography from University of Padua. After coming to Malaysia, he finds himself feeling quite at home - The food is similar to that in his hometown, while Malaysians are kind and hospitable, making him feel relaxed.

Such a cultural environment shapes an ideal campus atmosphere. According to Dr. Sang Kun, his students are bold to express their opinions and take part in activities. They always take the initiative to communicate with lecturers, asking them for advice and participating in projects.

He also goes out to eat and shop with them, which brings the teacher and students closer together, making him aware of the joy of offline class.

“The students here, whether local or international, are very friendly and respectful to lecturers, which make me get on very well with each other.”

Dr. Sang Kun focuses mainly on research related to cultural heritage. He has participated in a number of research projects, including tourism and site planning, heritage protection and redevelopment, and public space design. He conducted fieldwork and interviewed along the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, based on which he completed his doctoral dissertation.

He has also conducted field research in both Asia and Europe, and published a few articles in international journals.

For now, under the University’s support, he is researching on the railway heritage across Southeast Asia, aiming to make railway culture known more to the public, integrate the old railway with modern culture, and bring more visitors to the tourist attractions along the route. He also plans to utilize more modern methods and techniques to study cultural heritage.

Dr. Sang Kun said that in the next few years, he hopes to apply for the National Social Science Foundation of China and build a team of his own, so as to create more opportunities for students to participate in field trips and travel around Southeast Asia to visit cultural heritage sites.

“Currently I have several student assistants who chose the ERL as their thesis topic. In the future, I will integrate practice into the curriculum and lead students to go to further places for investigation.”