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Meet the Innovation Zone’s Newest PhD Student, Junyi Wang

Junyi Wang writes: I have just started my PhD at Queen’s University, conducting a pilot study of the Crescendo music and social learning programme in China.

The new Zones PhD student in the Graduate Centre
PhD student Junyi Wang in the Graduate School

I am incredibly happy to be working with my supervisors Dr Liam O’Hare (School of Social Sciences Education and Social Work) and Professor Franziska Schroeder (School of Arts, English and Languages). I am also very grateful to be part of the Queen’s Innovation Zones and Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC) teams.

In my project am hoping to explore if the amazing Crescendo programme in Belfast can be translated to the Chinese city of Yantai. We hope to do this through collaboration with the Yantai Wenhua Philharmonic Orchestra.

I know that Queen's University Belfast offers students not only research-led learning in music but also collaborative opportunities with projects across all subject areas, including education, social work, etc. Simultaneously, I knew of the Innovation Zone’s Crescendo programme led by Dr Liam O'Hare (SSESW). This collaborative project between the Innovation Zones, Ulster Orchestra, Colin and Shankill communities aims to achieve social transformation for children through collective music production. This is consistent with the research direction I am interested in. Hence, I hope that I can enhance the work of the Crescendo project.

This work follows well from my Master’s in Music from the Royal Holloway, University of London. I did an internship in a primary school for a year and taught piano at a music institution in my spare time. During my Master’s degree, I worked hard to improve myself and achieved impressive results. For example, my D/G Melodeon experience is posted on the course's homepage.

I have a strong interest in Music Education on children's psychology and behaviour which was inspired by my previous internship and work experience. During my internship at Yantai Yangzheng Primary School, I served as Chorus Master & Music Teacher to teach grade 1 & 2 student music, including art history, different forms of music, musical instruments, singing performances, etc. The colleague's feedback and students' engagement strongly reflected the success of my course. This also motivated me to apply for research in fields related to music education.

 

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