Registration for new options possible from 01-12-2025 16:41 until 14-12-2025 17:00
This dialogic seminar will explore the phenomenon of involution (neijuan 内卷 ) in Chinese higher education, drawing on recent qualitative research into how university students experience and respond to intensifying peer competition. In recent years, involution has become a widely discussed term in China, referring to escalating academic effort, comparison, and overwork that produce limited returns. This pattern has also raised growing concern about students’ academic pressure and mental health, particularly in elite universities where comprehensive and frequently implemented evaluation systems create sustained performance demands. The seminar will examine how these competitive environments shape students’ understandings of achievement, influence their academic and emotional experiences, and gradually narrow the space for broader personal development. It will also discuss the paradox that, although many students recognize involution as unsustainable, they nevertheless find it difficult to withdraw from its mechanisms due to institutional expectations and peer norms.
The talk will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Shuiyun Liu, Associate Professor at Beijing Normal University. Her research focuses on higher education policy, management, and students’ lived experiences. She holds a PhD from the Institute of Education, University of London, and has published widely in leading international journals.