Meet the Team

Our Directors

Bangor University’s Confucius Institute is led by two Directors; each with specialist expertise in their own academic discipline, and each dedicated to the Confucius Institute’s vision of introducing Chinese language and culture in north Wales.

• Dr Lina Davitt, Director
  

  Lina completed an MA in Economics at the University of National and World Economy (Bulgaria), a BSc in Psychology, an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience and a PhD at Bangor University's School of Psychology. She comes from the small town of Peshtera in the Rodopi Mountains of Bulgaria. Lina has been part of the Confucius Institute’s (CI’s) team for over nine years and was appointed as the CI’s Director in 2018.

  
  Lina has wide-ranging research interests interfacing science, art and education. She collaborates with colleagues across a wide range of disciplines within Bangor, with the CI’s partner university, China University of Political Science and Law, and with colleagues within the global network of Confucius Institutes.

  Lina feels privileged to be part of the Confucius Institute’s students’ journey as learning a new language and culture opens a new world of greater possibilities, understanding and tolerance and empowers us to engage with the world in a thoughtful and compassionate way.

  When not working, Lina can be found rescuing animals in need, practising yoga, exploring the Welsh mountains and walking with her dog.

• Associate Professor FU Yao, Director
  

  FU Yao is a Doctor of Law and associate professor who joined the School of Foreign Languages at China University of Political Science and Law in 2003. In 2010 she completed her PhD in Legal History and was awarded a DAAD, German scholarship.

  
  Fu Yao spent one and a half years at Berlin Free University Law School as a post-doctoral researcher. Fi Yao is the executive director of the China Legal Language Society, the director of China law society Science and Technology Law Society and the case law society. Her research fields include translation studies, American Constitution and Legal History. Working languages include English, French, and German. Since September 2021, she has been the Chinese Co-director of the Confucius Institute of Bangor University.