Staff Spotlight: Mary Jane Ainslie

Having lived in Asia for almost 15 years, Dr. Mary J. Ainslie specializes in culture and media throughout the region, with specific emphasis upon Thailand and Malaysia, as well as the wider intercultural links between the East and Southeast Asia regions. Previously Head of Film and Television studies at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus in Kuala Lumpur, she moved to the Nottingham Ningbo campus in 2017 to further film and media studies, introducing several courses and developing creative arts.

Most of my research is based in Southeast Asia, specifically Thailand and Malaysia, so I have spent a lot of time in these countries over the past 15 years. In many of these societies, I was the only Westerner, certainly the only Western woman, and this gave me both a responsibility and an insight that has since enabled me to negotiate with people and in difficult situations particularly well. I have very fond memories of my time there, and treasure the friends I made.

I know a lot more about China! UNNC has enabled me to really grow close to China and Chinese people, in particular moving beyond crude stereotypes to realize the complexity and the beauty that underlies this culture. This has been a very important part of both my personal and professional development and has been difficult at times, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

My Chinese students who visit our UK campus always come back with interesting and quirky anecdotes that I enjoy listening to, in a kind of reverse-culture shock that makes a lot of sense to me. For instance, "why is everyone obsessed with the weather!?!' and 'actually queuing is not as important as I thought it would be."

I am biased! I always favor my own School (International Communications) and Faculty (Humanities and Social Science), but this is because I know that our programs and my colleagues are second-to-none. Ultimately though, I would probably choose our yearly Mandarin summer school that is organized by our Language Center; it's a lot of fun and very useful.

As the first UK campus in China, UNNC is a unique institution, offering a global environment and education. Within this, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science is incredibly diverse and offers a educational and social experience that I am proud to be a part of. In particular, our staff-student ratio is impressive, and academics are from many places - I share my workplace with individuals from all continents in the world.

There are many! But above all, I admire coherence, respect and structure; when these qualities are expected from and valued by both staff and students, success is guaranteed on all fronts. Indeed, my students value my punctuality and professionalism, understanding that what I give I also expect to receive.