On the afternoon of September 24, 2026, the fourth session of the Learn-In: Education Matters seminar series, hosted by the Graduate School of Education at Beijing Foreign Studies University, was successfully held in Room 928 of the International Building. Professor Yusuf Sayed from the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, was invited by Associate Professor Jáfia Naftali Câmara to be the keynote speaker. Based on the theme“Education for an Uncertain Future: Policy Reform, Global Crises, and the Post-2030 Agenda,”he delivered an academic talk that combined a global perspective with practical concerns to faculty and students. The seminar was moderated by Associate Professor Jáfia Naftali Câmara.
Professor Yusuf Sayed began with the concept of “polycrisis,” pointing out that conflict, climate change, inequality, and war are profoundly affecting education: schools are being destroyed, learning is being interrupted, and education funding is being squeezed. Meanwhile, SDG 4 and the post-2030 agenda still face unfinished business in achieving many of the education targets and equity. He pointed out that “an important lesson from the SDG period is that debates around indicators need to happen at the same time as discussions on the framing of goals and targets. This is crucial as the determination of indicators, as well as the goal and targets, are both political and technical processes in terms of what to measure and how to measure them.” He added that teachers are key to policy implementation and educational equity, and that teacher agency is particularly important in times of crisis. He proposed value-driven teacher agency framework encompassing Agency Framework in areas such as ethical purpose, professional knowledge, reflexive judgment, relational responsibility, and collective agency. In the post-2030 era, investment in teacher education should be increased so that teachers can not only implement curricula but also rebuild the public purposes of education.
During the dialogue and exchange session, Professor Yuan Dayong, Dean of the Graduate School of Education, along with Jáfia, Jia Nan, Wang Xiaodong and Qin Yunyun, as representatives of the teachers and of the Chinese and international students, spoke and asked questions enthusiastically. They engaged in in-depth dialogue with Professor Yusuf Sayed on topics including teacher support under polycrisis, education governance in the Global South, and the role of teachers in the AI era, with a lively atmosphere.
At the end of the event, Professor Wang Dinghua made concluding remarks. He highly praised the academic value of the lecture and expressed the hope that this opportunity would strengthen research on teacher education and build an academic bridge between the Graduate School of Education at BFSU and colleagues at the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge as well as other major UK universities, expanding a broader exchange platform for faculty and students.
At the closing of the event, Dean Yuan Dayong and Professor Yusuf Sayed exchanged gifts, and the guests took a group photo. The School will continue to connect with the world through open engagement, making academic exchange truly serve talent cultivation and knowledge innovation.
Written by | Jáfia Naftali Câmara; Wang Xue
Photography by | Han Yang
Reviewed by |Teng Cen
