Welcome to my homepage! I am Ou Yifan, currently serving as a Ph.D. researcher at the MIOS research group in the Department of Communication Sciences at the University of Antwerp. I have had educational and academic experiences in China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Belgium.
My career has been a journey of diverse exploration, starting from a broadcasting and hosting major in the arts and spanning into the field of social sciences. This interdisciplinary shift has not only enriched my educational and research experience but also provided me with a unique perspective.
Diversity in Educational Background:
My academic journey began with undergraduate and master's studies in broadcasting and hosting arts, during which I also obtained a double bachelor's degree in management. After obtaining a master's degree in arts and working in a university for three years, I went to the UK to pursue a Master of Philosophy (Sociology) to broaden my horizons.
I have achieved excellent results in various academic fields both domestically and internationally, receiving scholarships from the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and honors as an outstanding graduate at the provincial and city levels during my undergraduate and master's studies. In the UK, I completed my second master's degree with an outstanding score of 67. In addition, I am proficient in English, with a TOEFL score of 114, and hold a first-class Level A certificate in Mandarin, a second-level computer certificate, a broadcaster and host qualification certificate, and a higher education teacher qualification certificate.
Diversity in Professional Experience:
In terms of career development, I have experience in university teaching and management, as well as extensive media experience. Specifically,
(1)I am the founder of a cultural media company in Beijing.
(2) After I got my first master degree for a few months, I became a tenure-track faculty immediately. I was a tenure-track assistant professor (permanent contract) at the age of only 24 at a public university in Nanjing.
(Note:It is very competitive to get the professorship as a master graduate. And apart from very few art major, like broadcasting and hosting, public university usually eroll Phd as faculty),
After working a few years, I served as a member of organization committe of the faculty. I kept my job when I was in UK, but I officially left on 2021, December.
(3)My media experience is also rich, having worked as a part-time choreography/journalist/host at Bloomberg, CCTV, Beijing People's Broadcasting Station, Zhejiang TV, Shenzhen TV, and Jiangsu TV. I served as a youth representative for CCTV-1's "The Voice"《开讲啦》 from 2012 to 2014, interviewing many celebrities，
Additionally, I was active in other well-known programs, such as Shenzhen TV's "第一现场," Zhejiang TV's "相亲才会赢," and Beijing Traffic Radio's "警法时空."
Additionally, I have won first prize in national teaching competitions of university teachers and guided students to win national media art awards. I am also the designer of the "画啦啦小灯塔学堂" course, which has influenced the childhood art education of thousands of children.
Diversity in Research Interests:
My diverse educational background and professional experience have shaped my diverse research interests. My research focus is on health communication, especially how social media affects people's mental health, which is the subject of my Ph.D. thesis. At the same time, my academic background in management and sociology also allows my research to touch on the relationship between media and social psychology, management. My past academic collaborators have spanned various fields, including communication studies, management, sociology, and psychology. In the future, I hope to integrate these fields of interest to explore how social media affects consumers' mental health and well-being.
However, no matter how diverse my educational background, professional experience, and research interests are, everything is deeply centered around my love for interpersonal interaction, communication, and dissemination, which is the cause and passion I have adhered to throughout my life.
As a social science scholar, I am proficient in a variety of research software, including statistical analysis software Mplus, SPSS, R, and Python programming. I can perform Bertopic, LDA topic analysis, LIWC text analysis, and Bert-LSTM sentiment analysis. At the same time, I am also skilled in using Nvivo for qualitative analysis research, which allows me to use advanced methods to analyze and understand complex communication phenomena.
I am committed to enhancing the diversity, equity, and inclusivity of education and actively participate in international academic exchanges. As a professional member of the International Communication Association (ICA) and the Netherlands/Flanders Communication Association (NEFCA), I have presented my research findings at several international conferences and served as a session chairman of the 2023 Etmaal. I am also a reviewer for SSC/SCI journals such as Frontiers in Psychology, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Applied Economics Letters, and a top academic conference in communication studies, ICA.
In China, I have some experience in project application. Currently, I am a main participant in two National Social Science Fund projects and one Ministry of Education social science projects. In the future, I hope to enhance my ability to apply for funds in Belgium and even the EU, and I plan to do postdoctoral as next step.
My core strengths lie in interdisciplinary research capabilities, rich work experience, and a deep understanding of the field of communication studies. I look forward to continuing to contribute to the fields of academia and education and sharing my knowledge and research findings with scholars and students worldwide.
Motto: Fortunately, there are setbacks, which have taught me humility and introspection in my previously smooth life.