Recently, Yang He and Liu Shalu, 2023-cohort PhD students from the School of Education (SOE) at the City University of Macau (CityU), achieved a significant academic milestone. Their collaborative research paper, titled "Localization and Validation of the Music Performance Anxiety Scale," has been officially accepted by the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES 2026), a premier global conference in the field of education. The two students have been invited to present their findings at the annual meeting in March 2026, sharing CityU’s innovative interdisciplinary achievements with education experts worldwide.

Music performance anxiety (MPA) is a critical psychological factor affecting the artistic performance and career development of practitioners. However, existing measurement scales are predominantly constructed based on Western cultural contexts, creating an urgent need for enhanced applicability within local settings. Addressing this academic gap, Yang He and Liu Shalu—under the meticulous guidance of Professor Cheng Li-Ying, Dean of the School of Education—adopted an interdisciplinary perspective to integrate music education with mental health research. Through empirical investigations involving faculty and students from higher education music programs, they successfully completed the localized adaptation and scientific validation of the scale, ultimately developing a measurement tool tailored to the Chinese cultural context. This achievement not only provides precise academic support for music education practice, psychological intervention, and performance training optimization but also expands the methodology for cross-cultural scale development, demonstrating the commitment of CityU students to addressing real-world needs through rigorous scholarship.

As the doctoral supervisor of Yang He, Dean Cheng Li-Ying has long been dedicated to interdisciplinary education research and talent cultivation. She consistently advocates for a philosophy where "academic innovation must be rooted in reality and integrate diverse disciplines." Throughout her teaching and mentorship, Dean Cheng has established cross-domain academic platforms and guided students to explore the intersection of cutting-edge scholarship and local demand with a rigorous academic spirit and a broad international vision. The acceptance of this research is both a high recognition of the students' academic capabilities and a vivid reflection of the School of Education’s commitment to the "Individualized Teaching and Integration of Research and Education" model.

The CIES Annual Meeting is hosted by the world’s oldest and largest academic organization dedicated to comparative and international education. Since its inception in 1956, CIES has been committed to advancing educational research and policy exchange through cross-cultural and international perspectives. Each year, it attracts thousands of top scholars and practitioners globally, and is classified as a top-tier academic conference by prestigious institutions such as Tsinghua University and East China Normal University. The selection and invitation for oral presentation not only showcase CityU’s academic prowess in the field of education but also represent a significant contribution to the international academic discourse, injecting new momentum into the University’s cross-border collaboration and international development.

In recent years, the School of Education at CityU has aimed to cultivate high-level academic talents with an international outlook and local sentiment. By continuously optimizing the curriculum, strengthening research platforms, and actively promoting disciplinary intersection and international academic exchange, the School has fostered a fertile ground for innovation. The breakthrough achieved by Yang He and Liu Shalu is a testament to the School’s dedication to interdisciplinary cultivation. Moving forward, the School of Education will continue to leverage its disciplinary advantages to build broader platforms for student growth, empowering more CityU scholars to excel on the global academic stage.