Highlights
Awards
Second prize, XIPU AI in Education Innovation Competition 2024
XIPU AI in Education Innovation Competition 2024 prize-winning team
A Spanish Language Division team won second prize in the 2024 XIPU AI in Education Innovation Competition for their project “AI-migo and XiSPA: Transforming Spanish Learners’ Experience at XJTLU”. The project introduced two AI-powered chatbot assistants – AI-migo, a personalised tutor, and XiSPA, a level-adapted conversation partner – to support beginner Spanish learners. Dr Raúl Getino-Diez, Weixuan Dai, Cristina García, and Mikel García developed these tools to address key challenges such as limited Spanish exposure outside the classroom and the need for tailored learning materials. More than 850 students have used the chatbots. Students said the chatbots enhance engagement, autonomy, and academic success. The chatbots’ implementation is expanding across all Spanish modules, positioning the project as a leading example of AI-enhanced language education and innovation at XJTLU.
Grand Prize, Jiangsu Province Department of Education’s 2024 Ling Hang Cup
?The Jiangsu Province’s Department of Education awarded the Spanish Language Division team the grand prize at the 2024 Ling Hang Cup Jiangsu Province Teachers Digital Literacy Enhancement Practice Activity.
The national award, announced in February 2025, recognised the “Interactive Listening Practice: Online Teaching Innovation in Spanish Listening Skill Teaching”?project by Ling Tan, Rebeca Mu?oz Valero, and Cristina González.
The project focuses on beginner-level Spanish listening instruction using H5P digital tools, enhanced by AI technologies, to create a series of interactive video-based materials. These resources combine situational teaching with engaging, interactive formats that improve listening skills and increase learner motivation. The project has received positive student feedback.
Events
Week of Spanish Language and Cultures
The Week of Spanish Language and Cultures occurs annually in April or May. Organised by the Modern Languages Centre (MLC), this festival celebrates the rich diversity of the Spanish language and cultures through various forms of expression. XJTLU hosts numerous Spanish-related activities throughout the week, including Latin music festivals, culture and history talks by guest speakers, roundtable discussions about current affairs in Spanish-speaking countries, live podcasts, Spanish and Latin American food markets, and Spanish movie nights. All activities are open to the entire XJTLU community and are typically conducted in English, Chinese and/or Spanish to ensure everyone can participate.
Towards a Shared Future: Latin America – China Dialogue
The?Global Cultures and Languages Hub, in cooperation with?Fundación Diálogos Estratégicos?(Argentina) and XJTLU’s?International Business School of Suzhou?(IBSS), hosted an academic and professional event in April 2025 to explore the multifaceted relationship between Latin America and the China. The event brought diplomatic representatives, business leaders, academics, and students to XJTLU’s Suzhou base to discuss the evolving ties between Latin American countries and China, focusing on international relations, trade, business, and cultural exchange.