BNU granted this guest professorship in recognition of Professor Day’s long-standing, in-depth collaboration with the Center for Teacher Education Research-Beijing Normal University, a Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences under the Ministry of Education. A globally leading scholar in teacher education, teacher professional development and school leadership, Professor Day has maintained sustained close ties with CTER for years. As a long-term guest academic at the center and a member of its 5th Academic Committee, he has participated extensively in academic research and talent cultivation activities: delivering lectures for postgraduate students and young faculty, mentoring CTER researchers to publish papers in international journals, and co-leading the Beijing Xicheng District University-School-District Partnership Programme (2020–2023) jointly developed with CTER. This initiative explored a “third space” model for deep university-K12 collaboration and delivered valuable theoretical and practical guidance for regional teacher education development. Since the inaugural Global Teacher Education Summit (GTES) in 2011, Professor Day has served as a recurring keynote speaker at every edition of the summit, also acting as a mentor for the Tin Ka Ping Young Scholars Forum in Teacher Education. His consistent participation has greatly lifted the academic standards and international profile of the summit.

Moving forward, the two institutions will broaden collaboration in academic exchanges, student and faculty training, and joint international research projects. The conferral of the visiting professorship will further deepen high-level exchanges and strategic cooperation between BNU and the University of Nottingham, while consolidating and expanding their long-term partnership in teacher education.