New PhD-Level Courses 2025

It is a pleasure to announce some PhD-level courses that will be offered in online format in 2025.

 

Doctoral students and postdoctoral junior faculty members (e.g. Assistant Professors, Lecturers, etc.) affiliated with any university are welcome to participate in these two courses:

 

• RESEARCH METHODS IN HIGHER EDUCATION (20 May – 3 June)

https://www.hvl.no/en/studies-at-hvl/study-programmes/research-methods-in-higher-education-sotl-module/

 

• RESEARCH SUPERVISION IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT (21 May – 4 June)

https://www.hvl.no/en/studies-at-hvl/study-programmes/research-supervision-in-an-international-context-module/

  

Doctoral students affiliated with any university can participate in this course as well (and in special cases, it may also be open to advanced Master students):  

 

• NON-WESTERN EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND POLICY (3-13 November)  

https://www.hvl.no/en/studies-at-hvl/study-programmes/courses/2025/phd911/

 

We also look forward to the upcoming PhD course Creative Innovations in Higher Education at Bergen Summer Research School: https://www.uib.no/en/rs/bsrs/173600/creative-innovations-higher-education

 

Ecomusicality

Through the exciting collaboration enabled by the Global Competence Partnership project, it was a pleasure to produce an article recently with Koji Matsunobu that endorses the notion of Ecomusicality as a basis for environmentally-conscious ways of teaching music.

 

Our co-authored work is now being published in the oldest arts-related scholarly journal Arts Education Policy Review.

 

Our article extends on several of Matsunobu’s notable publications in this field, and some aspects are related to an article I published a few years ago in the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education.

 

Here is the complete bibliographic reference and a link:

 

Matsunobu, K., & Hebert, D. G. (2025). Advancing sustainability in music education through eco-musicality. Arts Education Policy Review, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2025.2466440

 

PhD Course Admissions

It is exciting to see that we had 45 applicants for the PhD course Creative Innovations in Higher Education at the 2025 Bergen Summer Research School.

The applications came from all around the world: so many strong doctoral students across an array of academic fields. Unfortunately, we can only accept about 20 and there is a limited number of scholarships to support course fees, as well as airfare and/or lodging costs.   

I understand the applicants will soon be contacted about the results and offers, and I eagerly look forward to seeing who will join us for this unique summer school experience.

 

New PhD Dissertation on Cantonese Opera

It was a pleasure to serve recently as External Examiner for the PhD defense of Dr. Kimmie Sin-Yee Ma with the Education University of Hong Kong.

Kimmie Sin-Yee Ma’s dissertation is on the teaching and learning of Pai-he, the instrumental accompaniment for Cantonese opera, a form of traditional Chinese cultural heritage that is especially associated with Hong Kong. 

Prof. Bo-wah Leung was the main supervisor for this study, and Koji Matsunobu was another supervisor. Through the Global Competence Partnership project, I participated as External Examiner along with Chee Hoo Lum.   

At the doctoral defense, all reviewers indicated the study has many strengths and makes important new insights into this field. In addition to offering robust empirical research on how this unique music is professionally taught, Dr. Ma also developed a theoretical model for how her findings can be applied in diverse educational settings. The findings promise to be relevant for the transmission and institutionalization of traditional music heritage not only in Hong Kong, but also in other settings worldwide, especially in relation to opera traditions.  

The final version of Dr. Ma’s dissertation will soon be made publicly available, and if possible I will provide a link here to it.

One image shown here is from a recent Cantonese opera performance I attended in Hong Kong and the other is from Dr. Ma’s defense.

Visit to Faroes

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting University of the Faroe Islands where I am an Affiliated Professor. There I gave some presentations for the Faculty of Education’s professors and lecturers: one on how to creatively sustain one’s research productivity across time through interdisciplinary collaboration, and another on the new challenges of AI for philosophy of education.

I also met with my PhD student, who is doing excellent work in the fields of music education and historical ethnomusicology, as well as the Dean regarding opportunities for future research collaborations. Additionally, we visited several sites, including the national gallery and museum, the main music school, and ancient cathedral ruins.

The Faroe Islands is a remarkably beautiful place with a long history and unique identity. I am impressed by the work at its university in the capital, Torshavn, where it has been a great pleasure to cooperate with the education faculty across recent years.

Keynote for AI & Artistic Innovation Conference

I eagerly look forward to giving a keynote speech “Quality and Originality in AI-Enhanced Higher Education Arts Programs” for the AI & Artistic Innovation conference at Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand), in late June, 2025.

This exciting event brings together experts from many different art forms and promises to advance important and timely discussions regarding the opportunities, safety, and long-term impacts of AI development in the arts and higher education.

Click HERE for more details.

 

Links for related information:

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/recommendation-ethics-artificial-intelligence

https://www.unesco.org/en/forum-ethics-ai

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unescos-ai-readiness-assessment-boost-ethical-governance-ai-thailand-host-country-2025-global-forum

https://www.chula.ac.th/en/news/209112/

https://www.chula.ac.th/en/news/167840/

https://medium.com/chulalongkorn-university/the-ai-era-is-here-chula-is-all-set-for-change-and-introduces-generative-ai-c362c4b176cd

 

 

ISME Book Series Editorship

UPDATE (29 May 2025): Due to a delay in negotiating the new book series contract between ISME and Routledge, I will not formally take up the editorship until sometime in Summer, 2025, although I accepted the position at the start of the year. For now, Gwen Moore (who is doing a great job) continues in the role for a few additional months. 

 

I am pleased to announce that as of February 2025, I have just been appointed Senior Editor of the book series formally affiliated with the International Society for Music Education (ISME).

Since 2017, the ISME book series has been making notable scholarly contributions to the field of music education internationally through monographs and edited volumes around two thematic areas: (1) global perspectives and (2) specialist themes. The 15th book in this series is now published, and it has been a pleasure to serve on its Editorial Board, which was only recently established.

Until now, the series has been published by Routledge. ISME is in the process of renegotiating the contract for this series, which may involve consideration of alternative presses. Routledge is a fine press, and I am hoping we can secure better terms for our authors to ensure the series has a deeper impact that shapes the future of music education globally.

I am also Editor of a book series in the field of historical ethnomusicology and serve on the Board of a book series on research methodologies. 

Displayed above is one of the recent books from the ISME series in music education.