King's College London

Dr Shuangyu Li has been recognised by Advance HE’s National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTF) for his outstanding impact on student learning and the teaching profession.

The National Teaching Fellowships are a UK-wide scheme that recognise and celebrate individuals who have made an outstanding impact on students’ outcomes and the teaching profession. Each year, institutions can submit up to three nominees, with no more than 55 individuals receiving the award.

Achieving a National Teaching Fellowship is widely regarded across the UK and internationally as a mark of excellence in higher education teaching. The scheme is run annually by Advance HE.

Dr Li is a Reader in Clinical Communication and Cultural Competency, and Director of King’s Cultural Competency, with the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King’s College London. With over 15 years’ experience working across medicine, the humanities and social sciences, his work focuses on transforming how learners communicate, collaborate and deliver care across cultural differences.

He began his career in medical education, where he led the integration of cultural competency into one of the UK’s largest MBBS programmes, reaching over 2,500 students. Through strategic curriculum redesign, he developed a spiral curriculum embedded across all five years and established cultural competency as a core clinical capability, integrating it into high-stakes assessments such as OSCEs and progress testing.

At King’s, Dr Li has expanded this work through institutional leadership. As Director of King’s Cultural Competency, he leads University-wide strategy, curriculum design and staff development aligned with the University’s internationalisation agenda. He has developed innovative co-creation models bringing together academics, students, clinicians and professional services staff, resulting in hybrid and digital learning provision accessed by over 6,000 students and 500 staff.

A defining feature of his work is its interdisciplinary approach. Drawing on sociology, applied linguistics, humanities and clinical practice, he has developed inclusive curricula that address race, migration, disability, language and health inequities. His research demonstrates sustained improvements in students’ confidence, reflective capacity and ability to navigate complex communication in culturally and linguistically diverse settings.

 

Dr Li’s scholarship has made significant contributions to the field. His work has helped reshape how clinical communication is understood, taught and assessed, framing it as a socially situated and co-constructed practice shaped by language, identity and context. His research into cultural competency in medicine, including contributions to Best Evidence Medical and Health Professional Education, has provided an influential evidence base for rethinking cultural competence as a reflective, practice-based capability central to equitable healthcare education and delivery.

Beyond King’s, Dr Li contributes to national and international practice through leadership, research and advisory work, supporting the development of cultural competency and communication education across disciplines and professions.

Dr Li was nominated by King’s, with the application process facilitated by King’s Academy, which supports colleagues across the University in preparing NTF submissions. Since the scheme was established in 2000, seven King’s colleagues have been recognised with this prestigious award. If you are interested in the National Teaching Fellowship scheme, please contact King’s Academy for more information.