The Emerson-UIC Symposium on Sports, Health & Communication was held at the Bill Bordy Theater in Boston, Massachusetts on 14 January 2025 Boston local time. Over sixty students and faculty members from Emerson College and UIC gathered to share insights into the intersections of sports, health, and communication, as well as their global implications for well-being.
The symposium comprised multiple sessions, and began with welcoming remarks from Emerson College President Dr Jay Bernhardt, and UIC Associate Vice President (Teaching and Learning) and Dean of Graduate School Prof Huang Yu.
Dr Bernhardt welcomed the guests and introduced Emerson College as a nonprofit institution, and it is renowned for its academic programmes in communication, arts, and liberal arts. He mentioned that the College is a hub for independent thinkers from diverse backgrounds.
Prof Huang expressed appreciation for Emerson College, and highlighted the benefits reaped by UIC students from the visit, which deepened their understanding of intercultural communication and facilitated enriching academic exchanges. He emphasised that the symposium’s theme—sports, health, and communication—offers unique opportunities to tackle global health challenges and create transformative solutions. He also invited Emerson students and faculty to visit UIC to continue these international academic dialogues.
Students and faculty from Emerson College and UIC participate in the symposium at the Bill Bordy Theater
Later, scholars and experts in the related fields were invited to share their thoughts and findings with the audience.
Dean of the School of Communication at Emerson College Prof Brent Smith discussed the connections between sports, human health, and society. “Sports are not just games, they are platforms to inspire social change,” he said, and encouraged students to impart more possibilities to sports when addressing global health issues.
Prof Shi Lei from UIC focused on technological responses to active health. He explained how technology is revolutionising health management by presenting the collaborative projects between UIC and Hong Kong Baptist University to the audience.
Prof Shi Lei’s keynote speech
The keynote speeches were then followed by a Scholar Dialogue, discussing artificial intelligence (AI) and the Future of Sports Communication.
Moderated by Prof Smith, the Dialogue explored AI in sports, health, and cross-cultural communication. Dr Huang, Prof Shi, and Dr Lauren Anderson of the Department of Communication Studies at Emerson College attended. They shared their views on AI's transformative potential in global health management and industry and addressed the ethical challenges of AI, such as data privacy and equitable access to technology. A Q&A session was arranged for students to engage in discussions with the scholars.
Scholar Dialogue
A roundtable discussion was held, allowing students from both institutions to share real-life cases from their countries, from how school sports curricula shape health awareness to the innovative use of wearable devices in health management.
Vice Provost of Emerson College Dr Anthony Pinder delivered the closing remarks. He praised the symposium for promoting cross-cultural academic exchange and anticipated future collaborations between UIC and Emerson College.
From GS and MPRO
Reporter: Zheng Yaxi
Editor: Cecilia Yu
