Recommended by Peking University, Dr. Alaa Mamdouh Akef (Chinese name: Gao Shan), an Assistant Professor in the Department of Arabic Language and Cultures at the School of Foreign Languages (SFL), received his Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card in December 2025.
Dr. Akef poses with Li Shujing, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Foreign Languages, Peking University, after receiving his Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card.
Dr. Akef is an outstanding international talent recruited by the SFL. The granting of the ID card serves as the nation’s full recognition of his academic contributions and social value in China. It also marks new progress in the SFL’s efforts to recruit and serve high-level international talents, demonstrating significant results in attracting global intellects and consolidating the talent foundation for the “double world-class project”.
Dr. Akef (Egypt) is an Assistant Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the SFL, Peking University. His research interests primarily focus on Arabic language monitoring, AI-assisted language learning, and digital humanities. He has long been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses such as Arabic Writing and Advanced Interpretation. He emphasizes teaching reform centered on “Arabic + AI” and has supervised numerous undergraduate graduation theses and research projects.
He has been invited to attend and speak at major events such as the “Beijing Culture Forum,” the “Reception for Foreign Experts Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China,” and the “World Chinese Language Conference.” He has delivered presentations at various academic conferences held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the People’s Republic of China. Dr. Akef has published multiple papers in core and leading journals both in China and abroad, led several school-enterprise cooperation projects on Arabic teaching reform and artificial intelligence, and participated in the compilation and translation of numerous textbooks and academic works.
In 2023, he won the First Prize in the Humanities and Social Sciences category and the “Most Popular among Students” award at the 22nd Young Teachers’ Teaching Competition of Peking University. In 2025, he received an honorary certificate from the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in China for his contributions to China-Arab friendly exchanges, as well as the first “China Studies Program Scholar” honorary certificate awarded by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) of the Ministry of Education.
Notably, as one of the initiators, he co-signed a letter to President Xi Jinping as one of the 61 young Sinologists from 51 countries. In November, they received a reply from President Xi. This highlighted his role as a bridge in promoting mutual learning among civilizations and youth exchanges.
Dr. Alaa Mamdouh Akef
Dr. Akef attends the Reception for Foreign Experts Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Dr. Akef poses with Fu Zhiming, Deputy Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, Peking University.
Dr. Akef poses with graduates of Peking University.
Translated by Xing Yifei