The International Research Centre for Cultural Studies (IRCCS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Zoran Poposki FRSA FRAS, Associate Professor and Associate Head of the Department of Cultural and Creative Arts, as Centre Director with effect from 31 July 2026. Dr Poposki succeeds Prof. John Nguyet Erni FAHA FHKAH, former Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Chair Professor of Cultural Studies at The Education University of Hong Kong, now Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Chair Professor of Cultural Research at Lingnan University, who has led the Centre since its establishment in 2022.

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Under Prof. Erni's directorship, IRCCS developed into a vibrant hub for interdisciplinary cultural studies research, anchored by two major research tracks — Critical Migration Studies and Comparative Cultures of Care — and the community-driven One City One Book Hong Kong programme. Highlights of this period include the flagship Hong Kong Humanities Conferences on Comparative Cultures of Care (2023) and The Dialectics of Care (2025), the launch of the IRCCS Working Paper Series supporting early-career researchers in 2025, the launch of environmental humanities research in 2025, and Prof. Erni's invited address at the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues in Geneva in 2024. The Centre thanks Prof. Erni for his leadership and is delighted that he will remain an active member of IRCCS, continuing to contribute to its research and publication initiatives.

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Dr Poposki is an award-winning transdisciplinary artist and cultural studies scholar whose research spans contemporary art, digital humanities, environmental sustainability in the arts, and creative practice as research, with a portfolio of over 100 exhibitions worldwide. Dr Poposki is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society. His appointment marks the beginning of the Centre's next development phase, during which IRCCS will organise its work around three interconnected research clusters: Environmental Cultural Studies, New Social Justice Studies, and Sustainable Humanities. These clusters build on the Centre's established strengths in migration studies and the cultures of care while extending its reach into environmental humanities, questions of justice and equity, and the sustainable futures of (post)humanistic inquiry.

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"I am honoured to build upon the robust foundation established by Prof. Erni," says Dr Poposki. "As we navigate an era of rapid ecological and technological transformation, IRCCS will serve as a vital nexus for transdisciplinary inquiry. By launching our new research clusters, we aim to bridge creative practice and rigorous scholarship, fostering innovative dialogues that address urgent questions of environmental sustainability and social justice across the Faculty and the broader international community."

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The coming year will see the constitution of the Centre's International Advisory Board, the launch of the IRCCS Research Incubation Scheme supporting cross-departmental research teams, and a major international conference to be held in early 2027, details of which will be announced on this website shortly.