Prof. Carol Poon Man Wai is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing in cultural studies, gender studies, and globalization theory. She holds a PhD in International Cultural Studies from Tohoku University, Japan, funded by the Monbukagakusho-MEXT Scholarship. Prior to her doctoral studies, she completed an MPhil in Japanese Studies at the University of Hong Kong, where she focused on Japanese popular culture and globalization, supported by an HKU studentship.

Prof. Poon has held various academic positions at leading institutions. She served as a postdoctoral research fellow at Waseda University and has been a visiting lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Earlier in her career, she contributed to teaching and research initiatives on cultural studies and globalization at City University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Notably, she was the Programme Director at Hong Kong Metropolitan University for nearly ten years, where she advanced numerous programs and established the Center for Japanese Language and Culture.

In addition to her teaching and research, Prof. Poon holds significant leadership roles. She currently serves as the Chairman of the Society of Transcultural Studies and is an Honorary Professor at Nagasaki Wesleyan University in Japan. Her work on transcultural issues continues to foster collaborative research with a substantial impact on both academic and community spheres.

Selected Publication

潘文慧 (2026: 即將出版) 《從潮流走向非主流:透視日本流行文化產業興衰及其啟示》, 香港, 香港城市大學出版社。

潘文慧 (2022). 《マンガに見られる感染症》, 在 東京大学東アジア藝文書院(編)《文学・哲学・感 染症—私たちがコロナ禍で考えたこと》 (pp. 296-310). 論創社。

POON, M.W., SZETO, S.S & TANG, C.W. (2020). Decoding Internet Rumors in the 21st Century: An Interdisciplinary Examination of Social Media, Digital Culture and Humanities: Challenges and Developments in a Globalized Asia, Springer Press, 25-50.

POON, M.W. (2018). Reading Japanese Philosophy through Parasyte: The Paradox of Coexistence. Journal of Japanese Philosophy Vol. 5, SUNY Press, 67-78.

POON, M.W. (2017) Innovation and Social Impact in Higher Education: Some Lessons from Tohoku University and the Open University of Hong Kong. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 5, 139-153.

POON, M.W., Law Kam-Yee and Lee Kim-Ming (2013). "Challenges to the City Imagineering in Hong Kong: Place Making and Struggle between Globalization and Local Concerns". The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social and Community Studies Volume 7, Illinois: Common Ground Publishing, 1-12.

POON, M.W. (2013). “An Examination of the Japanese National Consensus to Japan National Education.” In Japan Society of Hong Kong 50th Anniversary Commemorative Volume, Hong Kong: The Japan Society of Hong Kong, 144-148.

Awards and Accomplishments

• Grant recipient, Basic Law Promotion Funding Scheme for Tertiary Institutions, 2021-2022

• Funding recipient, the Japan Foundation Grant Program for Intellectual Exchange Conferences, 2020/2021

• Teaching Excellence Award 2016-2017, La Ka Shing Institute of Professional and Continuing Education, the Open University of Hong Kong

• Research grant recipient, President's Advisory Committee on Research and Development (PACRD), The Open University of Hong Kong, 2016–2017

• Grant recipient, Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan 2011-2015

• Grant recipient, Japan Foundation Special Grant 2011-2012
• Scholarship recipient, Monbukagakusho (Japanese Government Ministry of

Education, Culture, Science and Technology: MEXT) research scholarships,

2005-2009
• Scholarship recipient, Japanese Language Program for Postgraduate Students,

Japan Foundation, Japanese Language Institute, Kansai, Japan, 2001
• Scholarship recipient, The University of Hong Kong Postgraduate Studentship 2000