Xiaoming Xu did her postgraduate study at East China Normal University in Shanghai and obtained a Master of Education degree in June 2018. In October 2018, she won the CSC scholarship and went to the Netherlands and started as a Ph.D. candidate in the Center for Education Development and Research in Health Professions (CEDAR), Lifelong Learning, Education and Assessment Research Network (LEARN), at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Nico Bos and Dr. Hongbin Wu. She focused on international students' needs, expectations, and experiences with the learning environment in international higher education and student engagement in the medical education environment. She has successfully published in top journals including Educational Research Review, Medical Teacher, and Medical Education. In 2022, she was awarded the SHARE Top Publication Award. The results of her Ph.D. project was entitled Creating a conducive learning environment for all students in higher education.