About Equalumina
Equalumina is a specialist international education consultancy based in the Cotswolds, UK. We work at the intersection of UK qualifications frameworks and international academic systems — helping institutions understand, articulate, and strengthen the quality of their programmes in a global context.
"Equa — from equanimity. Lumina — light. Together: calm illumination."The meaning behind the name
What we do
Our core work centres on benchmarking international qualifications against the UK Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF), with a particular focus on China–UK educational partnerships. We combine rigorous analytical methodology with deep cross-cultural understanding.
We offer our clients not just a benchmarking outcome, but a genuine pathway to quality enhancement — helping partner institutions understand how to strengthen their programmes from the inside out.
Our approach is grounded in RQF level descriptors, Bloom's taxonomy, and established assessment design principles, ensuring every outcome is defensible, evidence-based, and practically useful.
We work closely with UK academic subject specialists to ensure discipline-specific credibility in every project, and communicate fluently across UK and Chinese educational cultures to reduce friction at every stage.
Our team
Hui brings over five years of senior experience in international qualification benchmarking, gained during her time as Team Manager at Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) — the UK's national agency for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications and skills.
At Ecctis, Hui led and delivered multiple higher education benchmarking projects for international clients, and developed and delivered training programmes to help institutions align their academic qualifications to UK and international standards.
In 2025, Hui was engaged by a qualification evaluation agency in the United Arab Emirates to deliver remote training to their specialist staff, supporting the development of their internal capacity for international qualification recognition.
A bilingual professional fluent in both Mandarin and English, Hui has presented at international conferences, including the BoAo Vocational Education Conference in Hainan, promoting best practice in international credential evaluation and benchmarking methodology.
Equalumina's engineering benchmarking work is led by Dr Chris, a Chartered Engineer (CEng) with a PhD and BEng in Mechanical Engineering.
With over 25 years of experience as a technical lead on advanced research and development programmes at a leading UK aerospace organisation, Dr Chris brings exceptional depth of expertise in engineering disciplines, research methodology, and innovation.
He has collaborated extensively with UK universities, contributing to research programmes, supervising postgraduate work, and guest lecturing — making him well-placed to evaluate and benchmark engineering-related qualifications against UK higher education standards.
Why work with us
Our methodology is grounded in RQF level descriptors, Bloom's taxonomy, and established assessment design principles — ensuring defensible, evidence-based outcomes.
We communicate effectively with partner institutions in China, reducing friction and improving the quality of information exchange at every stage of a project.
We work closely with UK academic specialists to ensure discipline-specific credibility — from culinary arts and business to mechanical and aerospace engineering.
We go beyond compliance. Our work helps partner institutions genuinely understand and strengthen their programmes, not simply satisfy a checklist.
We welcome enquiries from UK universities, subject specialists, and international partner institutions. Whether you are exploring a benchmarking project or looking to collaborate as a subject expert, we would be glad to hear from you.
Get in touch