Dr. Yujia Huang is a researcher, lecturer, and design strategist specialising in design entrepreneurship, business innovation, AI–human collaboration, design thinking, strategic design, and experience design. Drawing on extensive industry experience alongside academic research, she adopts a systematic and transdisciplinary approach to addressing individual, organisational, and societal challenges through design-led innovation.

As a Principal Investigator, Yujia has led interdisciplinary research projects, including the ongoing Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE)-funded project Creative Strengths: Exploring Strength-Based Pathways to Design Entrepreneurship in the Age of AI and the British Council UK–China CtC-funded project Design for Heritage. She has also contributed to major international research initiatives, including the AHRC UK–China Creative Industries Research and Innovation Hub and the China National Social Science Fund Major Art Project on Design Innovation and National Cultural Soft Power.

Yujia is the lead author of the textbook Design Thinking for New Business Contexts, which bridges academic theory with contemporary industry practice through practical design thinking methods and critical perspectives on innovation and business development. Her wider research and publications focus on applying design thinking to support strategic innovation, business transformation, and user-centred experience development. 

Yujia actively contributes to the global design research community as an international peer reviewer and track chair for leading journals and conferences, including DRS, DMI, IASDR, EAD, and CUMULUS. Her international collaborations across the UK, China, EU, and the US support knowledge exchange and enhance the social and economic impact of design research and innovation.

Yujia is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). She leads curriculum design and development in AI in creative practices, design thinking with AI, design entrepreneurship, innovative design practice, and employability at undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD levels. She is passionate about supporting students in applying design knowledge to real-world business and social challenges.

Drawing upon her extensive research in design thinking, business innovation, and design entrepreneurship, Yujia has significantly shaped the content, structure, assignments, and assessment design of curricula. She emphasises effective engagement, adaptability, clarity, timely feedback, and rigorous assessments to uphold high-quality teaching standards.

Yujia advocates for a positive learning environment characterised by safety, support, inclusivity, and respect. She champions flexibility and innovation to accommodate individual learning needs, striving to foster an environment where students feel empowered to realise their full potential and excel.