My Journey of Growth

I was born with severe symbrachydactyly—all five fingers on my left hand failed to fully form. But I have a tough and loving mother who knew exactly how to bring up a child with a limb difference. She constantly reminded me that I was no different from my able-bodied peers. Her belief shaped my determination to live with confidence and persistence.

Regardless of the physical challenges, I was taught to invent ways to accomplish tasks that seemed impossible for me. I self-taught how to jump rope, cycle, play the piano, and even conduct two-handed experiments in high school biology and chemistry. Every skill required extra effort and creativity, but every small success built up my resilience and self-efficacy.

In 2022, I entered Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) and Politecnico di Milano (Polimi) as part of the first cohort of a new international dual-degree program in Engineering – Industrial Design. To be honest, being the first cohort was not easy. The program was still in its inaugural stage, lacking both design research and extracurricular resources at the host institution in China (XJTU). I quickly realized that I would need strong self-motivation—not only to explore my interests but also to help shape the culture of this joint program.

The founding director of our department once told us that “design creates the future of society through kindness and love.” Those words inspired me deeply. They encouraged me not only to pursue personal growth but also to use my design spirit to inspire and support others.

Therefore, in my first month of university, I launched my first entrepreneurship project, “Brain–Computer Interface-Based Prosthetics Product–Service System Design.” As a freshman with limited technical knowledge, I saw this project as a learning journey—a way to understand my major and build interdisciplinary research capabilities from scratch. I formed a small team of four classmates. Together, we learned 3D modeling, rendering, user research, mechanical design, and signal processing. To gain practical experience, I interned at MorningStar Prosthetics under its founder, Charles Wang, who guided me through the fundamentals of prosthetic design and user-centered practice: designing and prototyping sockets, guiding patients to conduct rehabilitation training etc.

While the project eventually won the James Dyson Award 2023 and attracted several venture capital investors (VCs) interested in commercialization, I turned those offers down. I decided instead to focus on academic growth and design research. I wanted to build a foundation for future scholarly work. 

I then founded and led the Applied Smart Interaction Lab (ASIL)—the first design and HCI research lab at XJTU. With the encouragement of my advisor, who shared my passion for HCI despite limited prior experience, we built the lab from scratch. Without any initial funding, I applied for student research grants, attended CHI conferences at my own expense, and invited scholars for guidance. My advisor and I learned together—we grew together. She opened the door to research for me, and I took every opportunity to step further.

However, the starting point of doing HCI and design research in an environment that lacks enough previous foundations was not easy. Firstly, I have to get an initial understanding of different research topics in HCI by myself, and try if it excites me. I also often felt lost about how to define my research identity and choose a specific direction to explore. At the beginning, I sought advice from my Dean, who came from a completely different field—chip manufacturing. He told me something that deeply influenced my path:

“You are still an undergraduate student. Don’t rush to define your topic too early. Try different things, explore broadly, and then decide what truly excites you.”

This advice changed my mindset. I realized that (broad) exploration itself could be a meaningful part of my academic growth. Therefore, in the following years, I intentionally engaged in a wide range of HCI research projects, which can be found in my CV. Each project allowed me to test my interests, learn new methods and technical skills, build my persistence, and understand how design can intersect with society, technology, and humanity in different ways.

Along my research exploration journey, I have been trying my best to grasp every opportunity that can strengthen my abilities, including participating in competitions, submitting and publishing academic papers, writing patents, applying for national student research grants, attending CHI, and contributing academic service to ACM SIGCHI. I think I am fortunate because nearly every effort I made has paid off, which resulted in a colorful CV as an undergraduate. 

Looking forward, I believe that the wide-ranging and sometimes challenging explorations I experienced as an undergraduate have profoundly shaped who I am. They taught me resilience in uncertainty, curiosity in the face of complexity, and integrity in pursuing meaningful work. These qualities will continue to guide me as I step into the next stage of my academic journey. Through PhD study, I hope to narrow down my research focus, develop deep expertise in a specific domain within HCI and design, and ultimately contribute to the advancement of society development.

My experiences within ACM SIGCHI