International Women in Engineering Day 2019: Dr Yun Li

23 June 2019

What did you study at Queen Mary and what are you doing now?
I undertook my PhD in Electronic Engineering at Queen Mary. My research topic focused on the field of M2M communication in 5G. I’m currently a researcher at the Information Science Academy of China Electronics Technologies Corporation Group.

How did your time and study at Queen Mary help your career and development?
As a senior engineer, my responsibility is to design and demonstrate open IoT architecture and how the architecture can be utilised in various projects. During my studies, I got the chance to learn about the most advanced research achievements and technology trends. This background knowledge helped me to quickly identify the right technology which is needs to be included in the overall IoT architecture and how to couple different technologies. Part of my job is related to developing international standardization in the field of IoT and smart cities, which was also part of my PhD research. The engineering-oriented mindset that I developed during my studies at Queen Mary has helped me to quickly find the most efficient way to get consensus among experts and delegates from different countries.  

Why is it exciting to do what you do?
To communicate with people around the world, to follow cutting-age technology development and to witness technology improving our daily lives.

What are your thoughts on diversity in engineering and do you feel change is needed?
I am really happy to see that women are getting more involvement in engineering. And I believe there will be more and more female scientists and female CTOs in engineering.

As a woman working in engineering, do you have any role-models that you look up to, both inside and outside of your field?
Tu Yoyo, who has been nominated by the BBC as one of the most influential scientific figures of the 20th century, alongside Marie Curie, Alan Turing, and Albert Einstein.