Dr Junnan Yu is an Assistant Professor in the School of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and directs the Little Design Group. His research sits at the intersection of child–computer interaction, design, and the learning sciences, with the goal of creating positive impacts for young people in an ever-evolving technological world. For example, he has worked on projects that promote children’s computational literacy through playful learning experiences and technology design, advance the design of accessible and inclusive educational technologies, and support meaningful family engagement with media. Beyond children’s learning and design contexts, his work also extends to broader human–computer interaction research, such as reflections on research methodologies and explorations of emerging technology-related challenges in everyday life. His research has been published and recognized at leading HCI venues such as the ACM CHI, CSCW, and IDC conferences.

Before joining PolyU Design in 2022, Dr Yu was a Temporary Research Faculty in the Department of Information Science at the University of Colorado Boulder and once a research intern at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University. Dr Yu earned his Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of Colorado Boulder (2022), a Master’s degree in Design from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (2017), and a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design from Zhejiang University (2014).

Dr Yu is looking for Ph.D. students interested in interactive learning technologies, computing education for children, child-centered AI design, or other child-computer interaction fields. For those interested, you may want to check and consider applying for the PolyU postgraduate fellowships. Note these fellowships are highly competitive. Finally, Dr Yu also welcomes postdocs through the RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme. Feel free to reach out if you are interested.

• Ph.D. in Information Science, University of Colorado Boulder
• Master in Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
• Bachelor in Industrial Design, Zhejiang University

• Interaction Design
• Interactive Media