đź‘‹ Introduction
Hi, I’m Ada (Yujia). I’m originally from Yunnan, China, and I’ve been living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands since 2021.
Yujia is the Pinyin version of my official name, but my mom also calls me Ada after her favorite character in Cold Mountain. I go by both Ada and Yujia — feel free to use either.
🎓 Academic Journey
I’m a final-year Research Master’s student in Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam, where I also completed my Bachelor’s degree in Communication Science with honors.
My research focuses on how people perceive and interact with social robots, a field I plan to continue exploring in a PhD starting Fall 2026. With my background in social and behavioral science, I aim to assist engineers in designing and evaluating human-centered robots, serving as a bridge between technical development and human experience.
📩 If you know of relevant PhD programs or are recruiting, I’d love to connect: adashiyj@gmail.com.
Currently, I’m a research intern in Professor Jochen Peter’s lab, where I contribute to a project on robots and social influence by programming multiple NAO robots and helping design the experimental setup.
🌱 Hobbies
Outside academia, I’m passionate about many things:
- Hiking: my dream is to stand on the top of Mount Everest before I turn 80 (fingers crossed for my grandma’s strong genes!).
- Tennis: inspired by Li Na, who showed young Chinese and Asian girls like me we could excel in the sport.
- Music: I play guitar and love folk/country music (I’ve been recently looping Bob Dylan and Zach Bryan a lot).
- Ceramics: since 2023, I’ve been exploring hand-building techniques and clay experiments.
🏺 My Ceramics
