Step out and see the world: The journey of a geek

Whenever XJTLU alumnus Ruijiao Li – a pioneer in Chinese service robotics – is asked by students how to build a successful career, he offers one simple yet powerful bit of advice: Step out.

“Step out and see the world, engage with people from all walks of life,” he says. “And get hands-on experience. When you immerse yourself on the front lines, you’ll find opportunities emerging in every industry.”

Co-founder of industry leader Amy Robotics, Li started his degree in Information and Computing Science at Xi’an Jiatong-Liverpool University in 2008, and is now working toward a PhD at Fudan University’s Institute of Intelligent Robotics.

In recent years, the entrepreneur has also mentored nearly 100 XJTLU students as well as supervised budding researchers at other universities.

His advice to “step out” stems from his own journey.

Curious nature

Li has always been curious. By age 6 he’d learned to cook, and at 8 he was helping classmates build toys. When he was 13 years old, he carried a desktop computer 2km in winter to a repair shop, having become captivated by buying and assembling components, and exploring new software.

His interest in research blossomed at XJTLU. “Every assignment involved research,” he recalls. “I drew on my strengths in information retrieval to develop ideas and present them in English reports and presentations.”

One assignment on cloud computing, a concept first proposed in 2006, sparked a lasting fascination that led him to create the Wikipedia page on cloud robotics.

Ruijiao Li (second from right) at XJTLU Alumni Homecoming Day 2023

Li also takes every opportunity to step out of his comfort zone.

While in Year Three, studying at the University of Liverpool, he cycled 2,000km across the length of Britain in 27 days for charity. Relying solely on a map and compass, he rode from southwest England to northeast Scotland, raising money to support a girl with leukaemia in China’s southern Guangdong province.

The experience affirmed his belief that the world can only be understood by experiencing it.

Back in China, in 2015, Li co-founded Amy Robotics and immersed himself in the engineering front lines to understand the entire process from production to market.

He worked closely with manufacturing giants such as Foxconn and TPV, gaining insight into the gap between design and final product amid the roar of machinery, allowing him to transform from a tech researcher into an industry practitioner.

Ruijiao Li (second from left) at the 2024 XJTLU Alumni Projects Awards ceremony

After expanding his role from scientist to entrepreneur and mentor, he decided to become a connector, too.

“I gradually began bringing together people working in investment, business, and research and development,” he says. In doing so, Li aims to feed the most pressing, real-world industrial challenges into academic research, ground research agendas in genuine needs, and channel cutting-edge academic thinking and resources into practical innovation.

“I approach research with a product mindset, and every topic starts from a societal demand,” he explains.

Ruijiao Li with his nomination for the Dynamic Youth Award at the British Council’s UK Outstanding Alumni Awards

While leading a robotics laboratory at Fudan, he and his team spent five years and more than 10 iterations solving the industry-wide challenge of coordinating the “eyes, brain, hands, and feet” of intelligent robots in complex environments.

His achievements, such as with tomato pollination and harvesting robots and autonomous weeding robots, have been widely covered by China Central Television, the state broadcaster, and People’s Daily.

Ruijiao Li during an interview with China Central Television in 2025

Ruijiao Li (first from right, kneeling) with his team from Fudan University’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems Laboratory

Growth mindset

As XJTLU approaches its 20th anniversary, Li hopes more students can develop into “stem cell-like talents”.

“An individual’s abilities may be limited, but when placed within an ecosystem, they can unleash far greater energy and value,” he says, explaining that the philosophy of stem cell-style growth is “not to predefine your ultimate form”.

“Remain open to change, hungry for learning, and in the places where you are most needed, adapt, integrate, and ultimately lead through repeated ‘differentiation’,” he adds.

Ruijiao Li (centre) is named XJTLU's 2025 Honoured Alumnus

By Luyun Shi
Edited by staff editor and Patricia Pieterse
Photos courtesy of Ruijiao Li
Translated by Xiangyin Han