Jiaying Xue

I am a human geography researcher specialising in geographies of innovation and urban and regional studies.
My PhD research is the first study connects geographies of innovation with regions at a multi-city, polycentric scale. My thesis, Polycentric Urban Regions (PURs) and Geographies of Innovation: A Case Study in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), builds on an extensive literature review that traces how two core strands of regional studies—innovation and PURs—have evolved largely in parallel over the past 50 years. By synthesising and critically integrating these literatures, I developed a new conceptual framework of anchoring and mobility to explain how economic actors shape regional innovation dynamics and intercity collaboration within multi-nodal urban systems.

I actively work with open data, Python, and GIS. I am currently strengthening my technical portfolio in data analysis, web scraping, and AI-assisted analytics, including applications using patent datasets and large language modelling. This combination of qualitative insight and computational analysis supports my broader goal of conducting rigorous, policy-relevant research.

I have a strong record of collaboration in academic, policy, and community contexts. I have also collaborated on multi-partner projects with the Greater London Authority, Enfield Council, UN-Habitat and Mexican government, coordinating with technical specialists, policy officers, and community stakeholders to translate complex findings into actionable tools. Across multiple projects, I collaborated with academic partners, local authorities, and community organisations to co-design interactive public resources aimed at tackling diverse socio-economic issues.