Dr Qi Song
- The King’s Global Sustainability Fellow in Climate Risk in Aviation
About
Dr Qi Song is The King’s Global Sustainability Fellow in Climate Risk in Aviation, supported by Heathrow Airport. Qi joined CISL in August 2025 as a Research Associate, where he works on developing transformative, actionable, policy-oriented insights to support a sustainable future for aviation, in close collaboration with the Aviation Impact Accelerator and the Whittle Laboratory. Passionate about fostering interdisciplinary dialogues, Qi’s work explores the transformative potential of sustainable innovation in shaping societies that are not only more prosperous, but also ecologically sound and socially inclusive.
Qi holds a PhD in Science and Technology Policy Studies (fully funded by ERC) from the University of Sussex Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU). Prior to his PhD, he completed a master’s degree at SPRU as a Geoffrey Oldham Scholar, following undergraduate studies at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing. In addition, he was a visiting scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing (2022) and at Fraunhofer ISI in Karlsruhe (2023).
Qi collaborates with colleagues across Europe, North America, and Asia to advance understanding of transformative innovation policy, particularly in accelerating transitions towards a net-zero future within energy-mobility systems. He is a guest editor for Research Policy and a regular reviewer for leading journals including Research Policy, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, Regional Studies, and Technological Forecasting & Social Change.
Qi has delivered invited talks at international seminars and workshops in the UK, Germany, and China, and remains actively involved in the research community through conference organisation and session leadership. Qi is also committed to advancing the role of education in driving real-world impact and has contributed to postgraduate teaching and supervision. He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Email:
qi.song@cisl.cam.ac.uk
- 08/2025-Present, The King’s Global Sustainability Fellow in Climate Risk in Aviation (Research Associate), University of Cambridge (UK)
- 07/2024-11/2025, Research Fellow, University of Sussex (UK)
- 06/2020-06/2024, Research Assistant, University of Sussex (UK)
- 06/2023-12/2023, Visiting Scholar, Fraunhofer ISI (Germany)
- 12/2021-11/2022, Visiting Scholar, Tsinghua University (China)
- Ph.D. in Science and Technology Policy Studies, University of Sussex (UK)
- M.Sc. in Science and Technology Policy, University of Sussex (UK)
- B.Mgmt. in Public Administration, Central University of Finance and Economics (China)
- Visiting Research Fellow, SPRU – Science Policy Research Unit
- Research Fellow, Earth System Governance Project
- 2023 – Eu-SPRI Circulation Award, funded by the Eu-SPRI Forum
- 2020 – EMPOCI Full PhD Studentship, funded by the ERC Starting Grant (EU Horizon 2020)
- 2019 – Geoffrey Oldham Memorial Scholarship, funded by SPRU (University of Sussex)
- 2019 – Beijing Distinguished Undergraduate Thesis, awarded by Beijing Municipal Education Commission
- 2019 – CUFE-Yongjin Undergraduate Academic Award, funded by CUFE and Yongjin Group
- 2018 – National Scholarship, funded by the Ministry of Education of China
Research
Research interests
- Research-Catalyst
Qi’s research focuses on global sustainable mobility transitions – ranging from aviation to automobiles – with an emphasis on innovation systems and policy design. Using a policy mix approach, his work aims to accelerate system transitions toward a net-zero future by supporting the phase-in of low-carbon alternatives and the phase-out of unsustainable technologies.