Personal profile
Biography
Jingjun is an Assistant Professor in sustainable transport planning (passenger mobility) at Heriot-Watt University, Scotland. He has contributed to international transport planning projects across Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and China. Currently, Jingjun is a Co-Investigator in TransiT (https://transit.ac.uk/), the UK’s largest research hub dedicated to transport decarbonisation through digital twins, bringing together 8 universities and 66 industrial partners.
Jingjun’s works develop human-centred solutions for more accessible, inclusive and sustainable passenger mobility transport systems, including reducing reliance on private vehicles, promoting public transport and active travel (walking and cycling), and guiding the adoption of emerging technologies such as electric and autonomous vehicles.
Methodologically, Jingjun uses data-driven digital technologies to design and evaluate the impact of transport policies on both individuals (preferences, behaviour and equity) and transport systems (emissions, accessibility and resilience). Recognising transport as a socio-technical system linking infrastructure and human decision-making, he adopts multi-disciplinary methods/toolkits, including agent-based simulation to assess policy impacts; optimisation to design implementable interventions; transport behaviours analysis and generative AI to better understand individual choices; and multi-stakeholder workshops to ensure policies fit the interests of different groups. By combining these methods into a structured workflow with up-to-date transport data, Jingjun develops “digital twins” that enable more comprehensive and adaptive policymaking than single tools alone. Notably, most of Jingjun’s research is delivered through open-source software (https://www.matsim.org/), supporting uptake by both researchers and practitioners.
Beyond research, Jingjun has contributed to multiple projects in Europe and China. He is also a member of the programme committee for the annual ABMTrans and ANT conference. Additionally, Jingjun has been involved in 5 teaching activities related to transport engineering and has supervised 19 bachelor's and master's theses from Heriot-Watt University (UK), TU Delft (the Netherlands), Beijing Jiaotong University (China) and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium).
Jingjun will share most of his latest updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jingjunli/. Please feel free to connect if you find any common interests! :)
Research interests
Agent-based transport modelling, passenger mobility planning, sustainable transport, transport digital twin, autonomous vehicles
Education/Academic qualification
PostDoc Researcher in Transport Digital Twin at XCARCITY project (https://xcarcity.nl/), Delft University of Technology
2024 → 2025
Doctor of Philosophy, Reducing Urban Private Vehicle Dependency With Shared Autonomous Vehicles - Agent-based Simulation As A Digital Testbed for Transport Policy Evaluations, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
2019 → 2024
Master of Engineering, MEng: Transport Engineering with Business, University College Dublin
2016 → 2019
Bachelor of Engineering, Transport Engineering, Chang’an University
2013 → 2017
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
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SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
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SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
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SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
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SDG 15 Life on Land
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Exploring spatiotemporal heterogeneity and nonlinear effects in electric vehicle crash risk prediction: A hybrid modeling approach
Lu, J., Dong, C., Yan, X., Li, J. & Lu, Z., Mar 2026, In: Accident Analysis and Prevention. 226, 108357.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (Scopus) -
An Activity-and Agent-based Co-Simulation Framework for the Metropolitan Rotterdam The Hague Region
Li, J., Zhou, H., Snelder, M., van Arem, B. & Gao, J., 25 Apr 2025, In: Procedia Computer Science. 257, p. 959-965 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Conference article › peer-review
Open Access -
Agent-based digital traffic model generation for regions facing data scarcity using aggregated cellphone data: a case study for Brussels
Li, J., Rombaut, E. & Vanhaverbeke, L., Dec 2024, In: International Journal of Digital Earth. 17, 1, 2407046.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (Scopus) -
Generational Differences in Sustainable Consumption Behavior among Chinese Residents: Implications Based on Perceptions of Sustainable Consumption and Lifestyle
Liang, J., Li, J., Cao, X. & Zhang, Z., 9 May 2024, In: Sustainability. 16, 10, 3976.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile14 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)1 Downloads (Pure) -
How far are we towards sustainable Carfree cities combining shared autonomous vehicles with park-and-ride: An agent-based simulation assessment for Brussels
Li, J., Rombaut, E. & Vanhaverbeke, L., Sept 2024, In: Computers, Environment and Urban Systems. 112Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
15 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)