Dr. Xi (Sisi) Hu is the Program Fellow of the Labor & Worklife Program at Harvard Law School, a research economist at the National Bureau of Economic Research and an Honorary Research Associate at the Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute. Her current research interests lie in understanding the impact of global disruptions (climate change/digital transformation/Covid) on labour. Recently she has developed huge passion in clinician burnout research and focusing on this line of work. Her climate research has received media attention from around the world including the World Economic Forum, Sky News, UN Disasters News, the Diplomat, ClimateWise, and China Dialogue among others.
Aside from her research, Sisi is also a passionate entrepreneur, author and media commentator. She is the co-founder of Atalan, a startup focused on using machine learning to predict, prevent and budget clinician burnout and turnover. She was the co-founder of the Oxford International Infrastructure Consortium, whose mission is to bridge the gap between academia and practitioners on infrastructure matters. She is a co-author of "The Self We Choose (我们选择的自己)", a book published in Chinese that features the life stories of scientists from the largest ever all-women expedition to Antarctica and was a regular climate commentator on Sky News flagship Daily Climate Show.
Prior to joining Harvard, she was a doctoral student at the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) and the Senior Wai Seng Scholar at the Asian Studies Centre, University of Oxford.
LWP Program Fellow, Harvard Law School
During her PhD, she consulted for the Latin American Energy Organisation (OLADE); worked as an energy modeller for the UK Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium; interned as a climate adaptation researcher with the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission; and facilitated dialogues between Oxford and government agencies such as the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources. In 2015, she co-founded the Oxford International Infrastructure Consortium (OXIIC) whose aim is to facilitate communication and collaboration on infrastructure between academics, policymakers and practitioners worldwide.
Before joining Oxford, Xi (Sisi) conducted policy research at the Chinese Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Land and Resources on both domestic and global levels. She also interned at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on Sino-African relations, the UK-India Business Council on corporate social responsibility, and worked as an analyst at Legal & General Investment Management on Responsible Investment (RI) and investing in China. She holds a BSc in Environmental Policy with Economics and an MSc in Environmental Economics and Climate Change from the London School of Economics.
Interview with Sky News: Ukraine Crisis, Diseases Outbreaks, Global Health and Climate
Interview with Sky News: On Short-term Gains vs Long-term Climate Loss
Interview with Sky News Breakfast: On China’s Climate Policy (38:00-43:00)
Interview with Sky News: On Phasing Out Fossil Fuels
Interview with Sky News: On The Greta’s Role in Youth Climate Movement and Solutions to Deforestation
Interview with Sky News: On the Importance of Adaptation Policies on Earth Day and Biden’s Climate Summit
Research Fun! Quantifying Climate Impacts on Businesses
Volunteer for the Elephant Human Relations Aid, Namibia.
Along with other volunteers, I helped build a wall around a water well for the local farmers which prevents elephants from entering. As the elephants are no longer entering and a threat to local farmers' water resources, they are less likely to be shot.
Co-founder and director of the Oxford International Infrastructure Consortium, Oxford, UK.
Oxford International Infrastructure Consortium (OXIIC) aims to facilitate communication and collaboration on infrastructure between academics, policymakers and practitioners worldwide. So far, OXIIC has held two global conferences on infrastructure that gathered more than 40 world's leading infrastructure experts with 350 attendees. Representatives included the newly established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the World Bank, OECD, the G20 Investment and Infrastructure Working Group, the Turkish Treasury, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
Volunteer at orphanage, Cusco, Peru.
Taught English to the children.
Business intern, UK-India Business Council, New Delhi, India.
Worked on corporate social responsibility in India, the UK and China.
Climate policy consultant, Latin American Energy Organisation (OLADE), Quito, Ecuador.
Teaching volunteer, rural China.
Designed a climate change class and taught oil painting techniques to children.
Research and policy posts, Ministry of Land Resources; Ministry of the Environment; National Planning Commission, Beijing, China.
Produced numerous reports.