Hello, I'm Xinyi Yang, or Serena. I'm a doctoral researcher at the ITC faculty of Tampere University in Finland. My research interests encompass marketing, extended reality (XR), gamification, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and consumer experiences. Specifically, I am trying to understand how XR and games can revolutionize marketing, as well as draw a blueprint of the attractiveness of NFTs. 

In addition to my academic pursuits, I manage my own self-media accounts. I have one on WeChat called "北欧吃货陆战队" where I primarily share my experiences with food and culture from around the world, with a special focus on Finland. You are more than welcome to follow me :). Moreover, I'm also passionate about creating video blogs, which I share on Bilibili (a Chinese equivalent of YouTube). If you're on Bilibili, you can find me by searching for "Serena在欧洲." Besides, you can find me with "Serena在芬兰" on Xiaohongshu and Douyin (Tiktok Chinese version) as well. 

Before embarking on my Ph.D. journey, I worked at a Camera Lab in Tampere, Finland, where I was involved in project management (including budget, progress, procurement, and so on) and team leadership.

Prior to that, I completed my master's studies at the University of Oulu, Finland, and my master's thesis topic is chatbot services and consumer experience. During my master's study,  I undertook internships in the education industry in Italy and the tourism industry in Finland.  

When I'm not working on my research, I work on a wide range of hobbies, including snowboarding, piano, dancing, badminton, traveling, painting, and baking. Recently, I ventured into the worlds of diving and surfing, and realized that I like both of them. However, I'm currently facing a challenge – despite two attempts at swimming school, I still struggle with proper breathing techniques in the water.........