In this episode of Genway Academy, Natan Voitenkov, Co-Founder & CEO of Genway AI, sits down with Yujia Cao, Head of UX Research & Customer Experience at Kiwi.com, to explore the evolution of UX research from human factors in aerospace to AI-assisted discovery at scale.

Yujia shares her remarkable journey - from engineering and computer science to PhD research in human-computer interaction, from testing cockpit interfaces with pilots to leading a global UX team in the travel tech industry. Together, they dive deep into how AI, automation, and hybrid research practices are transforming the field.

🚀 What You’ll Learn:
🧠 How a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction led to a UX research career
✈️ The transition from aerospace simulation labs to agile digital research
⚙️ Why balancing rigor vs. speed is the new superpower for researchers
🤖 How Kiwi.com uses Genway AI for large-scale, multilingual discovery interviews
💬 When to rely on AI moderation — and when human intuition still wins
🌍 The importance of understanding business and industry context as a researcher
🧩 The rise of the AI-native, hybrid UX researcher
💡 Why soft skills, stakeholder communication, and curiosity are future-proof

Chapters:
00:00 – Intro & Yujia’s academic journey into UX
04:00 – First research role: from cockpit simulators to flight testing
08:00 – The evolution from academic rigor to agile research
12:00 – Business impact and the power of stakeholder understanding
16:00 – Academia vs. industry: balancing quality and speed
19:00 – Yujia’s research tool stack at Kiwi.com
21:00 – Using Genway AI for scalable discovery interviews
23:00 – The limits and future of AI moderation
26:00 – Advice for early-career researchers in the AI age
28:00 – The mindset shift: dancing with AI
33:00 – Future careers, manual skills, and job security in the AI era
35:00 – Fun fact: a Chinese researcher who doesn’t drink tea!