Gejun Huang joins the Department of Media and Communication as an assistant professor in 2023. He obtains both his PhD and MA in Media Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining XJTLU, he was a lecturer in the School of Communication at Soochow University.

Trained in a multidisciplinary environment, his research builds on the intersection of media industry studies, entrepreneurship studies, and media sociology. His works primarily engage with pressing issues that pertain to the digital game industry, media entrepreneurship, cultural policy and creative economy, digital inequalities, and digital privacy. He has published in renowned journals like Big Data & Society, Cultural Trends, Chinese Journal of Communication, American Behavioral Scientist, and among others. His research has also appeared at the annual conferences of ICA, IAMCR, AEJMC, and SCMS.

As principal investigator, his research has been supported by a number of organizations and institutions, including Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, UT-Austin, and Soochow University. His ongoing research project examines the parent-child relationship around digital privacy and gaming in contemporary Chinese household settings.

Speaking of teaching, he has delivered undergraduate courses on digital media and society, game industry and game culture, media literacy, and TV studies in both English and Chinese pedagogical settings. He is committed to shaping a vibrant, engaging, and encouraging classroom environment for students to learn, grow, and succeed.


  • PhD in Media Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, 2020
  • MA in Media Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, 2014
  • BA in Journalism, Sichuan International Studies University, 2008


  • Lecturer, School of Communication, Soochow University, 2020-2022
  • Adjunct Lecturer, School of Film and TV Arts, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, 2021
  • Research Fellow, Center for Entertainment & Media Industries Fellowship, The University of Texas at Austin, 2019-2020
  • Graduate Research Assistant & Teaching Assistant, The University of Texas at Austin, 2013-2019


  • Digital game industry
  • Media entrepreneurship
  • Cultural policy and creative economy
  • Digital inequalities
  • Digital privacy


  • Huang, G., Hu, A., & Chen, W. (2022). Privacy at risk? Understanding the perceived privacy protection of health code apps in China. Big Data & Society, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517221135132
  • Chen, W., Huang, G., & Hu, A. (2022). Red, yellow, green or golden: the post-pandemic future of China's health code apps. Information, Communication & Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2022.2027502
  • Huang, G. (2021). The impacts of cultural policy on gaming entrepreneurs in Shanghai: an entrepreneurial ecosystem approach. Cultural Trends, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2021.1978815
  • Huang, G. (2021). Social Capital and Venture Creation: Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunities in the Chinese Digital Game Industry. International Journal of Communication, 15, 2355-2377.
  • Chen, W., Li, X., Huang, G., & Straubhaar, J. (2021). If you built a sandbox: How children, network diversity, and community interventions are related to Google Fiber signup in disadvantaged urban communities. Telematics and Informatics, 60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2021.101580
  • Robinson, L., Schulz, J., Khilnani, A., Ono, H., Cotten, S. R., McClain, N., Levine, L., Chen, W., Huang, G., Casilli, A. A., Tubaro, P., Dodel, M., Quan-Haase, A., Ruiu, M. L., Ragnedda, M., Aikat, D., & Tolentino, N. (2020). Digital inequalities in time of pandemic: COVID-19 exposure risk profiles and new forms of vulnerability. First Monday, 25(7). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v25i7.10845
  • Huang, G. (2020). Social Capital and Financial Capital Acquisition: Creating Gaming Ventures in Shanghai’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Chinese Journal of Communication. doi:10.1080/17544750.2020.1762686
  • Huang, G., Li, X., Chen, W., & Straubhaar, J. D. (2018). Fall-behind parents? The influential factors on digital parenting self-efficacy in disadvantaged communities. American Behavioral Scientist, 62(9), 1186-1206. doi:10.1177/0002764218773820
  • Chen, W., Huang, G., Miller, J., Lee, K., Mauro, D., Stephens, B., & Li, X. (2018). “As we grow, it will become a priority”: American mobile start-ups’ privacy practices. American Behavioral Scientist. doi:10.1177/0002764218787867
  • Chen, W., Shen, C., & Huang, G. (2016). In game we trust? Coplay and generalized trust in and beyond a Chinese MMOG world. Information, Communication & Society,19(5), 639. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2016.1139612
  • Alan César Belo Angeluci, & Huang, G. (2015). Rethinking media displacement: The tensions between mobile media and face-to-face interaction/ repensando o deslocamento da mídia: As tensões entre as mídias móveis e a interação face-a-face. Revista FAMECOS, 22(4), 173.


  • Huang, G. (2023). Exploring Cultural Policy and Gaming Entrepreneurship in Shanghai: An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Perspective. The Onlooker Sees: The Chinese Video Game Industry. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Straubhaar, J.D., & Huang, G. (2015, March). Conclusion to IGI Collection. Comparative Approaches of the IGI-Global Collection. IGI Global.


  • Huang, G., Hu, A., & Chen, W. (2022, July). Privacy Concerns and Knowledge toward Health Code Apps in China. Presented at International Association for Media and Communication Research 2022 (online). Beijing.
  • Huang, G., Li, C., Deng, W., & Lu, W. (2022, July). Platformizing cultural creativity: The power relation between gaming entrepreneurs and Tencent in China. Presented at International Association for Media and Communication Research 2022 (online). Beijing.
  • Huang, G. (2021, Dec). Platformizing creativity in the Chinese digital game industry: A case study of Tencent’s gaming entrepreneurship scheme. Presented at Chinese Digital Game Research 2021 Conference (online). Hong Kong.
  • Huang, G. (2021, May). Strategies of Globalization among China’s Digital Game Entrepreneurs. Presented at the 18th Chinese Internet Research Conference (online). Melbourne, Australia.
  • Huang, G. (2020, May). Social Capital and Venture Creation: Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunities in the Chinese Digital Game Industry. Presented at International Communication Association 2020 (online). Gold Coast, Australia.
  • Huang, G. (2019, Aug). Exploring Cultural Policy and Gaming Entrepreneurship in Shanghai. Presented at Chinese Digital Game Research 2019 Conference. Beijing, China.
  • Huang, G. (2019, June). Social capital, financial resource access, and entrepreneurial ecosystem: Exploring the creation of gaming ventures in Shanghai. Presented at Chinese Internet Research Conference 2019. Singapore.
  • Huang, G. (2019, March). A Small Fish in a Big Pond: Understanding Entrepreneurship in Chinese Game Industry. Presented at Society for Cinema and Media Studies 2019. Seattle, USA.
  • Huang, G., Chen, W., & Stephens, B. (2018, May). The digital linchpin for mobile startup? Exploring the social media knowledge and managerial skills of mobile entrepreneurs. Presented at Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication 2018. Washington DC, USA.
  • Huang, G., Chen, W., Li, X., & Straubhaar, D.J. (2017, May). Digital Parenting Skills on the Margin. Presented at International Communication Association 2017. San Diego, USA.
  • Chen, W., Huang, G., Miller, J., Lee, K., Mauro, D., Stephens, B., & Li, X. (2016, June).” Your Privacy is Very Important to Us”: American Mobile Ventures’ Privacy Management. Presented at International Communication Association 2016. Fukuoka, Japan.
  • Chen, W., Shen, C., & Huang, G. (2015, August). The Implications of Coplay for Generalized Trust in and beyond a Chinese MMOG World. Presented at American Sociological Association 2015. Chicago, IL.


  • Jiangsu Colleges’ Philosophy and Social Science Research Fund, Jiangsu Education Department, RMB10,000, 2022
  • Startup Research Grant, Soochow University, RMB100,000, 2020


  • Secretary, Board of Chinese Digital Games Research Association (CDiGRA), 2022-2024


  • Research Methods for Cultural and Creative Industries, 2022
  • Introduction to Internet and New Media, 2022
  • Media and Social Change, 2022
  • Game Industry and Game Culture, 2021
  • Introduction to New Media, 2021
  • Introduction to Media Literacy, 2021
  • History of Broadcasting, 2021


  • International Association for Media and Communication Research, 2016
  • International Communication Association, 2015
  • American Sociological Association, 2014


  • Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Doctoral Fellowship, Jiangsu Province, RMB150,000, 2021
  • Excellent Young Scholar, Soochow University, 2020
  • Center for Entertainment & Media Industries Fellowship, UT Austin, 2020
  • Kyun Hur Fellowship, UT Austin, 2019
  • Academic Enrichment Fund, UT Austin, 2019
  • Doctoral Fellowship, Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, USD18,000, 2018
  • Graduate Dean’s Prestigious Fellowship Supplement, UT Austin, 2018
  • Moody Fellowship, UT Austin, 2014-2018
Gejun Huang