Dr Xicong Li is a Lecturer in Communication at the University of Glasgow since Sep 2025, specialising in optical wireless communications (OWC). His research spans LiFi, free-space optics (FSO), and optical camera communications (OCC), with a focus on system-level innovation that integrates communication, sensing, and localisation. Prior to this role, Dr Li was with Northumbria University, Newcastle as a Lecturer, from Sep 2023.

Dr Li received his PhD in Electrical Engineering as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Early Stage Researcher at Northumbria University in 2021. He also holds an MSc in Telecommunications from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (2013) and a BEng in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University, China (2010). 

He has developed a distinctive research profile grounded in both academic excellence and industrial system design. His work emphasises the translation of fundamental optical communication theory into deployable, high-performance systems.

Prior to joining academia, Dr Li built a strong international industry track record in high-speed communication systems across both the UK and China. In the UK, he led the end-to-end design and delivery of a commercial LiFi system (LiDrive®) through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Integrated System Technologies Ltd, Lichfield, covering system architecture, analogue optical front-end design, and hardware implementation, and achieving record data rates of over 200Mbit/s for a UK-developed LiFi system. Earlier in his career, he worked as a senior hardware engineer at China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, contributing to the development of advanced 10 Gigabit Ethernet testing platforms and multi-gigabit communication systems.

Building on this combined academic–industrial foundation, Dr Li currently leads and contributes to a portfolio of UKRI and international research projects as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator, including work on AI-assisted optical camera communication and free-space optical links for aerial–satellite networks. His research is underpinned by the development of advanced experimental platforms and testbeds, with the aim of establishing optical wireless communication as a scalable and integral component of future 6G and beyond wireless ecosystems.

His work has been published in leading IEEE and Optica journals, and he is actively engaged in the international research community as a reviewer and collaborator.

• Optical Wireless Communication (OWC)
• Light Fidelity (LiFi)
• Free-Space Optics (FSO)
• Optical Camera Communication (OCC) 
• Indoor Localisation

• PI, EPSRC, “Integrated Sensing, Localisation, and Communication for 6G based on AI‐Assisted Optical Camera Communication (6GISLOC)”, Grant No. G127394 (32854) within the TITAN telecom research hub extension, 2024 ‐ 2025, £276k.

• PI, EPSRC Marie Skłodowska‐Curie Actions, “Free‐space Optical Communications for 6G Aerial‐sateLlite networks”, Grant No. EP/Z536416/1, 2024‐2028, £260k.

• Co-I, EPSRC, “Fibre Optic Biosensor Platform for Rapid Test of Antimicrobial Resistance”, Sep 2025 - Sep 2027, £273k.

• Co-I, Royal Society, “International collaboration towards dual-functional photoreceiver enabling simultaneously lightwave information and power transfer”, Grant ref: IES/R1/251127, Sep 2025 ‐ Aug 2027, £12k.

• Co-I, Royal Society, “Optical fibre biosensor‐embedded smart textile with ultrahigh sensitivity and wearability”, Grant ref: IES/R1/251247, Sep 2025 ‐ Aug 2027, £12k.

• PI, University Internal Funding, “Pioneering Optical Wireless Communication for 6G and Next‐Gen WiFi through a Multidiscipline Research Network”, Jan 2024 ‐ Jun 2024, £10k.

• Co-I, Innovate UK – Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT) Northumbria University ‐ Integrated System Technologies 1586‐AKT, “Feasibility study of multi‐gigabit LiFi”, Mar 2024 – Jun 2024, £41k.

• VLSI Design (UESTC4007)