Lily Sun

About

Lily Sun (孙丽君) is Director of the Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA) Accelerator Team (previously Outreach Team), where she oversees academic engagement in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore, while driving key accelerator programs, collaborations, and global research collaborative initiatives for MSR Asia. With over a decade of experience at MSRA, Lily has made significant contributions by building high-impact talent cultivation programs, accelerating research partnerships, and amplifying its research leadership and thought leadership across the region.

Lily and her team are responsible for crafting and executing strategies that attract, develop, and retain diverse, high-quality talent for MSR Asia. Their efforts include flagship programs such as the Stars of Tomorrow Internship, StarTrack Young Visiting Scholars Program, Joint PhD Program, StarLeap Program, StarBridge Program, and PhD forums. They also lead research acceleration across themes like the MSR Asia Theory Center, AI for Education, AI for Cultural Heritage, Societal AI, AI for Sustainability, and AI for Healthcare, promoting cross-disciplinary and cross-boundary innovation.

As a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Lily founded the Microsoft Ada Workshops in 2016, fostering collaboration between academia and industry to empower the next generation of female tech talent. She serves as an executive member of the Women Branch of the China Computer Federation and co-chair of the Women at Microsoft Greater China Region.

Lily holds an M.S. in Engineering and a B.S. in Science from Peking University.