![Dr Ola Michalec](https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/289856939/imageprofile.png)
Dr Ola Michalec
BSc
Expertise
Dr Ola Michalec is a social scientist interested in policies and politics of digital innovation and climate change. Currently, she explores 'the making of' cyber security regulations across water and energy sectors.
Current positions
Research Fellow
School of Computer Science
Contact
Press and media
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Biography
I am a social scientist interested in the 'making of' digital technologies and policies. In addition, I research and practice interdisciplinary and collaborative inquiry as a way to address societal challenges.
My academic journey started with pursuing a BSc in Geography and Geology, where I gained an appreciation for nature and understood the urgency of environmental issues. This led me to embarking on a PhD programme where I explored the notions of sustainability expertise in climate policy design. I was curious to find out how sustainability practitioners work together across sectors and what "works" for them when it comes to policy design. These epistemological questions naturally led me to a field called Science and Technology Studies (STS).
Before joining Bristol, I worked on two STS projects analysing and evaluating inter- and transdisciplinary projects in robotics and sustainability. While cross-faculty collaborations are the norm in contemporary academia, for early-career researchers, they are still often a risky endeavour. What can universities and funders to do build capabilities and networks for collaborative research?
Encouraged by the possibilities (if not challenges) of interisciplinarity, I joined the University of Bristol (Cyber Security Research Group) where I've worked on the three projects exploring social scientific understandings of technical expertise during the implementation of cyber security regulations. This is an exciting area, which brings together engineers, IT experts, lawyers, regulators and sector-specific expertise. As cyber security regulations I research pertain to the critical infrastructures, I am mainly interested in sectors like water, energy or transport.
In addition, I continue my service at the environmental science-policy interface as a member of Bristol's Advisory Committee on Climate Change where I lead a policy working group.
Research interests
cyber security, critical infrastructures, privacy, energy, water, transport, sustainability, policy, digital innovation, expertise,
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
EDIT: Energy & Democracy In digital Twins
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Department of Computer ScienceDates
01/10/2023 to 30/09/2024
EDIT: Energy & Democracy In digital Twins
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Department of Computer ScienceDates
01/10/2023 to 30/09/2024
EDIT: Energy & Democracy In digital Twins
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Computer ScienceDates
01/10/2023 to 30/09/2024
Against digital fatalism: Resisting technology hype through hopeful artful interventions with immersive futures
Role
Co-Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Sociology, Politics and International StudiesDates
10/07/2023 to 31/07/2024
InterNET ZERO: Towards Resource Responsible Trustworthy Autonomous Systems
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Department of Computer ScienceDates
01/04/2023 to 30/06/2024
Publications
Recent publications
04/10/2023Co-creating a Transdisciplinary Map of Technology-mediated Harms, Risks and Vulnerabilities
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Who will keep the lights on? Expertise and inclusion in cyber security visions of future energy systems
Energy Research and Social Science
Home alone?
Home alone?