Oxford CCAI awarded PCER fellowship

we are pleased to share that Dr Isobel Voysey and Dr Vidminas Vizgirda have been awarded Oxford MPLS PCER fellowship to set up a Youth Advisor Group for researchers of the division.

The fellowship is to pilot a youth advisory group for AI and data science projects in MPLS. A youth advisory group is a group of young people who provide advice and input to research projects that impact young people or may impact them in the future. Youth advisory groups are one way to make sure young people’s voices are heard in the research process, which in turn ensures that research is relevant, responsible, and impactful. We anticipate the youth advisory group to include 12 to 15 teenagers aged between 13 and 18.

We want to do this because we believe that young people deserve a voice in the development of technology and research that affects them, and this is one way to support responsible research impact. The Youth Voice Playbook has collated research evidence that shows considering youth voices helps researchers transform their understanding of the issues they are studying, ask better questions, avoid misinterpreting data, get new ideas, and contribute to youth development.

The group will pilot a platform for MPLS researchers and young people to work together in the research process, creating opportunities for connectivity and inclusivity – key factors in the assessment of the “People, Culture and Environment” component in REF 2029. This will be relevant to all university staff, because current plans for REF 2029 include significantly increasing the weighting of the People, Culture and Environment component. It will also present an opportunity to investigate using youth advisory groups to support an Engagement and Impact case study.

In 12 months, the funding will enable the team to achieve the following:

• Engagement with a diverse group of teenagers as part of the advisory group
• Reaching teenagers across the country with information about the projects, with strategy guided by the advisory group, and facilitated and assessed by Comms
• Increased awareness, knowledge, and understanding of youth advisory groups as an approach in MPLS
• An expression of interest in continuing with/joining youth advisory group from teenagers and researchers
• The attendance of researchers from across themes and departments in MPLS at the final showcase

More will be shared from November after the formal launch of the fellowship! Please stay attuned.