Dr Sarah Turner
Principal Investigator
Sarah is a Senior Postdoctoral Fellow at UCL Knowledge Lab and leads Project CAISE. Her research looks at how society engages with emerging digital technologies – particularly with children, families and schools – and how people understand and mitigate the harms those technologies can pose.
Her PhD, funded by the National Cyber Security Centre, examined how families understand and manage the cybersecurity of smart home technologies. Since then she has worked with universities and research organisations on a wide range of socio-technical questions: how schools manage data protection and cyber security, what agency means for children interacting with AI, how easily people can tell when their smart devices are under attack, and what it means to be a victim of ransomware.
A qualitative researcher, she loves talking to different groups of people about things they may not have considered before, and using interesting methods to shine a light on everyday experiences.
Youyue Sun
Policy analysis
Youyue supports the policy analysis that runs throughout Project CAISE. She is studying for a BA in Education, Society and Culture at UCL, with a particular interest in how AI is reshaping education and wider society – and in making sure learners of all ages, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can engage with AI ethically and critically.
Alongside her studies, Youyue is a placement student in the Strategy, Insight and Member Engagement Team at Universities UK, researching the use of AI in higher education. She is also a member of the Student Council at the Good Future Foundation, contributing to education and technology initiatives and events.
Supported by
Professor Mina Vasalou
Mentor
Mina Vasalou is Sarah’s mentor for the project. She has more than ten years’ experience working with emerging technologies for children, with a particular focus on AI, and has led major research projects with fieldwork in schools and homes – including the Horizon-funded iRead and the UKRI-funded DROPS and CHAI projects.
UCL Knowledge Lab
Our home
UCL Knowledge Lab is an interdisciplinary research centre in UCL’s Institute of Education, focused on how technology and society interact. It brings together researchers from education, computer science, design and the social sciences to investigate digital learning, educational technology and the social implications of new technologies.
Funded by the British Academy
Project CAISE is funded by a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship, which supports outstanding early career researchers across the humanities and social sciences with three years of funding for an independent research project. The Fellowship is funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).