Where is the Human in the Data?
Thu 6 Feb 2025 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
West Hub, CB3 0US
Description
Bridging STEM and AHSS Hearts & Minds
It’s true what they say: opposites attract. Join us for an event to explore the power of connecting the Arts and Humanities, and Social Sciences (AHSS), and STEM fields to create interdisciplinary collaborations and help create human-centred, innovative solutions.
The evening will feature two inspiring panel discussions, a briefing on interdisciplinary research funding, and a speed-dating networking activity. We hope the relaxed environment with food and drinks will spark creativity and encourage research that transcends disciplinary boundaries.
Programme
Panel Discussions (4-6pm)
Panel 1: What’s the value of AHSS in STEM?
This panel will examine the practicalities of and challenges for AHSS and STEM working together. Whether addressing socio-technical dilemmas, cultural complexities and the unintended consequences of technology development, from uncovering biases in algorithms to crafting ethical frameworks for AI: How can AHSS and STEM collaborate on ethical dilemmas, societal impacts, and cultural complexities through impactful research? Chair: Dr Valeria Ramirez.
- Professor Tim Minshall, Dr John C Taylor Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge, Head of the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) and Head of the IfM’s Centre for Technology Management (CTM) at Cambridge University
- Dr Agnieszka (Aga) Iwasiewicz-Wabnig, Director of the Maxwell Centre at Cambridge University
- Dr Matjaz Vidmar, Lecturer in Engineering Management andDeputy Director of the Institute for the Study of Science, Technology and Innovation (ISSTI) at the University of Edinburgh
- Professor Joanna Page, Professor of Latin American Studies and Director of the Centre of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) at Cambridge University
Funding for collaborative research: Briefing from Cambridge Research Office
Andrea Walker and Simeon Burke from the Cambridge Research Office will provide a brief overview of relevant funding opportunities for interdisciplinary projects.
Panel 2: What are the nuts and bolts of award-winning interdisciplinary projects?
This panel will spotlight real-world interdisciplinary collaborations, sharing inspiring examples of projects that have overcome translation challenges, broken boundaries, and delivered tangible societal benefits, while offering practical insights into building effective cross-disciplinary partnerships. Learn from successful collaborations in AHSS and STEM that have had real-world impacts by bridging disciplinary divides. Chair: Dr Maya Indira Ganesh.
- Dr Richard Milne, Deputy Director, Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science and the Public Head of Research and Dialogue at Wellcome Connecting.
- Professor Jennifer Schooling, Professor of Digital Innovation and Smart Places at Anglia Ruskin University
- Professor Jennifer Richards, Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the English Association, English (2001) Chair, and lead on the Leverhulme Trust-funded Bee-ing Human project at Cambridge University
- Dr Saheli Datta Burton, Lecturer and Responsible Research and Innovation Lead at UCL Science & Technology Studies
Academic speed dating (6-7pm)
Following the two panels and information from the Research Support Office about grants and funding for interdisciplinary projects, early career researchers (ECRs) and postdocs can join the speed-dating hour. By the end of the hour, we hope you’ll have met your academic ‘soulmate’ and have speed-written a proposal for a collaborative project. The best proposal will win afternoon tea at an exclusive Cambridge venue, so you can develop your ideas further and in style.
There will be time for networking drinks and nibbles after 7pm for those who want to continue the conversation informally.
How to participate
You can participate in 2 ways (both are free to attend but booking is required)
- Just join us for the panel discussions from 4-6pm. This is open to anyone interested in learning more about collaborative projects.
- Join us for both the panel discussions (4-6pm) and the speed dating event (6-7pm). This is geared towards ECRs, postdocs and people actively looking for new interdisciplinary collaborations.
Background
As our world becomes increasingly data-driven, the need for a more holistic, human-centred approach to innovation has never been greater. While STEM fields are reshaping our technological landscape, the insights and methodologies from AHSS are critical to ensure that these advancements are inclusive, ethical, and impactful. This event offers an opportunity to explore this synergy and to ask: Where is the human in the data?
AHSS and STEM fields can and do enrich each others’ research; however, these interactions are often overshadowed by methodological differences that hinder impactful outcomes. Furthermore, those fields create and value knowledge differently, leading to cross-disciplinary challenges and misunderstandings about each other’s pitfalls and contributions to society. A pristine example is AI developments, that may present considerable STEM ethical challenges while destabilising AHSS research practices. How can we bridge the divides that bind us and maintain our humanity in the process?
This event aims to prompt cross-disciplinary conversations in the spirit of bridging minds and hearts. First, invited speakers will address how AHSS and STEM can work together on ethical dilemmas, societal impacts, and cultural complexities through impactful research. Topics include addressing biases in AI or developing frameworks that mitigate unintended consequences. The second panel reveals the nuts and bolts of award-winning projects. Learn from successful collaborations in AHSS and STEM that have had real-world impacts by bridging disciplinary divides. Following the panels, early career researchers are invited to join the follow-on speed-dating hour to find their academic ‘soulmates’. The best match of the evening will win an afternoon tea at an exclusive Cambridge venue to develop ideas further in style.
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin (The Lathe of Heaven, 1971)
Convenors
Chair: Dr Valeria Ramirez
Co-chairs: Dr Maya Indira Ganesh, Dr Louise Elstow, Dr Joshua Fitzgerald
Organising committee members: Dr Daniela Boraschi, Dr Nino Läubli, Amaia Robertson Nogues, Isobel Colville
Sponsoring organisations: West Hub Cambridge (Small Grants Programme) - Cambridge and STS Network (SCaN)
Supporting organisations: Institute for Manufacturing, Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (ITH), Think Lab, Postdocs of Cambridge Society, ECR Assembly - CRASSH, Postdoc Academy, and the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public.
Location
West Hub, CB3 0US