
Dr Ola Michalec
BSc
Expertise
Dr Ola Michalec is a social scientist interested in the politics and policies of digital innovations. How do diverse experts collaborate to maintain safety of critical infrastructures? How do innovators pitch their novel ideas?
Current positions
Contact
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Biography
I am a qualitative social scientist interested in the 'making of' digital technologies, especially in the domains of energy and cyber security.
Current research areas:
- Public engagement with cyber resilience of the energy grids;
- Cyber security: critical infrastructure regulation, innovation policy;
- Energy digitalisation: digital twins, data sharing, cyber security, see https://energyfutures.co.uk/
- the role of collaborations for innovation and maintenance of critical infrastructures;
- Hype studies group https://hypestudies.org/
I'm a Lecturer at the Bristol Digital Futures Institute (joint appointment with UOB Business School). I'm also affiliated with Bristol Cyber Security Group and I sit on the Advisory Board of the Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security.
In terms of disciplines, I am primarly engaged with the following communities: Science and Technology Studies, Human Geography, sociotechnical research on cyber security, innovation studies.
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
Dates
01/10/2023 to 30/09/2024
EDIT: Energy & Democracy In digital Twins
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Dates
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
Dates
01/04/2023 to 30/06/2024
Publications
Recent publications
01/06/2025Models vs infrastructures? On the role of digital twins’ hype in anticipating the governance of the UK energy industry
Environmental Science and Policy
Home alone?
Privacy Technologies and Policy - 11th Annual Privacy Forum, APF 2023, Proceedings
Against Digital Fatalism
Against Digital Fatalism - booklet
Electric feels
Geo: Geography and Environment
Teaching
My current appointment is primarily focused on research responsibilities, though I have some limited capacity to teach.
I welcome PhD proposals and I encourage prospective students keep in mind the details of application process for the following opportunities:
- https://www.bristol.ac.uk/cdt/cyber-security/ Cyber security funding
- https://www.bristol.ac.uk/business-school/phd-programmes/phd-funding/ Business School funding
- https://www.swdtp.ac.uk/ South West Doctoral Training Partnership
I can supervise excellent proposals with a strong element of qualitative social science (sociology, science and technology studies, innovation studies, human geography) and relevance to cyber security, privacy, energy or computing more broadly.
Bear in mind the following:
- I don't oversee recruitment processes, so I can't advise you on your eligibility.
- I cannot be a lead supervisor - you need to identify someone more senior to do that.
- I can only supervise you if our interest and expertise align.
- lecturers get tonnes of identical AI-generated proposals these days, mostly mass-sent without care for a match between student-supervisor. I suggest you do not follow this approach.