Kirsty Ross

Dr Kirsty Ross is a microbiologist by training and has extensive experience working across three of Scotland’s Higher Education Institutions (St Andrews, Strathclyde, and Edinburgh) in the field of public engagement with research. Equity has always been a key driver in her approach to engagement. She is currently the Industrial Liaison for the School of Computer Science at the University of St Andrews.

Her engagement strategy focuses on industrial and third sector organisations, as well as under-represented groups and audiences with low STEM capital, who would otherwise be overlooked, such as Early Years settings and young people with additional support needs. She was awarded a Strathclyde Medal in 2019 for her innovative and impactful approaches to public engagement in schools and prisons via the “Cell Block Science” project, which also received a Herald Higher Education Award in 2019 for Collaboration, as well as a Strathclyde Team Medal in 2022 for the “Quilts 4 Cancer” engagement project.

In 2021, Kirsty (along with other colleagues in CS) co-founded the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in Open Knowledge Network (IDEA Network for short) that aims to make knowledge production inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible to all people, regardless of their background, location, or culture, by engaging research institutions in high-impact open knowledge projects that bring researchers closer to communities and encourage collaboration. Kirsty received the Up-and-Coming Wikimedian of the Year award for this work in 2022. This has led to several research projects that address knowledge gaps in the Wikimedia projects, as well as understanding the impact on individuals who get involved in such projects. If you are interested in digital research and open knowledge, please do get in touch!