Bio
After graduating from the University of Sussex in 2010 with a BA in Film Studies I spent five years working in the digital media and IT industries, first as a freelance computer animator, then as a production assistant and administrator at the award-winning digital media agency Cogapp, and finally as a technical operations analyst for the digital publishing partner Semantico.
Through my interest in programming and electronics I joined my local makerspace, Build Brighton, in 2011, and shortly afterwards became a trustee. Over the next three years I organised workshops and public engagement events for Build Brighton, worked as a producer for the annual Brighton Mini Maker Faire, and visited other makerspaces and Maker Faires all over the UK.
Almost everywhere I went in the tech industry and maker community there was a noticeable lack of other women and femme people. I became interested in investigating ways to support women’s engagement with technology, and in 2015 I left my job to start a combined Masters and PhD programme at University College London. In 2016 I gained my MSc with Distinction in Science, Technology and Society, and I am currently conducting PhD research looking at how some makerspaces have been successful at building a gender diverse membership base.
Alongside my postgraduate studies I have taught undergraduate seminars in Science & Technology Studies at UCL, presented at various hacker and maker conferences, and contributed to successful large-scale research grant applications.
Education
PhD Science & Technology Studies, University College London, 2023 (predicted). Thesis title: Gender, Technology, and Makerspaces. Supervisors: Dr Emily Dawson & Dr Carina Fearnley.
MSc Science, Technology & Society (Distinction), University College London, 2016. Dissertation title: Who’s in and who’s out: The state of the field of the UK maker movement.
BA (Hons) Film Studies (First Class), University of Sussex, 2010.
Research Experience
Research Assistant, Institute of Education, University College London, May 2017 – September 2017.
-
Contributed to the successful funding application for the multi-year Making Spaces research project funded by the Lloyds Register Foundation. Project lead: Professor Louise Archer.
Teaching Experience
Postgraduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Science & Technology Studies, University College London, Autumn 2017.
- 1st year module – Science Communication & Engagement
- 2nd year module – Human Sciences in Society
Talks & Presentations
Feminist perspectives. 35th Chaos Communication Congress, Leipzig, Germany, 27-30 December 2018.
Building inclusive makerspaces. Electromagnetic Field, Eastnor, England, 31 August-2 September 2018.
Women and femmes, technology, and makerspaces. Science Policy Research Unit PhD Forum, Brighton, England, 17-18 May 2018.
Publications
O’Sullivan, E. (2018). Excellence in the maker movement. Journal of Peer Production, 12.
Awards & Scholarships
MSc STS Dissertation Prize, University College London, 2016.
ESRC 1+3 Studentship, Economic and Social Research Council, 2015.
BA Film Studies Dissertation Prize, University of Sussex, 2010.
Workshops & Events
Workshop moderator, “Building Inclusive Makerspaces”, Electromagnetic Field, 2018.
Exhibitor, Art:Work, Tate Exchange @ Tate Modern, 2017.
Organiser, Machine Ghosts (tech psychogeography tour), Haunted Random Forest Festival, 2017.
Producer, Brighton Mini Maker Faire, 2012-2015.
Organiser, Young Rewired State (coding summer school), 2012-2014.
Workshop facilitator, soldering and electronics workshop, Brighton Science Festival, 2013.