Join this upcoming interdisciplinary symposium exploring how researchers safely and effectively study cybercrime, online safety, and digital manipulation in the digital age
Supported by the Research Culture and Community Grant and organised by Dr Mark Berry, the day features insights spanning psychology, AI, criminology, and media ethics.
The symposium is designed for academic staff, early career researchers, and postgraduate researchers working on digital harms, online safety, or cybersecurity who are seeking interdisciplinary collaborations. It is also highly relevant for sector practitioners and stakeholders, including those in policing, digital investigation, victim support, policy, education, and third-sector organisations.
Highlights Include
- NCA Keynote: Protecting Children from Online Harms – Robert Richardson and DCI Adam Smith on law enforcement challenges and the vital role of academic research.
- AI & Cyber Communities: Using AI/BERT models to analyse text corpuses from massive hacker forums (Prof. John McAlaney).
- Policy & Social Media: The absurdist cycle of “ban solutionism” regarding children and social media (Prof. Andy Phippen).
- Crypto & Fraud: Machine learning models for real-time fraud detection in crypto wallets (Dr Muntadher Sallal).
- Gaming & Gambling: Mixed-methods approaches to researching digital harms with neurodivergent youth (Dr Emily Arden-Close & Dr Constantina Panourgia).
- International Insights: A digital anthropology approach to countering child recruitment narratives on social media in Colombia (Juan Pablo Hernández).
Event Details
Wednesday 15 July 15, 9:30am-5pm
The Allsebrook Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus
Coffee, lunch, and dedicated Q&A networking blocks are included throughout the day.

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