Women in AI at Oxford

About the Project

Celebrating the women shaping the future of artificial intelligence at the University of Oxford.

The project

What this is

This project shines a spotlight on women researchers who are helping to shape the future of artificial intelligence (AI) at the University of Oxford. Each arrived at AI from a different direction, and each is using it to do something that wasn’t possible before.

Through a series of filmed interviews and written profiles, it explores the people behind the research, the questions driving their work, and the impact AI is having across a range of fields, from astrophysics and structural biology to quantum technologies and child safety.

Why it matters

The routes in are not what you might expect

AI is increasingly shaping how research is conducted, how decisions are made and how new technologies are developed. As it becomes more embedded in society, it matters who is shaping it, and that means a wide range of perspectives, experiences and expertise in the room.

Women remain underrepresented in many AI-related fields. The researchers featured here did not all set out to work in AI: some came through mathematics, others through medicine, others through a problem that needed solving and no existing method to solve it. By showcasing women working at the forefront of this research, the project aims to increase visibility and provide role models for students and early-career researchers who might not yet see themselves in the field.

Oxford has built the research and training infrastructure to make those crossings possible. For many of the researchers in this series, what drew them and keeps them is working shoulder to shoulder with colleagues from entirely different disciplines. Your background is your starting point, not your ceiling.

The films

The interview series

Nine researchers. Nine fields. Nine perspectives on AI.

Filmed across the University of Oxford, each interview offers a look at a researcher’s work, career journey and outlook on the future of AI. The series is designed to be watched in any order: every profile stands alone, and together they make the case that the future of AI will be shaped as much by collaboration across disciplines as by advances within any one field.

We hope it inspires the next generation of innovators and researchers to see themselves as part of that future.

Alison Noble
Health & AI Alison Noble
Ana Namburete
Medical Imaging & AI Ana Namburete
Charlotte Deane
Structural Biology & AI Charlotte Deane
Héloïse Stevance
Astrophysics & AI Héloïse Stevance
Jun Zhao
AI Ethics & Children Jun Zhao
Konstantina Vogiatzaki
Fluid Dynamics & AI Konstantina Vogiatzaki
Marina Jirotka
Human Centred Computing Marina Jirotka
Natalia Ares
Quantum & AI Natalia Ares
Noa Zilberman
Computing Infrastructure Noa Zilberman
Partners & funders

With thanks to

Women in AI at Oxford was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and delivered by the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division at the University of Oxford.

We are grateful to the researchers who generously shared their time, experiences, and expertise, and to the many colleagues and partners who helped bring this project to life.

Special thanks to:

  • Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
  • SeedWISE Programme
  • RisingWISE Programme
  • Professor Alison Noble, Academic Sponsor
  • The featured researchers and their departments
  • Angel Sharp Media Ltd
  • University of Oxford colleagues who supported filming, production and promotion

Video and behind the scenes photography provided by Angel Sharp Media Ltd. Additional images provided by NASA, William Beaucardet, the Oxford University Public Affairs Directorate.