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Arianna Schuler Scott

Administrative/Professional faculty
  • Senior Associate Director, Integrated Security Education and Research Center
2109 Pamplin
880 West Campus Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24061

Biography

Dr Arianna Schuler Scott has previously worked with clinical researchers (RUDY) to reduce attrition online, drawing from key concepts in Computer Science (Cybersecurity Analytics), data governance (Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technology) and responsible innovation (Human Centred Computing). Her ethos is that the burden of communication, to be clear and concise, lies with those who build technologies. Users should not need to be able to understand dense technical terms. Her work has been published in the Data Base for Advances in Information Systems, the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Advances in Information and Communication Technology, and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

Arianna has developed and led security work streams in 5G innovation testbeds for mountain rescue and smart factory use cases, and written security strategy for AI in a multi-national platform designed to create and test network applications. She now serves as part of the AI group committee for the Institute of Science & Technology.

A strong advocate for the use of hackathons, capture-the-flag (CTF) and policy competitions as methods to educate and develop professional skills, Arianna has taught traditional concept classes (networks and security) and created novel programs with a societal and ethics focus. She started the UK's first cyber-policy competition in collaboration with the Atlantic Council, and now serves the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative as Associate Director for Outreach, South West Virginia Node. Arianna also serves as an Expert Fellow for SPRITE+ and is keen to promote a realistic view of careers in technology; a work/life balance to avoid burnout, self-advocacy, and creating spaces where people feel that their input and experiences are valued. As an interdisciplinary researcher, Arianna believes that we all have something to learn from one another.

Academic Areas

Research: I am particularly interested in projects that involve collaboration across different disciplines. Topics: cyber security; security-by-design; security-by-default; interface design; data protection; privacy; security culture; the value of security work; the value of user engagement; trust; responsible innovation; pedagogy.

Education: I am interested in developing pedagogic approaches that equip learners with communication skills, operational understanding, and societal and environmental awareness. Topics: experiential learning; hackathons; capture-the-flag (CTF); case study; policy briefs; skills development; professional development; outreach.

Education

  • DPhil, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
  • BSc (Hons), Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom