Ms Alex Ricketts

My academic journey began at Royal Holloway, University of London with a BSc in Geography, and an MSc in Practising Sustainable Development. It was here that I first gained my passion for communities and development. I then left academia, and entered the private sector, working with not-for-profit organisations and SMEs to help them develop their online presence. It was during this time I started to become aware and work closely with practitioners within the digital divide sector within in the UK, and I started to complete small research projects. I wanted to develop my career in research, so I applied for a collaborative studentship funded by the ESRC. This enabled me to work on an academic research project, whilst still working with practitioners in the field. I have continued this theme into my research, through using a participatory action research approach, aiming to reduce the traditionally extractive nature of research, and embedding action and impact into the design of the project.

I am a student representative and Women’s Champion on the Student Forum for the White Rose DTP. During my time as the Women’s Champion I have worked closely with other members of the student forum to design and develop the successful 'Women in Academia' event. This was a large event hosted at the University of Sheffield in December 2019. The 'Women in Academia' project is now developing into a wider network across the seven partner Universities within the White Rose DTP.