Nuri Kwon is a Senior Research Associate on the Reimagining Research Practices: Towards a Sustainable, Ethical, and Inclusive Future project. The project is a two-year initiative funded by the Wellcome Trust, bringing together various departments and services within Lancaster University, including LICA, the Library, LEC, Psychology, and Research Services. She focuses on inclusive and community-based research practices of researchers at Lancaster University, especially working with marginalised communities. By examining these practices, the project aims to enhance institutional policies and foster a more inclusive research culture. Previously, she worked on the InterNet Zero project. Her research employs speculative design approaches to envision sustainable and trustworthy futures for autonomous systems, including AI.

In 2024, she completed her doctorate in design at ImaginationLancaster, with a thesis titled Understanding Near-Future Technology: An Exploration of Participatory Speculative Design for Policymaking in Shaping Connected Places. In her doctoral research, she explored the participatory speculative design (PSD) approach, which combines speculative design and participatory design. This research aimed to envision multiple futures of ‘digitally’ connected places with community members and provoke meaningful discussions to support policymakers.

Before her PhD, she worked as a marketing and technology analyst in a technology transfer office (TTO) at Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD) in Chile. Her role involved reviewing new technologies invented by the University researchers, analysing potential markets, and developing strategies to protect their intellectual property rights. However, she observed that there is often a lack of consideration or examinations for people who might be influenced mainly by the technologies. This observation in the TTO led to the journey of PhD questioning: What about the involvement of ‘people’ in this process right from the inception of technology invention or even before?