Research Associate LUSTRE University

Date: 11 August 2022

Location: Loughborough

Type: Part-Time

The School of Social Sciences and Humanities is seeking to appoint a Research Associate to work with Dr. Lise Jaillant, Senior Lecturer in Digital Humanities, on a project that engages with policymakers to improve the preservation, access, and usability of born-digital archives.

This project,
Unlocking our Digital Past with Artificial Intelligence (LUSTRE), is funded by the AHRC Follow On scheme. Project partners include the Cabinet Office, The National Archives, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), Archives and Records Association (ARA), Science Museum Group, and an industry partner. LUSTRE builds on a 2021 project funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund, administered at Loughborough through the Enterprise Committee ().

The UK Government’s National Data Strategy (2020) emphasizes the importance of policymakers learning from experience and of external users being able to hold government to account. The increasing volume of born-digital documents and emails presents new challenges for government in preserving collective memory, including issues of preservation, storage, access, privacy, and data protection.

The successful candidate will work closely with Dr. Jaillant to deliver the project, aiming to engage policymakers, facilitate evidence-based discussions, and connect policymakers with scholars and archivists.

Applicants should have postgraduate training and a background in social sciences or humanities. Experience in qualitative data collection and analysis, excellent communication skills, and competence in IT and digital media are essential.

For informal enquiries, please email Dr. Lise Jaillant at