ORBIT, an important joint venture between Oxford and De Montfort Universities promulgating responsible research and innovation in ICT, launched at the House of Lords on Tuesday 30 January.
Led by Professors Marina Jirotka of Oxford University and Bernd Stahl of De Montfort, ORBIT (the Observatory for Responsible Research and Innovation in ICT) will be working to ensure that ICT research is sustainable, desirable and socially responsible. ORBIT provides services to the research and innovation communities in both academia and industry. It supports projects and individuals with workshops, seminars, webinars and training courses in research departments and their support networks. ORBIT also consults on individual research proposals and can provide tailored training in responsible research and innovation principles according to the nature of the proposal.
At the launch, Professor Stahl commented, “Our vision is for ORBIT to provide the tools that will enable us to manage the way new technologies are introduced into society. If large amounts of resources are made available for research and innovation, then society has a legitimate right to be informed and involved.”
Professor Jirotka agreed, adding, “Researchers, funders, companies and others involved in research and innovation in ICT have a duty to consider how their work meets society’s needs.”
Alongside its suite of services, ORBIT will form the hub of an online community of interested scholars. These voices will contribute to the newly launched ORBIT journal, an open access portal for discussion and dissemination of the role of ICT in modern society