Welcome to our new Professor of Law and Technology

Welcome Nnenna, can you tell us about your career journey to date and what attracted you to the Leeds Law School?

I was particularly motivated to join the Leeds Law School because of the distinct academic trajectory of the School, and the sense of ambition of the headship of the School. The Dean of the Leeds Law School has been influential in the enhancement of contemporary Legal Education in the United Kingdom. I was certain that these considerations will complement my career objectives, especially, my interests in contextualising emerging technologies in legal pedagogy.

Being at the Leeds Law School since November has been very exciting. Colleagues here are determined, student-focused and very collegial. I am enthusiastic about the potential to work with colleagues in developing a law and technology portfolio for the School.

My career journey has been quite an interesting one. I have taught law in diverse jurisdictions. My teaching and academic interests relate primarily to the intersection of law and technology, especially, the governance of digital technologies, human rights and technology, and rule of law in cyberspace. I am also a non-residential Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University and an Associate Fellow of the Africa Programme at Chatham House, United Kingdom.

I have held other teaching positions in the UK before joining the Leeds Law School. I was a Professor of Technology Law at the University of Bradford School of Law, an Associate Professor of Law and Head of Law at Buckinghamshire New University and a Senior Lecturer of Law and Technology at Swansea University.

I have also been keen on promoting policy development for the governance of digital technologies. I was a member of the International Law Association Steering Committee on Digital Challenges for International Law which delivered a White Paper on Digital Challenges for International Law. I serve as the Chair of the Cybercrime Working Group of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE). I am also a member of the Research Committee of the GFCE.

In 2019, I was appointed as the Vice-Chairperson of the African Union Cyber Security Experts Group (AUCSEG), and I have been involved in advising the African Union Commission (AUC) and African Member States on international, regional, and national legal frameworks related to the promotion of cybersecurity. I also serve as a delegate to the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee to ‘Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes’. The AHC is developing the UN Cybercrime Convention.

Part of my career objective has been pinned on delivering research projects with external organisations. I have delivered a commissioned stakeholder mapping project on ‘digital financial security’ on the CyberFI Project of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. I was a Consultant for the Chatham House Africa and Asia-Pacific Programme on Digital Cooperation – 2021/2022. I’ve also served as a consultant for various cybersecurity projects of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. (UNECA).

I believe this approach of collaboration has been influential to my career development and the resulting impact. For example, in April 2022, I was nominated by the Commonwealth Secretary General to join an Election Assessment Mission for the Kenyan General Elections to undertake an election technology/cybersecurity assessment of the Kenyan 2022 General Elections. I was also a Mentor for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) - the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ‘Women in Cybersecurity Mentorship Programme’ 2022.

I am looking forward to taking advantage of these external engagements and networks to contribute to the ambitions of the Leeds Law School. Another attraction to the Leeds Law School for me, was the knowledge that the Leeds Law School is focused on developing relationships with law firms. Leeds has a growing suite of law firms interested in Legal Tech and the Leeds Law Society recently launched a ‘LegalTech in Leeds’ initiative. I am hopeful that the existing relationships will provide an opportunity to advance a collaborative LegalTech portfolio for the Law School.

I also prioritise student experience and conducive learning environments, and so the Law School’s contemporary style lecture theatres and reading rooms, and the innovative mooting and law clinic facilities utterly captivated me.

Tell us about one of your current research projects and how this opportunity came about?

I am currently researching the implications of the design and deployment of digital technologies and racial (in)equality. This research interest is based on my role as a non-residential fellow of technology and human rights at the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University.

I recently submitted a research paper, 'Technology Dependence & Racial Inequality: Theorizing “Design Thinking” on Human Rights’, which has been published on the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy Discussion Paper Series - Issue 2023-04. In the paper, I discuss the relationship between technology dependence and racial discrimination, and the need for implying human right standards in 'design thinking' for digital technologies.

I am now furthering that research and looking at the dynamics of global-racial inequality in the context of international cooperation for Tech-Security. I also have a forthcoming co-edited book project on women and cyber rights in Africa. The research contributions generally explore gender inequalities in the cyber domain and the much-needed policy improvements for the African region. It has taken almost two years, but I am excited about the progress achieved on the project.

What are your research ambitions for the next few years?

My research will continue to centre on the governance of digital technologies. Research in this area is increasingly underpinning emergent legal debates and has immense scholarly significance. I am particularly focused on contributing to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) portfolio of the Leeds Law School.

I would like to promote multi-disciplinary research collaborations in the school, as well as enhance international research activities through wider engagement with policymakers, international organisations, and external institutions.

I am also interested in working with colleagues in the School of Law to establish a research cluster on law and technology, as well as to develop research informed teaching content that is based on specialist law and technology related subjects.

What has been your career highlight to date?

There are some ‘recent’ events which stand out for me. Earlier this year, I was invited to Chair the cybercrime working group of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE). The GFCE is a multi-stakeholder community of over 200 Members and Partners including governments, international organisations, companies, and academics from all regions of the world. Chairing the Working Group has opened more opportunities for collaboration on cyber governance, including speaking at the INTERPOL Global Cybercrime Conference (IGCC) 2023 in October 2023.

I also chaired the annual meeting of the GFCE Working Group C at the recently concluded Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building in November 2023. Another highlight was being nominated to address the Third substantive session of the Open-Ended Working Group on ICTs (OEWG) in July 2022 on the invitation of the Chair of the OEWG to the African Union.

A key highlight for me was speaking on ‘Human rights and the rule of law in cyberspace’ on a panel alongside the former President of the European Court of Human Rights- Justice Robert Spano, at the Council of Europe Cybercrime Conference in November 2021. These events stand out for me because it means that your work as an academic is being noticed by policy makers which will in turn be potentially impactful for policy enhancement.

When did you first decide that you wanted to work in the legal profession? And how did your interest in the legal aspects of digital technology and cybercrime begin?

I have always wanted to be in the legal profession. I remember telling my teacher in year 5 of primary school that I will want to become a lawyer. At that time, I loved participating in school debates. My interest in the law and governance of digital technologies began when I worked as a research assistant with the Anglophone Africa Office of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court in 2007. I was intrigued at the impact I could make in human rights research using ICTs.

At that time, I was certain that technology will become an influential discourse in the promotion and protection of human rights. That experience motivated my decision to apply to study the LLM International Information Technology Law which I finished with a distinction. The programme I studied offered a module on international human rights law and for my thesis, I argued that access to ICTs should be a derivative of the international human rights framework.

I have not looked back since then in pursuing my career interests related to the governance of digital technologies.

Can you tell us something about yourself that we may now know?

I have two children (twins) who mean the entire world to me.