Benedetta Lacey appointed Visiting Professor in the Rights Lab

Benedetta Lacey, Deputy Director of International Strategy at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), has joined the Rights Lab as Visiting Professor of Innovation and Impact.

Building on her long history of international and human rights work, Ms. Lacey will collaborate with colleagues in the Rights Lab on knowledge exchange, focusing on how science and technology can change lives and society, and on human rights innovations that deliver social and economic benefits in supply chains and industries.

The Rights Lab is a University Beacon of Excellence, and the world’s largest and leading group of modern slavery researchers. With Ms. Lacey, the Lab will explore intersections between technology and human rights, work to identify and fill evidence gaps, and provide opportunities for mentoring.

Benedetta Lacey, Deputy Director of International Strategy at DSIT, said:

“It is an honour to accept this role in such a vital and meaningful area of research. The inspirational team at the Rights Lab are at the forefront of exploring how cutting-edge technology and other disciplines can be deployed to tackle trafficking and the complex international challenges that surround it.”

Benedetta is responsible for DSIT’s strategic approach to international engagement and she engages with partner governments and international organisations on shared interests in science and technology. She has been a diplomat, a human rights investigator and is a qualified barrister. She has worked across as sectors in government, the UN, and civil society, including as Special Adviser on Business and Human Rights at Amnesty International. Her interests and expertise span science and technology diplomacy, foreign and security policy, and business and human rights.

Professor Zoe Trodd, Rights Lab Director, said: “I am thrilled to welcome Benedetta to the Rights Lab. She has already inspired our researchers towards new work that can fill important evidence gaps, and we are very excited to collaborate with her on understanding and tackling the problem of forced labour through innovation. Benedetta is an incredible thought-leader, a champion of rigorous evidence, and a role-model for our community—we will learn so much from her expertise on how international coordination in science and technology can tackle intractable problems.”