Open lecture as part of a mentoring visit by Prof. Neil Selwyn, Monash University

26 05 2025

Please join us for an open lecture by Prof. Neil Selwyn (Monash University, Australia) entitled “Digital degrowth … the challenge of imagining new technologies for new times”, prepared as part of the mentoring visit under Action I.1.1/IV.1.1 “Mentoring Programme”.

There is a growing sense that the current excessive, exploitative and extractive forms of digital technology that have come to prominence in the global North need to be reimagined along radically different lines. In particular, this raises the need for digital technology that is more humane and sustainable, that strives to be genuinely nourishing, generative and empowering for all, as well as avoiding harmful impacts on the planet’s environment and ecosystems. Of course, putting these ideals into practice requires thinking about our digital futures along radically different lines – as now seen in emerging ideas of digital sufficiency, computing within limits, slow computing, de-computing and radically sustainable computing. In this talk, Neil Selwyn considers how such efforts might be brought together with the wider social movements now gaining momentum around ideas of degrowth and post-growth. What might a digital degrowth look like and what would be required to bring about sustainable, scaled-down and equitable future forms of digital technology? More importantly, how can these digital technologies be used to further degrowth ambitions of sustainable, scaled-down and equitable forms of living?

Professor Neil Selwyn is a Distinguished Professor in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Australia, and a leading international researcher in the field of digital education. His work critically explores the social, political and pedagogical implications of technology use in education. Over a 30-year academic career, he has authored or co-authored 18 books and over 300 scholarly publications, with his research translated into numerous languages. He is among the most cited Australian educational researchers, with an H-index of 97 and over 41,000 citations. Selwyn has led over 30 funded research projects, supported by institutions such as the ARC, UNESCO, Gates Foundation and Microsoft. He has advised global bodies including UNESCO, the OECD and the Council of Europe on the digitalisation of education. As former editor of *Learning, Media and Technology*, he has shaped critical debates in educational technology. He currently investigates the role of AI, datafication and digital automation in schools and universities. A sought-after keynote speaker, he regularly presents at conferences and advises policymakers across Europe, Asia and the Americas. He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and holds honorary appointments at Oxford and Lund University.

The lecture will take place in DELab, on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 at 15:30 in University of Warsaw Library, ul. Dobra 56/66.