Dorothea Kleine

Professor Dorothea Kleine is a leading academic at the University of Sheffield, serving as Professor of Human Geography and Director of the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD). She leads IGSD’s Research Theme on Data and Digital Innovation and combines theoretical work with empirical research across Latin America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

• PhD, London School of Economics and Political Science
• Education: University of Munich (LMU/TUM), University of Oxford

Her research focuses on sustainable human development, global justice, and digital technologies, particularly from marginalized perspectives. She is renowned for her capabilities approach framework in digital development (MIT Press). Current projects include:

• IDRC Ge-JuSTA (2022-2025): Gender Justice in STEM Research in Africa
• UKRI Livelihoods for Refugees (2022-2023): Co-designing open innovation spaces with Syrian refugees in Jordan
• UN-DESA (2022-2023): Conceptualizing people-centered innovation
• EU AfriCultuReS (2017-2023): Earth Observation for Food Security in Africa
• Malala Fund (2022-2023): Digital Learning for Adolescent Girls
• Robert Bosch Foundation (2022-2023): Digitalization for Sustainability

Her work bridges participatory action research with policy advice at UN and NGO levels, emphasizing gender, justice, and environmental sustainability. She has authored over 100 publications and supervised PhD students on topics like e-agriculture, data science, and NGO-isation in development.