Cara Wilson

Dr Cara Wilson is a Lecturer in Children and Technology at the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Education, Community and Society. Her work focuses on inclusive technology design for children, particularly neurodiverse populations, using participatory methods to amplify marginalized voices. She leads the Children and Technology Group and co-developed the Co-Design Stories Toolkit for collaborative workshops. Her research bridges Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) with education equity, addressing issues like digital literacy, AI ethics, and fair data processing.

Key projects include the UKRI-funded 'Grasping Data' initiative empowering children's understanding of personal data and 'AI Futures for Scottish Education' exploring ethical AI integration in schools. She also investigates care ecologies in HCI and co-created MyWord, a tool for minimally-verbal autistic children. Her innovation recognized by a Staff Recognition Award with Dr Arlene Casey highlights her impactful interdisciplinary work.

• Research Themes: Child-centered AI, participatory design, neurodiversity inclusion, data ethics
• Grants: £32.4m UKRI grant (2025), multiple interdisciplinary research projects
• Key Contributions: Over 20 peer-reviewed articles (2017-2025), toolkit development, international collaboration

Her work emphasizes co-creation across cultures and age groups, from rural Colombian schools to Scottish educational systems, ensuring technologies reflect diverse human experiences.