Nai Lee Kalema

Nai Lee Kalema is a PhD candidate in Innovation and Public Policy at the University College London (UCL) Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (UCL IIPP), supervised by Prof. Rainer Kattel and Dr. Kate Roll. Her research examines the global political economy of digital transformation, focusing on AI governance, digital public infrastructure (DPI), and algorithmic governance in Kenya and Uganda.

• Harvard ALM in International Relations and Graduate Certificate in Social Justice
• BA from George Washington University
• Coursework at Howard University and Harvard Graduate School of Education

Her research intersects digital governance, data colonialism, and digital racial capitalism, with a focus on decolonial frameworks. Recent publications analyze the coloniality of digital policies, anti-politics machine narratives, and cybernetic democratic socialism. She is a member of the Tierra Común Network and ESRC Digital Good Network.

Current roles include Research Fellow at UCL IIPP and Fellow (Geopolitics) at the University of Amsterdam’s Critical Infrastructure Lab. She has taught digital transformation modules at UCL and global health courses at Harvard Medical School. Her work is funded by Vinnova and the UCL IIPP Policy Studio.