Olga Usachova

Olga Usachova is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture and Department of Language and Literature, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), affiliated with the Centre for Intelligent Electricity Distribution (CINELDI) where she researches electricity grid operators' roles in energy transitions and social dimensions of smart grid cybersecurity.

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Padua, Italy, focusing on socio-technical dynamics of digital technology in migrant inclusion

She has held visiting researcher positions at the Munich Center for Technology in Society (Technical University of Munich) and Center for Contemporary and Digital History (University of Luxembourg).

Dr. Usachova's research bridges Science and Technology Studies (STS), human-technology interaction, and digital transition, examining cybersecurity challenges in smart grids, digital migration governance, and refugee integration platforms. Her work critically analyzes how digital technologies reshape transnational migration, border regimes, and innovation sustainability while investigating user agency and maintenance practices in technological systems.

Analysis of her 2021-2024 publications reveals two converging research trajectories: one exploring digital solutions for refugee integration and gendered app experiences, and another dissecting cybersecurity culture within Norway's smart grid infrastructure. This dual focus demonstrates her interdisciplinary approach to understanding technology's societal impacts across migration and energy sectors.

As co-chair of the STS-MIGTEC scholarly network since 2022, she actively shapes STS discourse on migration technology. Her CINELDI project, funded by the Research Council of Norway, investigates grid operators' contributions to transformative innovation in energy transitions through ethnographic and discourse analysis methods.