Velislava Hillman

Dr Velislava Hillman is a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics (LSE) and an associate lecturer at Goldsmiths University and Brunel University London. Her research focuses on the intersection of education technologies, digital rights, and children’s agency in digitized learning environments. She has held a prestigious fellowship at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Centre, investigating data privacy implications in K12 education. Currently, she leads the interdisciplinary EDDS project, auditing edtech tools entering classrooms, and advocates for robust regulatory frameworks to govern educational data practices. Her upcoming book with Bloomsbury Academic (2024) explores governance strategies for edtech and datafication in education.

Her research expertise includes educational data governance, digital media literacy, and the ethical integration of AI systems in schools. She emphasizes children’s right to self-expression amid increasing surveillance and data-driven decision-making. Collaborating with LSE’s Professor Nick Couldry, she addresses global challenges in edtech procurement and the neoliberal influences shaping educational technology markets.

Key projects include developing the Kratos system—a blockchain-based framework for educational data privacy—and analyzing corporate influence in career education through data extraction. She frequently publishes on topics such as algorithmic bias in education, data privacy literacy, and balancing labor market demands with pedagogical integrity. Her work bridges technological innovation with ethical, social, and structural considerations to ensure equitable education systems.