With Dr Andrew Graham, Professor Richard Susskind OBE, Professor William H. Dutton, Professor Helen Margetts, Dr Victoria Nash and Dr Scott A. Hale
As part of the OII’s 25th Anniversary celebrations, Dr Andrew Graham, Prof Richard Susskind, OBE, Prof Bill Dutton, Prof Helen Margetts and Dr Vicki Nash join us to look back on the early days of the OII.
Chair
Dr Scott Hale, Director of the Oxford Internet Institute since January 2026. Scott’s connection to the OII goes back a long way; he joined in 2009 as part of the first MSc cohort, continued on to complete his DPhil in 2015, and has held a number of faculty roles at the OII since then, including setting up the Social Data Science programme.
Panellists
Dr Andrew Graham is the founder of the OII and former Master of Balliol College. He was the driving force in establishing the OII and was the Acting Director until July 2002. From 2001 to 2011 he was the founding Chairman of the Advisory Board.
Prof Richard Susskind, OBE, was a member of Balliol College’s Campaign Board in 1999 and introduced Dame Stephanie Shirely to Balliol, helping establish the relationship that later proved pivotal. Richard supported the founding of the OII and was a member of the OII advisory board from 2002-2022, also serving as Advisory Board chair.
Professor Bill Dutton, was the founding Director of the Oxford Internet Institute. He led the creation of the OII from the ground up, helping establish it as a pioneering multidisciplinary centre for the study of the internet and its impact on society. He was instrumental in shaping internet studies as an academic field, launched major international research initiatives, and developed influential ideas such as the “Fifth Estate” of network power. We’re also delighted that he continues to be involved with the OII today
Prof Helen Margetts joined the OII in 2004 as Professor of Society and the Internet. She served as director from 2011–2018, she has also been director of graduate studies and director of research. As Director, Helen oversaw a period of substantial growth in the department that expanded our disciplinary coverage and established the social data science programme. She also was instrumental in the forming of new partnerships (notably positioning the OII as the only founding social sciences department at The Alan Turing Institute).
Dr Vicki Nash joined the OII in 2002 and served as director from 2021-2025, having previously been deputy director and director of graduate studies. During her time as Director, Dr Vicki Nash strengthened the OII’s collaborative community, championed the Institute’s distinctive multidisciplinary approach to research, deepened engagement with policymakers and practitioners, created the Dieter Schwarz Foundation research programme, and regularized academic contracts helping mature us as an academic department.
Senior Fellow, Founder
Andrew Graham is the former Master of Balliol College, University of Oxford. He was the driving force in establishing the OII, and its Acting Director until July 2002. From 2001 to 2011 he was the founding Chairman of the OII's Advisory Board.
Visiting Professor
A pioneer in the field of information technology and law, Richard Susskind is a Technology Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. He is visiting Professor at the Oxford Internet Institute and Chairman of the Advisory Board.
Senior Fellow, Advisory Board Member
Bill Dutton was the OII’s Founding Director, a Fellow of Balliol College and the first Professor of Internet Studies at Oxford University.
Professor of Society and the Internet
Helen Margetts is Professor of Society and the Internet, a political scientist specialising in digital government and politics. She was Director of the OII from 2011-18. She is a Professorial Fellow of Mansfield College.
Senior Policy Fellow, Associate Professor
Associate Professor and Senior Policy Fellow. Her research focuses on the opportunities and risks experienced by children using digital technologies; she also leads OII engagement on Internet regulation and digital policy issues.
Director, Associate Professor, Senior Research Fellow
Dr Scott A. Hale is Director, Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow. He develops and applies computer science techniques to the social sciences focusing on increasing equitable access to quality information.