Caroline RizzaAssociate Professor

My work focuses on the digital skills of actors in particular situations, more specifically on their appropriation of digital tools to cope with these situations and on the associated ethical, legal and social issues: how citizen initiatives or actions, fostered by digital technologies, change the relationships between public, private and citizen actors, and what attention should be paid to them.

My thesis (2005) focused on the digital divide (DEA) and the skills of university actors (teachers, students) in digital matters. I was successively ATER and research engineer in the Pedagogical Innovation Unit of the University Aix-Marseille 2 (2001-2005).

From 2008 to 2010, I contributed to the « New Millennium Learners » project at the CERI (Centre for Educational Research and Innovation) of the OECD: I was in charge of the « ICT and initial teacher training » and « Digital strategies of higher education institutions » (study co-financed by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations). The aim was to study the public policies of OECD member countries in order to draft recommendations on both areas.

From March 2010 to December 2013, I was a visiting researcher at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (Ispra, Italy) where I conducted a research project on « Ethics of Social Networks » which addressed the following three aspects: 1) the use of social networks by teenagers and the phenomenon of online harassment, 2) the unanticipated consequences for public actors of the use of social networks in crisis management, 3) issues of user privacy. Since then, my research focuses on the ethical, legal and social issues raised by emerging technologies in specific situations such as interpersonal relationships, crisis situations, the design of digital tools (e.g. ‘privacy/ethics-by-design’; ‘responsible research and innovation’) for audiences with specific needs (e.g. teenagers; seniors; victims etc.).

Upon my return to Telecom Paris (since 2014), I jointly led two lines of research on 1) Responsible Innovation and the Internet of Things and 2) Social Networks in crisis management (see « projects » section).

I am currently coordinator of the ANR MACIV project « Management of citizens and volunteers: social media in crisis situation » (2018-2021) and attached to the Euridice research team on risks, crisis and major event management mechanisms carried by the LATTS.This project is the culmination of two years of work with academic partners (LATTS, Mines d’Albi-Carmaux), public partners (Paris Prefecture, Ministry of the Interior, Var Fire Brigade – SDIS 83), associations (international volunteers in virtual operational support – VISOV) and private partners (Atrisc, Numérique et digital citizen).Upstream of this project, I coordinated and led the CNRS Thematic School (May 2017) « Social networks and crisis management«  held at Telecom Paris in May 2017.

Among my other scientific commitments

– Member and Vice-President of the International Association ISCRAM – Information System for Crisis Response and Management

– Editorial Secretary of the Revue Distances et Médiations des Savoirs since 2013 – a qualifying journal.

– Member of the « ICT and Responsible Innovation » working group of the Observatoire sur l’Innovation Responsable de l’Ecole des Mines ParisTech,

– Member of the working group « Social networks and risks » of the French association for the prevention of natural disasters.

– Member of the Values and Personal Information Policy Chair (2014-2016).