Speaker Profiles

Professor Burke’s research expertise concerns the application of new digital technology to economic, environmental and social systems. She is currently a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge and an Emerita Professor at the University of Winchester, having served as Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange in the Faculty of Business, Law, and Digital Technologies. Beyond the UK, Professor Burke has held roles at various international universities, most recently as a Visiting Scholar at the Institut for Kommunikation at Københavns Universitet in Copenhagen. In 2023 she was honoured to receive the Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE) Accolade Award for her outstanding Contribution to the Field of Research. In Spring 2025, she has been invited to speak in the USA at New York University on UK AI approaches and regulations.

Maria has a well established research profile, evidenced by an extensive record in the fields of Systems / Business / Management which include peer reviewed publications; a successful track record in obtaining competitively funded research grants and an excellent track record in establishing collaboration in community, business and government contexts. She has a significant record of international publications and an excellent record of attracting external income from UK Research Councils and European Union Funds, winning international prizes for the research such as the B2B Best Internet Award and the EPSRC National Impact Prize.

Professor Burke is an experienced ‘Evaluator and Assessor’ for the EPSRC Research Council, with a career grant income exceeding £1.2 million. Currently, she is working on her latest book, "Russia, Poland and the UK: Searching for Everyday Information", which critiques the ways information is used and misused across different cultures.

Outside of academia, Maria enjoys music, cooking, and long walks on the South Downs—often regardless of the weather!