Working with cultural industries

We work closely with partners across the cultural industries, from film and television to music and museums. We bring together academic expertise and industry knowledge through collaborations with organisations including the BBC, Channel 4, UNESCO and the Science Museum. Through these collaborations our research has shaped professional practice, championed inclusivity, supported digital innovation, and strengthened relationships between academia and the cultural industries for generations to come.

To enquire how you or your organisation could work with us, get in touch with the School or feel free to explore our wider research themes and projects.

Research projects undertaken by the School include:

What’s On?: Rethinking Class in the Television Industry

The What’s On project, led by Professor Beth Johnson in partnership with the BBC, Channel 4 and Candour Productions, explores the impact of social class on contemporary television production, how class is represented on screen, and how audiences understand and respond to class on TV. The project has produced a policy brief and extended report, launched at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

AI-Imagined Space and Community-Led Redevelopment of Heritage Assets

The AI-imagined Spaces and Community-led Redevelopment of Heritage Assets project, led by Dr Chris Birchall and Professor Simon Popple in collaboration with UNESCO and the Science Museum, focuses on using Generative AI and immersive media to engage local communities in the co-design and redevelopment of heritage spaces and assets. By putting community voices at the centre of redevelopment, this fosters engagement and creates lasting societal impact by improving these spaces for generations to come. You can explore the website holding experimental prototype digital tools, resources and interfaces for exploring digital heritage, immersive experiences, storytelling, community building and support here.

Women, Ageing and Machine Learning on Screen

Led by Professor Joanne Garde-Hansen in collaboration with the BBC, the Women, Ageing and Machine Learning on Screen project develops a new machine learning application to analyse media texts at scale and reveal how ageing is represented on screen.