Children and artificial intelligence is a timely workshop that brings together experts from academic disciplines such as sociology, psychology, computer science and linguistics, as well as leading figures from regulatory bodies, the charity sector, and child-focused agencies. The event aims to explore the future of online safety, and how to harness the opportunities of language-based AI for children while also ensuring that potential risks are minimised.

The workshop is convened by Giving Voice to Digital Democracies, a research project which is part of the Centre for the Humanities and Social Change, hosted at CRASSH, Cambridge, and organised by Shauna Concannon, Cambridge. It is funded by the Humanities and Social Change International Foundation.

Speakers

Gordon Harold – Professor of the Psychology of Education and Mental Health, University of Cambridge

Radhika Garg – Assistant Professor, Syracuse University

Katie Winkle – Postdoctoral Research Fellow, KTH Stockholm / Assistant Professor in Social Robotics, Uppsala University

Melanie Penagos – Independent Consultant and former Project Manager, AI for Children, UNICEF

Sachin Jogia –  Chief Technology Officer, OfCom

Dan Sexton – Chief Technology Officer, Internet Watch Foundation

Click here for the programme

Click here to register

The Nurture Network (eNurture) has one fundamental objective – to improve understanding of how the digital world affects children’s mental health and development through everyday family, school and peer relationship experiences. eNurture aims to achieve this objective by funding new and innovative collaborative research projects. We have supported 12 projects so far over the past two years. The aim of this webinar is to showcase some of these exciting projects and to launch our third and final funding call.

Researchers supported in our first funding call completed their projects in 2020 and will outline their key findings and outputs. Our most recent awardees will describe projects started in the past 6 months and progress made so far. We will also be launching our next funding call during the webinar so sign up for this great opportunity to hear about the projects we have funded previously and to find out what we will be looking for in the final call.

Click here for the Programme
Click here to watch recordings of the presentations

The eight UKRI-funded mental health research networks have funded numerous brilliant studies, asking the crucial questions that further our understanding of mental health and ill-health. One way to ensure the legacy of your research continues is to securely deposit your data to aid further research.

We'll be joined by Cristina Magder from the UK Data Service, who will talk you through the process, and answer any questions or concerns that you may have.

If you can, please attend the meeting. However, there will be a recording available on the Mental Elf YouTube channel for people who cannot make it on the day.

Is this for me?

If you have an eNurture grant (i.e. ESRC funding), contractually your data needs to be stored in this database once your research is completed.

This talk is also suitable for researchers coming to the end of their study and looking for a suitable place to deposit their data.

Attending this webinar will give you a chance to better understand the data depository process and ask any questions that you may have.

Click here to view a recording of the webinar.

Click here for the slides from the webinar

This event is aimed at introducing new research and innovations aimed at supporting young people’s mental health, with an impressive programme of speakers and contributors who seek to influence the nation’s approach to promoting mental health for children and adolescents.

Keynote: Professor John Wright - Director, Bradford Institute for Health Research
Born in Bradford: Can a research study make you happy?

Speakers include:

• Gordon Harold - University of Cambridge, Professor of the Psychology of Education and Mental Health, eNurture Director

• Anita Thapar - University of Cardiff, Professor, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences - Environmental risks and ADHD: An update on the evidence

• Susan McVie - University of Edinburgh, Professor of Quantitative Criminology, eNurture Co-Investigator - What happens when mental health concerns bring young people into contact with the law? The promise of trauma informed practice.

• Leon Feinstein - The University of Oxford , Director of the Rees Centre and Professor of Education and Children’s Social Care - Measuring the delivery of children’s rights to protection, care and development: Promoting improved understanding of mental health support for looked after children and children in care

• Department for Work and Pensions - Supporting parents to enhance children's mental health and longer-term outcomes: An example of innovation in UK Government Policy Development - The Reducing Parental Conflict Programme (RPC)

Watch the presentations from the event

This talk is part of the Cambridge Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Seminars series. It is open to both members of the University, external academics and members of the public.

The primary focus of this presentation by eNurture Director, Prof Gordon Harold, is to examine the relative role of genetic and family environmental influences on children’s emotional and behavioural development. Specifically, a complementary array of genetically sensitive and longitudinal research designs will be employed to examine the role of early environmental adversity (e.g. inter-parental conflict, negative parenting practices) relative to inherited factors in accounting for individual differences in children’s symptoms of psychopathology (e.g. depression, aggression, ADHD ). Examples of recent applications of this research to the development of evidence-based intervention programmes aimed at reducing psychopathology in the context of high-risk family settings will also be presented.

Register in advance for this seminar

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the seminar.

This event is organised by the UK Council for Internet Safety Evidence Group with eNurture and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Technology use has become the status quo. With its ubiquity and mobility, concerns have been raised about problematic technology use. This webinar will cover the issues today, including concerns raised in the context of problematic use and its impact on mental health. Speakers include internationally renowned academic and clinical experts in the area:

• Prof Sonia Livingstone, OBE (eNurture Deputy Director, LSE)

• Dr Bernadka Dubicka (Chair of Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Royal College of Psychiatrists)

• Jennifer Russell, (Chief Operating Officer, TalkLife)

• Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, OBE (National Centre for Behavioural Addiction)

• Prof Mark Griffiths (NTU)

• Prof Gordon Harold (eNurture Director, Cambridge University)

• Dr Richard Graham (Psychiatrist & Clinical Director, Good Thinking)

Click here to watch a recording of the webinar

Read Sonia Livingstone’s blog ‘To regulate against online harms, we must understand both mental health and the digital environment’

Are you an Early Career Researcher interested in mental health research?

Based on the priorities from a cross-network survey led by the Closing the Gap Network the Coordination Team for the 8 UKRI-funded Mental Health Research Networks have organised a free 2-part event series bringing together researchers from across the networks to provide proactive advice on applying to and securing mental health research funding, career development, and networking.

 We are defining Early Career Researchers very broadly to include graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

EVENT 1 – Getting mental health research funding as an ECR - Monday 30 November 2020, 1pm to 4:10pm

The first event focuses on funding. Hear from the perspective both of network funded ECRs and funders on what makes a successful application, have your funding questions addressed by a funding representative and take part in an exciting competition!

Want to sign up?

Follow this link to register:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcofu2srTkqGNP1wSuEkyPtqrCj6ljcpUjf

EVENT 2 – Networking and Career Development - Monday 7 December 2020, 1pm to 3:40pm

The second event focuses on networking and career development. You will have the chance to attend a series of “salon-style” breakout rooms where you will be able to ask all kinds of career and funding advice to senior researchers and PI’s with a variety of research interests and backgrounds.

Want to sign up?

Follow this link to register:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEude6tqD0uGtUWRIqVcntySyeb36vWqEUa

Although there is no requirement to attend both events as they will build on each other this is recommended if you can make it.

This is the second of two webinars on finding solutions to advancing developments in the digital world and its impact on the mental health of young people.  This webinar will focus on positive ways of supporting and advising children and young people who have experienced or are a risk of mental health difficulties as a result of engaging with the digital world. It will be of relevance to academic researchers and to practitioners and policy makers from a range of public, private and third sector organisations. The webinar will encourage dialogue, stimulate debate and highlight positive solutions to digital problems for children and young people. It will also provide an opportunity to find out more about eNurture Network funding opportunities.

Speakers include:

• Gillian Bridge (Resilience Training)

• Dr Aislinn Bergin and Dr Bethan Davies (University of Nottingham)

• Tony Stower (5Rights)

Click here to view the Programme

A recording of the webinar is available below. You may need to refresh the webpage before you can view the video.



This is the first of a series of two webinars on finding solutions to advancing developments in the digital world and its impact on the mental health of young people.  The first webinar will focus on digital based or enabled solutions to supporting and advising children and young people who have experienced or are a risk of mental health difficulties.  It will be of relevance to academic researchers and to practitioners and policy makers from a range of public, private and third sector organisations.  The webinar will encourage dialogue, stimulate debate and highlight positive digital solutions for children and young people.

Speakers include:

• Catherine McAllister (BBC Children’s & Education)

• Aaron Sefi (Kooth)

• Victoria Betton (Mindwave Ventures)
  

Click here to view the Programme

See below for a recording of the webinar. You may need to refresh the webpage before you can view the video.



eNurture Director, Gordon Harold, and Network Coordinator, Sui-Mee Chan will answer questions relating to our second funding round, which closes on 30 September. There is the option of sending us your questions/s in advance when you register. If you are unable to attend the webinar please email your questions to smmc4@cam.ac.uk

Click here to view a recording of the webinar

The purpose of the webinar is to begin a discussion about the key frameworks and approaches to mental health and schools that we may engage with. This is a postponed webinar (originally scheduled for 19 March) and it will take place in a completely changed context: one in which schools may be about to return or have returned and the mental health of the nation and its young people has been on top of the agenda. There is also a sense that this is a moment of choice and resetting. The webinar aims to explore the models of working that schools could adopt in order to become nurturing environments in a digital age.

The webinar will be chaired by Prof Colleen McLaughlin (University of Cambridge). Speakers include eNurture Director Gordon Harold, Tamsin Ford (Cambridge), Barbie Clarke (Family Kids &Youth) and Carol Holliday (Cambridge). There will also be a video presentation by students from Bottisham Village College.

A graphic recording artist will produce drawings of the webinar which will be uploaded onto the website.

Click here for the Programme

We are pleased to be able to share with you the recording of our webinar:

eNurture Director Prof Gordon Harold, Deputy Director Dr Elvira Perez Vallejos, and Network Coordinator Dr Sui-Mee Chan, provided an update on Network activities and future plans, including new information on our second funding call.

If you missed this webinar see below for a recording of it.

This school/youth engagement event is for pupils aged 8-18 and will involve young people from three partner schools, and members of our youth panel (up to age 25). The aim is to look at digital world influences on young people's mental health and development, and provide an opportunity for the children and young people to inform and shape the focus and research questions that eNurture looks to address.