Regina Sipos

My name is Dr. Regina Sipos, and I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Technical University of Munich. I wrote my PhD thesis (summa cum laude) at the Technical University of Berlin about grassroots innovation in the Global South, filling a gap in STS on bottom-up, self-directed innovation by communities, often developing pathways by circumventing top-down strategies of development. My interest in this topic stems from 7 years of work at the United Nations, where I gained valuable insights into the makings of global policy. I still act as an advisor for international development: last year, I wrote a report on Distributed Manufacturing for the FCDO UK and a report on Human-Centric Digital Transformation for the ITU. These reports combine rigorous literature reviews and case studies with hands-on recommendations for national and supranational entities. I believe such direct insights into early signals in policymaking could benefit the STS community. In essence, I bring together insights into high-level decision-making and the everyday practices of the public, and thus, could help increase the visibility of STS in both directions. In addition, with a deep interest in transdisciplinarity, critical thinking, grassroots design, participatory practices, and innovation, I hope to contribute to the Council with various new perspectives – without diluting the discipline that helped me develop my academic lens. I would be an engaged and reliable Council Member with experience in conference organization and community building. I also have an excellent track record of supporting students and young scholars with care and empathy.