Dr Bernadette Hyland-Wood
Faculty of Science,
School of Mathematical Sciences
Biography
Dr Bernadette Hyland-Wood is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Data Science, Queensland University of Technology, specialising in responsible data science and deploying generative AI technologies. She is a chief investigator in the QUT Digital Media Research Centre. Her research explores the adoption of rapidly emerging AI platforms by regulators and industry, focusing on data ethics and governance. She has led international initiatives on data exchange standards to support digital research and evidence-based policymaking. Dr. Hyland-Wood holds a PhD from The University of Queensland (2021), where her dissertation, Bridging the Open Data and Public Policy Gap, examined barriers and facilitators to government data sharing.A seasoned technology entrepreneur, she has founded multiple startups, including two that were acquired—one by a U.S. Fortune 100 company. Her work bridges academia, industry, and policy, emphasising applied research and research translation to ensure responsible AI and data-driven decision-making.
Her contributions include highly cited applied research on crisis communications (COVID-19), public trust, national data legislation, and the U.S. DATA Act. Her work has been published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications and Springer Nature and she has appeared on media outlets, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and Radio New Zealand.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Research Associate
Faculty of Science,
School of Mathematical Sciences
Keywords
communication & media studies, information systems, data ethics, data policy, open data, information geopolitics, knowledge representation, Māori information & knowledge management systems
Research field
Communication and media studies, Information systems, Policy and administration
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Policy and Governance (University of Queensland)
Professional memberships and associations
Experience
Bernadette founded several digital platform startups in Australia and the U.S. She oversaw the development of a pioneering standards-based scalable graph database and visualization platform. For two decades, she has been involved in Open Source Software (OSS) projects and data standards (W3C). In 1997, she is one of ten co-founders of Women in Technology (WiT), Australia’s largest professional networking organization supporting women in digital technologies and scientific research.
Publications
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Bernadette, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).