Rebecca Wage

Rebecca Wadge

MSc Migration Studies (2011), now a Digital Government Advisor

As a Digital Government Advisor for Socrata (a cloud-based software as a service company), I partner with governments to democratize their data to improve society. I work with local, county, and state governments to design programs that make data accessible, understandable, and meaningful to everyone, regardless of their data literacy level. Access to data is important because it helps governments increase efficiency, helps citizens keep governments accountable, and directly stimulates innovation in the economy. For example, here is Oxfordshire's data platform: https://www2.oxopendata.uk/

My time with the Migration Studies Program at Oxford was transformational for all the reasons I had hoped it would be. Diversity is at the core of this program, from the faculty disciplines, to the student body, the curriculum and the research methods. The advantage of Migration Studies is that it draws upon all kinds of knowledge to tease out some of society's most timely questions. The colleagues in my cohort were collaborative, supportive, and willing to share our variety of strengths. Exposure to the diversity of disciplines prepared me for my current role, now that I am partnering with traditionally siloed governmental organizations such as Police, Public Health, and Transportation to use data to solve problems. 

 

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