DHOXSS 2025 - Introduction to Digital Humanities

Elena Loreto Olmedo Pagés was awarded a bursary to attend the Introduction to Digital Humanities strand of the Digital Humanities Oxford Summer School in 2025.  To join the mailing list and learn about the next summer school sign up here. Read about Elena's experience at the summer school here:

I am a PhD student in Information and Documentation Sciences at the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain. I enrolled on the Introduction to Digital Humanities course at DHOxSS 2025 in its online format. My research focuses on the planning and developing virtual exhibitions that bring together the bibliographic and cultural heritage preserved by GLAM institutions (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums). These projects are conceived to be particularly accessible to people with hearing impairments in particular, though they also seek to engage a much wider audience. Consequently, artificial intelligence, digital modelling, and content creation tools have become integral to my daily academic work. I joined this course to extend my expertise by exploring new tools, techniques, and approaches for working with humanities data, thereby building on my prior knowledge and enhancing the impact and quality of my research outputs.

Thanks to the support of a bursary, I was able to participate in this summer school. This opportunity enabled me to explore not only the potential but also the inherent limitations of reimagining the use of GLAM collections, while simultaneously sharing this knowledge with broader audiences. From multiple professional perspectives, the field of Digital Humanities emerges as a vital bridge between technology and human experience. The programme combined theoretical and practical sessions, providing valuable insight into contemporary advances and challenges in the discipline, including the creation of 3D models, the preservation of digital artefacts, text transcription, methodological framework refinement, and innovative responses to global issues.

For me, the true significance of initiatives such as this lies in this final dimension. While the substantial learning outcomes are certainly valuable and I am eager to apply them in my own doctoral work, the most meaningful aspect, even in a remote format, was the sense of community it fostered. The course enabled me to engage with researchers from diverse disciplines and geographical contexts whose perspectives, whether aligned or divergent, sparked stimulating exchanges. Through these conversations, I discovered projects that would otherwise have remained unknown to me, and these encounters proved to be an invaluable source of inspiration throughout my research journey.

Overall, my participation in DHOxSS 2025 offered more than just an opportunity to develop new skills. It was an intellectually invigorating experience that significantly broadened my perspective on the role and scope of Digital Humanities. I am looking forward to taking part in the next edition.