Natalia Kucirkova

Natalia Kucirkova researches innovative ways of supporting children’s reading engagement with digital books and the role of personalisation in early years.

Her research takes place collaboratively across academia, commercial and third sectors. She developed an award-winning app ‘Our Story’ for children's story-making and has widely published on early literacy and children’s use of technology.

Natalia is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Governor for Swallowfield Lower School, Chair of the judging panel for the UKLA Children's Digital Book Awards, Co-Chair of the WG3 COST Action and Advisory Board Member for Save The Children. She has been commended for her engagement with teachers and parents at a national and international level.

Previous roles include:
- Senior Lecturer in Childhood Studies & Early Years, Manchester Metropolitan University
- Lecturer in Developmental Psychology, Open University
-Visiting academic at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA
- Knowledge Transfer Partnership Associate, Booktrust and Open University, UK
-Visiting Pre-doctoral Fellow, Department of Education, Harvard University, USA