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Digital Resilience in Kuwait

In collaboration with Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST)

LSE PI: Professor Ellen Helsper
GUST PI: Assistant Professor Omer Gibreel
Duration: 1 September 2026 - 1 September 2028

This project investigates digital resilience in Kuwait, examining how digital technologies and AI can help people maintain access to education, employment, government services and social connections during periods of crisis. It will develop and validate a new Digital Resilience in Crisis Indicator (DRCI) to measure individuals’ ability to use digital tools to adapt to and overcome major disruptions.

By identifying inequalities in digital resilience, the research will provide evidence to inform policy and investment aimed at strengthening Kuwait’s preparedness for future crises. The DRCI will also be examined through a cross-comparative regional study, enabling comparison across different contexts affected by crisis and strengthening the indicator’s global applicability, validity, reliability and relevance.

This project forms part of Kuwait Programme, funded by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (KFAS).

(C) Image from Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority

Principal Investigators:

  • Ellen Helsper

    Ellen Helsper | Principal Investigator

    Ellen Heslper is Professor of Digital Inequalities in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE. She obtained her PhD at the LSE and her MSc at Utrecht University. Her current research interests include the links between social and digital inequalities; mediated interpersonal communication; participatory immersive digital spaces (VR, ER); and quantitative and qualitative methodological developments in media and communications research.

  • Omer Gibreel | Co-Principle Investigator

    Omer Gibreel is Assistant Professor at Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) in Kuwait. He previously served as Dean of the College of Administrative Sciences and as an Assistant Professor at the National University of Sudan. His research focuses on AI literacy, knowledge management, crisis informatics, and ICT for development. His work has been published in leading journals, including Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Information Development, Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, Sustainability, and the Journal of Medical Internet Research, and presented at major international conferences such as PACIS and ICISS.