Charles Bugre is a Ph.D candidate at the iSchool.

When you meet someone who doesn’t know about your research, how do you describe it?
I investigate how people with little or no reading skills access and assess information on their mobile phones. I am interested in how they leverage mobile phones to support their careers and how they navigate the digital world safely/ethically.

Who is the faculty member working closest with you? What are you learning from them?

I work more closely with Jason C. Young and Katie Davis. I am learning how to conduct participatory based research and to manage large research teams effectively. 

Why are you interested in this subject?
I am from a community (Nabdam District in Ghana) where over 50% of the population are illiterate. Most of them possess/use mobile phones. My community is not an isolated case. With the affordances and challenges of modern technology such as artificial intelligence, the questions I investigate are: How does this target population leverage information technology? What policies are implemented to support their digital needs?

What impact do you hope to make in the information field through your research/dissertation?
My research provides crucial insights for comprehensive digital skills strategies and policies across governments, technology companies, NGOs and international organizations.

What surprised you the most when digging into your research?
The target population is not very vulnerable to misleading statements from politicians. They do not trust politicians. They trust close relations and the military.

What are your career goals once you graduate?
As a Computer Science lecturer before joining the iSchool, I want to continue my career as a tenure-track professor in Information Science. I am also open to working on roles related to digital skills and capacity building in national or international organizations and technology companies.