Bridging the Digital Divide

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The digital divide isn’t just about internet access, it’s about who gets to participate in a digital society and who gets left behind. At the University of Glasgow, researchers tackle this form multiple angles: building better connectivity technologies, designing systems that work for everyone, and understanding the social and economic barriers that keep people disconnected.

Digital exclusion compounds existing inequalities. When essential services move online healthcare appointments, job applications, education, government support people without reliable internet, affordable devices, or digital skills find themselves shut out. Glasgow’s work spans the technical challenges of connectivity to the human challenges of making technology inclusive, accessible, and genuinely useful.

Glasgow collaborates with partners across government, industry, and communities to translate research into practical solutions. This includes work with NHS Scotland on telemedicine accessibility, partnerships with local authorities on digital inclusion initiatives, and engagement with Scotland’s technology sector to ensure connectivity reaches underserved areas.

At the University of Glasgow, researchers from computing, engineering, health, social sciences, and education work together on these challenges. For instance:

• Connectivity Technologies: 5G and 6G wireless networks, LiFi (light-based wireless communication) for high-speed indoor connectivity, satellite communications for remote areas, and intelligent reflecting surfaces to extend coverage. The James Watt School of Engineering’s Autonomous Systems and Connectivity Division leads research on next-generation wireless systems, working on problems like indoor coverage, energy-efficient networks, and making advanced connectivity affordable for rural communities. Recent projects include developing 6G materials and AR-COM technologies to improve mobile coverage in buildings with poor reception.
• Digital Health and Remote Care: Telemedicine platforms, remote monitoring technologies, AI-enabled diagnostics, and digital tools for chronic disease management. Glasgow researchers have contributed to large-scale digital health programmes, including evaluation of the Delivering Assisted Living Lifestyles at Scale programme and studies on implementing telehealth in NHS Scotland. This work examines not just whether technologies work, but whether they reach everyone who needs them including older adults, people with disabilities, and communities with limited digital infrastructure.
• Accessible Technologies: Human-computer interaction design for diverse users, assistive technologies, accessible web platforms, and inclusive digital interfaces. Computing Science researchers work on making technology usable for people with varying abilities, addressing questions like: How do we design systems that work for people with limited digital literacy?; How do we ensure voice assistants and AI tools don’t exclude accents or languages?; How do we build interfaces that adapt to users rather than forcing users to adapt to technology?
• Digital Inclusion and Participation: Research into barriers to technology adoption, digital skills training programmes, community-led connectivity initiatives, and understanding how socioeconomic factors shape digital access. This includes work on widening participation in computing education, addressing gender balance in tech fields through initiatives like the Ada Scotland Festival, and examining how degree apprenticeships can create pathways into digital careers for people from underrepresented backgrounds.

Glasgow’s approach recognises that technology alone doesn’t solve the digital divide solutions need to account for cost, skills, relevance, and trust. Interdisciplinary teams work with communities to co-design technologies and programmes that address real needs rather than imposing solutions from outside. Partnerships with NHS Scotland, local authorities, third-sector organisations, and industry ensure research addresses on-the-ground challenges in healthcare, education, employment, and civic engagement.

The School of Computing Science hosts research groups working on human-computer interaction, social computing, and accessible technologies. The James Watt School of Engineering’s Connectivity Division advances wireless communication technologies that can reach rural and underserved areas. Health and social science researchers study how digital technologies affect healthcare access and social participation. Together, these groups tackle the digital divide from multiple directions building better technology, designing for inclusion, and understanding the social contexts that determine who benefits from digital innovation.