The OII was one of the first centres in the world dedicated to studying the internet’s societal impacts. From the outset, we took a multidisciplinary approach, bringing together different approaches to push the boundaries of research into life online.
Since then, the digital world has evolved rapidly, from broadband and mobile devices to social media and cloud computing. Innovations in big data and AI are driving predictive systems that influence every aspect of our lives.
The internet is more than just technology. It’s where identities are formed, economies grow, and power is contested. Tools like algorithmic decision-making, autonomous systems, and generative AI are reshaping trust, control, and influence.
Today, the OII continues to study the digital world with a multidisciplinary lens, blending experience with foresight. We equip today’s leaders and decision makers to respond to digital challenges with confidence, and our alumni go on to shape policy and practice.
The Oxford Internet Institute (OII) was founded in 2001 as a department of the University of Oxford dedicated to understanding the societal opportunities and challenges created by the rapid development of internet technologies.
The idea first took shape in the late 1990s, when Andrew Graham, then Master-Elect of Balliol College, and Derek Wyatt, MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, made the case for a centre to study the profound changes brought about by digital networks. With the support of Vice-Chancellor Colin Lucas, the proposal gathered momentum, and Graham went on to serve as the Institute’s first Acting Director.
This paper by Dr Andrew Graham, explores how the OII came into being, from initial idea to official launch in under a year.
The creation of the OII was made possible through the generosity of philanthropist and technology pioneer Dame Stephanie Shirley. Through the Shirley Foundation, she provided a major founding gift, matched by funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
