Personal profile
Research overview
Kamila is an art historian, archaeologist, and curator specialising in 3D digitisation, advanced digital art history, inclusive and co-curatorial exhibition design, contested memory, art diplomacy, and digital heritage engagement. Her digital work on the Picasso USF project was recognised by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017) and the Picasso Estate (2022). She has recently co-authored and secured funding from the Leverhulme Trust, AHRC Catalyst, Horizon Europe Heritalise project, and Interface Digital Art Map Glasgow. Her current research focuses on visual language and co-curation of contested memories, working with descendants of African American US Civil War soldiers at Camp Nelson National Monument (Kentucky) while collaborating with National Parks of America Camp Nelson National Monument museum refit and with British descendants of Polish soldiers from the WW2, examining heritage and art as collective and mediated transmitters of memory and inherited trauma.
Kamila works as an immersive on-site and digital exhibition designer and curator, teaching inclusive hybrid exhibition design and applying digitisation and digital methods to co-produce exhibitions with communities. Her projects include the ICOM-FAIMP–awarded Virtual Orkney Northern Isles, the Polish Paratrooper Memory Hall, Footsteps to Freedom, the Camp Nelson Museum refit, and Collective Memories in Fostering Unity with United Nations House Scotland. She has developed user journeys and digital exhibition design for institutions including the Gordon Highlanders Museum, West Highland Museum, Grampian Transport Museum, Timespan Museum, and the Glasgow Green AR app.
She advocates for the transferability of digital scholarship skills across disciplines, demonstrated through her cross-School work in roles including Associate Lecturer in Art History, Engagement Fellow in Inclusive Exhibition Design (School of Medicine & Dundee Science Centre), Research Fellow at Open Virtual Worlds (Computer Science), Research Fellow with the University Museums Group in Scotland (UMIS), and Museum Assistant for databases and 3D digitisation at the Libraries and Museums of the University of St Andrews.
Before joining the University of St Andrews in 2020, Kamila was a Research Associate at the Center for Virtualization and Applied Spatial Technologies (CVAST), at the University of South Florida, U.S. (2016–2018), leading 3D digitisation of art, museum collections, and archaeological sites, and developing 3D research workflows. She was also a Research Fellow at the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, Czechia and served as PI on multiple international grants (including IntraVisegrad, CEEPUS, Erasmus+, and government-funded projects). Prior to this, her experience included museum refit work, excavation, research, and collection documentation in museums and archives across Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia. She completed two independent, full five-year Master’s degrees: in Art History (2006–2012) and in Archaeology (2007–2011) and holds dual PhDs from Charles University (Prague) and Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznań).
External positions
Research lead and curator, United Nations House in Scotland
Keywords
- AM Museums (General). Collectors and collecting (General)
- 3D digitisation, digital scholarship, digital curation, cultural heritage, heritage at risk
- virtual exhibitions, heritage user UI & UX design
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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SDG 4 Quality Education
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SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
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SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
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SDG 13 Climate Action
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SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Immersive learning of cerebral visual impairment: understanding vision through dynamic immersive simulations
Cassidy, C. A., Oliver, I., Oles, K., Tracy, H. S. C., Blaikie, A. & Miller, A., 20 Feb 2025, Immersive Learning Research Network: 10th international conference on immersive learning, iLRN 2024, Glasgow, UK, June 10–13, 2024, revised selected papers, part II. Krüger, J. M., Pedrosa, D., Beck, D., Bourguet, M.-L., Dengel, A., Ghannam, R., Miller, A., Peña-Rios, A. & Richter, J. (eds.). Cham: Springer, p. 81–95 15 p. (Communications in computer and information science; vol. 2272).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
Open AccessFile -
Online teaching and learning with digitised collections in higher education contexts, during the Covid-19 pandemic
Eagleton, C., Curtis, N., Economou, M., Oles, K. & Waters, S., 11 Feb 2025, University Museums in Scotland. 108 p.Research output: Book/Report › Other report
Open Access -
AI trends and challenges for the 21st century museum
Oles, K., 14 Oct 2024, ReAImagining public collections: in the light of digital development. Puskás, A. & Tvergyák, K. K. (eds.). Budapest: Hungarian National Museum Public Collections Centre, p. 29-30Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
Open AccessFile -
Dora Hitz in Peleș Castle
Kallestrup, S. M., Gutgesell, N., Oproiu, M., Oliver, I. A., Oles, K. & Miller, A. H. D., 3 Sept 2024Research output: Non-textual form › Exhibition
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Dora Hitz in Peleș Castle, Sinaia
Kallestrup, S. M., Oles, K. (Designer), Oliver, I. A. (Developer) & Miller, A. (Developer), 3 Sept 2024Research output: Non-textual form › Web publication/site
Datasets
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Online teaching and learning with digitised collections in Higher Education contexts (dataset)
Eagleton, K. (Creator), Oles, K. G. (Creator), Economou, M. (Creator), Waters, S. (Creator) & Curtis, N. (Creator), University of St Andrews, 6 Feb 2025
DOI: 10.17630/7b49ec30-c46c-4757-93d0-3a972a0b778d
Dataset
File
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Inclusive Community Building through Digital Heritage Preservation in Times of Crisis
Oles, K. (PI) & Klír, T. (PI)
17/02/24 → 28/04/25
Project: Standard
Activities
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Teaching and Learning with AI in the Humanities and Digital Humanities
Oles, K. (Speaker)
20 Nov 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Co-Creation and Digital Integration in Resource-Constrained Heritage Exhibition Production
Oles, K. (Speaker)
15 Nov 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Presentation
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Navigating AI Adoption in Museums: Tailored Ethical Frameworks and Education Models for Sustainable Digital Transformation
Oles, K. (Speaker)
11 Nov 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Presentation
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Memory Crafted in Glass and Stone: The Polish Paratroopers’ Mosaic in St Andrews as a Material Representation of Collective and Mediated Memory.
Oles, K. (Speaker)
8 Nov 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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PI 'Remembering Refugees: Black Civil War Memory and Contemporary Commemoration'
Treen, K. (Participant), Fisher, C. (Participant) & Oles, K. (Participant)
1 Sept 2025 → 1 Sept 2028Activity: Other activity types › Other
Prizes
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Europeana Special Prize
Oles, K. G. (Recipient), 1 Nov 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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ICOM AVICOM Award: Virtual Orkney North Isles Exhibit Platform
Oles, K. G. (Recipient), Miller, A. H. D. (Recipient) & Oliver, I. A. (Recipient), 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Press/Media
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Meet the winners of the Europeana research grants and prizes 2021
1/11/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Relating to Research
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VR project brings late Picasso work to life, at last
19/03/18
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Relating to Research
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The Rediscovery of Picasso’s Designs for a 100-Foot-Tall Bust in Florida
2/03/18
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Relating to Research
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Found: Details of Picasso’s Plan for His Most Massive Work of Art
1/03/18
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Relating to Research
Impacts
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Collective Memories in Fostering Unity (Scotland's Future)
Oles, K. (Participant)
Impact: Social Impact, Cultural, Creative Impact, Public Policy Impact
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Immersive Technology for Sustainable Development in the Climate Crises
Miller, A. (Participant), Cassidy, C. (Participant), Oles, K. (Participant), Oliver, I. (Participant), Kennedy, S. (Participant), Westerhof Nyman, P. (Participant) & Bates, C. R. (Participant)
Impact: Technology, Cultural, Creative Impact, Environmental Impact, Educational Impact (Beyond St Andrews)