Jemma Ahmed
Advancing Research Curator
Jem has been working for two decades in the space where consumer, design, product, marketing and cultural insight meet. A mixed methods insight practitioner, her work focuses on how technology can empower minority Global communities. With expertise in data science, market research and user research, she has delivered projects at scale which have had significant business and societal impact. From rebrands, defining creative, advertising and design direction, redirecting product and design roadmaps, through to shaping government and economic policy- Jem does research which creates change. As a leader, she has created, grown and transformed sizeable insight teams at companies such as the BBC, Etsy and Bumble- ensuring the voice of the customer becomes company vernacular.
She also works as a curator at Rosenfeld Media, helping to bring together community and education to help other researchers advance their own practices.
Jem holds a Masters in Law from Cambridge, and is working towards qualifications in somatic psychology and a PHD in adult online harms.
A poet, painter and queer, working class, British Pakistani, Jem blends academic rigour with creativity and an intersectional perspective.
Rosenverse talks by Jemma:
" The moat that once protected researchers—their exclusive data access—is disappearing; now our value is enabling others to use insight. "
Redefining the research toolkit: Expanding methodologies for a changing world
March 12, 2025
" AI is having the effect of de-skilling many roles, including researchers, so we need to double down on what we do well. "
Theme Panel
March 11, 2025
" That mink showed up and it took on a fight that felt more enormous than it was. "
Research at an inflection point: Adapting to a new era of collaboration, equity, and innovation
March 11, 2025
" While people care about collaboration, it’s not always at the top of the to-do list. "
Collaboration: learning from other fields beyond our own [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
August 7, 2024
" All data has bias, all data has problems, and all data has limitations. It’s about where on the spectrum that sits and being clear on your provenance. "
Democratization: Working with it, not against it [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
July 24, 2024
" If your talk isn’t accepted, it doesn’t mean it’s bad—it might just not fit the program’s narrative arc or available slots. "
Coffee with Lou #3: What Makes for a Successful UX Conference Presentation?
May 2, 2024
" Victor is going to throw a wrecking ball through the idea of interviewing. "
Theme 2 Intro
March 26, 2024
" Jackie Ho talks about how to keep teams accountable and aligned while maintaining their autonomy. "
Theme 2 Intro
January 8, 2024
" Ecosystem mapping can practically join up different data sources to create holistic insight. "
Theme Three Intro
March 29, 2023
" The insight and research community had such a hunger to keep growing and evolving to better amplify the voices of the people we seek to understand. "
Theme 2 Intro
March 10, 2022
" User research is unfortunately largely evaluative. It’s hard to understand how we contribute to problem solving. "
Bridge Building across Research Disciplines
August 26, 2021
" We hope that topics like privacy, security, and ethics become more amplified and mainstream throughout the organization. "
What's Next for Research?
June 17, 2021
" Despite my misgivings, users’ memories could be taken back in time with enough accuracy using these techniques. "
Convergent Research Techniques in Customer Journey Mapping
March 31, 2020
" Ultimately, we’re all here to help our companies care about the customer faster, no matter the tribe or method. "
Bringing together market and user research
October 17, 2019