Call For Research Proposals Meta XR Programs & Research Fund

The Centre for Technology, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and the Law (“TRAIL”) at National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law, was established in 2019 to explore the legal, ethical, policy, philosophical and regulatory questions associated with the use and development of information technology, artificial intelligence and robotics, in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

We are pleased to announce that TRAIL will be hosting The Metaverse Conference on 20 September 2022. TRAIL has also received a generous grant from Meta to conduct research on privacy and data protection issues arising from the “metaverse” and invites interested scholars, preferably overseas scholars and researchers, to submit research proposals dealing with these issues. For research supported by the Meta XR Programs & Research Fund, the following topics are proposed for coverage, but researchers are by no means confined to these topics:
• A legal framework for bystander privacy in the context of wearable devices; and
• Biometrics and human-computer interaction (“HCI”) privacy models in the context of wearables.

When completed, research based on selected proposals will be presented as papers at a subsequent conference or event, to be organised by TRAIL.

Selected research proposals will each receive a grant of up to US$20,000 to support the research project proposed. A TRAIL Academic Fellow will also be attached to each selected proposal to collaborate with the PI(s) behind it in carrying out further research on the relevant topic.

Eligibility
Participants must have a specialisation in or are actively conducting research into privacy or data protection issues. They can be: (i) faculty members; (ii) PhD candidates; or (iii) legal practitioners with a track record of academic research. Applications from LLM candidates or undergraduates will not be accepted.

Selection of Research Proposals
The evaluation panel will comprise Associate Professor Daniel Seng, Professor David Tan, and Associate Professor Jungpil Hahn. Selection will be on a competitive basis and the selection criteria will be as follows:
1. Quality of the abstract; and
2. Relevance to the issues of privacy and data protection issues arising from the “Metaverse”.

Submissions of Research Proposals
Submissions
Participants should indicate the title of their research proposal. They should also provide up to 6 key words.
Example
1. Name of participant(s);
2. Title of paper: eg. “Privacy and Data Protection Issues Raised by the ‘Metaverse’”;
3. Abstract: not be more than 300 words (inclusive of footnotes, if any);
4. Keywords: up to 6 keywords may be provided; and
5. Participants’ biography: please include a brief description of your professional status, educational background, in 250 words or less. Please do not submit your curriculum vitae.

General guidelines for submission of research proposals
1. The deadline for submission of research proposals is 1 December 2022. Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered and early submissions are highly recommended.
2. Participants will be informed by 15 January 2023 regarding the status of their submissions via email. It is therefore important that you provide a valid email address along with your research proposal. The evaluation panel may be in touch for further and better particulars during the evaluation process.
3. Upon acceptance of a research proposal, the participants must give a Work-In-Progress presentation of their research in mid-March 2023, and submit their report by 30 June 2023. This can be in the form of a full paper of publishable quality. [Additional details of the presentation and submission details will be disclosed when available.]

For enquiries, please send an email titled “Metaverse Research Proposal Enquiries” to trail.metaresearch@nus.edu.sg.