Marzia Briel

Marzia Briel-Barreiro portrait

Areas of interest

Marzia Briel is an interdisciplinary scholar in emerging regulatory and governance systems, risk-based regulation, AI technology, research integrity, data governance, land law and intellectual property. Her cross-disciplinary experience and agility have allowed her to identify and develop solutions to emerging systemic risks in diverse ecosystems, with a strong committed to explore the viability of emerging nature-positive business management and governance approaches.

Marzia is currently a part-time Lecturer in Law at the University of Reading.

Postgraduate supervision

Marzia has supervised over 17 Masters Dissertation Projects, whose interests align with her research areas.

Teaching

Marzia’s teaching draws on her professional experience as a legal and risk professional, as well as her research. She currently teaches the following undergraduate and postgraduate modules:

  • Advanced International Commercial Law issues (PG)
  • School of Biological Sciences ‘AI and Big Data in Research and Healthcare’ (PG)
  • Henley Business School, Army ‎Higher Education Pathway ‘Cyber Security and the Cyber Battlespace’ (PG)
  • Intellectual Property (UG)
  • Land Law (UG)

Research projects

Marzia was funded by Innovate UK, as the lead academic principal investigator on an interdisciplinary Accelerated Knowledge Transfer Project, to investigate the impact of AI data mining on Open Access Research Data in the Higher Education environment (2023).

She is a member of the project ‘Catalyst for nature-centric awareness and governance', funded by the V.Kann Rasmussen Foundation. The project engages with risk methodology to explore the risks, barriers and opportunities of 'nature-centric governance' approaches like Nature on the Board, Rights of Nature and Nature representation in  participatory decision-making processes. She collaborates with the Museum of English Rural Life, showcasing how different sectors of society and disciplines are being transformed by alternative human relationships with Nature (2024-2026). 

She has been funded as a research assistant by ARIA’s engineering ecosystem resilience programme, to develop a systemic risk and effectiveness framework for novel environmental solutions such as Biodiversity Net Gain, genetic modification and rights of nature,  expanding systemic risk and governance perspectives to include Nature and Future Generations (2025).

Background

Marzia is a qualified South African Attorney and Foreign Qualified Solicitor specialised in Commercial Law, with over 15 years of global legal, regulatory and governance experience in the financial services industry in various legal, compliance and systemic risk governance roles. In 2020, she moved into the Public Science and Engineering sector working for the Science and Technology Facilities Council in the legal, policy and governance aspects of science research data, public/private partnerships and the legal and ethical complexities of publicly funded science research.

Academic qualifications

Qualified Foreign Lawyer, Master of Law (Commercial Law), Bachelor of Law, International Compliance Association Diploma in Compliance.

Professional bodies/affiliations

Marzia is a qualified South African Attorney and Foreign Qualified Solicitor specialised in Commercial Law, with over 15 years of global legal, regulatory and governance experience in the financial services industry in various legal, compliance and systemic risk governance roles. In 2020, she moved into the Public Science and Engineering sector working for the Science and Technology Facilities Council in the legal, policy and governance aspects of science research data, public/private partnerships and the legal and ethical complexities of publicly funded science research.

  • Higher Education Academy Associate Fellow (AFHEA)
  • Board member Rights of Nature Network
  • Trustee, IStandBeside
  • UNESCO Working Group on Open Science Policy and Policy Instruments implementing the UNESCO Open Science Recommendation
  • Society of Legal Scholars

Recent speaking engagements and conference participation

  • Kincentric Leadership and repatterning collective, ‘Catalysing Nature-Centrism, explore the workings, developments, (im)possibilities, and emerging insights of diverse approaches and praxes for Co-creation with the More-than-Human world’ (2026). Watch the session here.
  • Climate Emergency Centre, ‘Catalysing a culture shift using Nature Centric Governance: rights of nature, Nature in decision making and nature as a stakeholder’ (2026). Watch the session here.
  • Open Access Scholarly Publication Association (OASPA), ‘Open Data for Sale: Maintaining Research Integrity when published research is commercialised’ (2024). Watch the session here.
  • Transformative Community/Earth Systems Governance Conference ‘The lost art of indigenous knowing in Europe: weaving transdisciplinary knowledge to counter ‎the ‘hive mind’ and embrace plurality in local environments’ (2025).
  • Alan Turing Institute, ‘Ready, Fire, Aim: The new regulatory framework for AI and data science in the UK’ (2023).
  • World Research Integrity Conference Doctoral Forum ‘Can Open Data create funding for Research?’ (2022).
  • Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the WG Hart Workshop, Responding to the Crisis: Law, alternative economies and activism: ‘Open Research in Developing Countries: The risk of commercialisation of open data for economic benefit’ (2022).

Recent events organised

  • Marzia designs bespoke integrated nature embodied workshops that enable nature connection and deep cultural shifts by curating experiences that transform systems. Her workshops focus on different aspects of nature governance approaches that are rooted in attitudes of deep care and reverence for nature. Workshop themes include: 1) Mainstreaming nature-centric governance: risks, barriers and opportunities; 2) Addressing the housing crisis from a nature-centric perspective; 3) Systemic risk and effectiveness framework for environmental solutions (supported by additional funding from ARIA); and 4) Systemic risk proliferation: beyond sticking plaster fixes to nature-centric solutions. Her workshops have enabled coalition building with senior Politicians, senior representatives from the civil service, think tanks, European environmental organisations, activists and indigenous wisdom holders.
  • Collaborated with the with the BAME network to host an Interview with a Sudanese Refugee Emmanuel Taban. Watch the interview here.

Publications

  • Pritchard, M., Briel, M., Tovey, P., Tickell, P. & Oliver, T. H. The Uses and Abuses of Immersive Technology for Nature Connectedness. In J. Reed (ed.), Postdigital Nature Connection. Springer 
  • Pritchard, M., Briel, M., Tovey., P. & Oliver, T. H. Opportunities and Challenges for Introducing Nature-Centric Housing in the UK. Planning Theory

Publications

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