Dr Jen Scott Curwood is an Associate Professor in English Education and Media Studies in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney and Director of the Sydney Games and Play Lab. She was previously a visiting scholar at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.

Jen’s research explores the intersections of literacy, creativity, and technology in order to advance social change and build more sustainable futures. As a university teacher educator, she examines how teachers can leverage innovative technologies to cultivate young peoples’ digital and critical literacies. Jen has also published a co-authored book, Conducting Qualitative Research of Learning in Online Spaces.

She is passionate about advancing equity at the University of Sydney, where she is the Chair of the Career Progression and Equity Working Group for the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) self-assessment team. She also serves as a Research Integrity Adviser and was previously Chair of the Humanities Ethics Committee. In her work to build capacity at the University, she has been a mentor in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mentoring Program, the Faculty Mentoring Program, and the Academic Excellence Framework Mentoring Program. She also serves as the English Curriculum Coordinator within the Sydney School of Education and Social Work.

Jen received the 2025 Divergent Award for Excellence in Literacy in Digital Age Research. She also received the 2016 Teacher Educator of the Year Award from the Australian Teacher Education Association, the 2023 Teaching Leadership Award from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Faculty's 2013 and 2017 Excellence in Teaching Awards.

She completed her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. Her major area of emphasis was Literacy Studies, with minors in composition and rhetoric as well as educational psychology. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Jen was a public school teacher. She taught middle school and high school English, and she is accredited as a K-12 reading specialist.