Fabian Stephany

Biography

Fabian Stephany is an Assistant Professor at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), University of Oxford. He is also a Future of Work fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, an inaugural fellow at Microsoft’s AI Economy Institute, and a research affiliate at the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society in Berlin. Additionally, he currently serves as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council for Human Capital Development.

At the OII, Dr. Stephany leads the SkillScale project, which views skills as a central lens through which to understand today’s labour market transitions. By examining how work quality, job growth, and labour market equitability and sustainability respond to technological change, the project investigates how AI skills are becoming increasingly pivotal for workers and employers alike. As part of his Microsoft fellowship, Fabian is currently exploring the role of AI skills in employability—particularly how working with generative AI enhances job prospects and addresses the gender gap between men and women.

Fabian is also a co-creator of the Online Labour Observatory—a digital data hub hosted in collaboration with the International Labour Organization that provides researchers, policymakers, journalists, and the public with insights into online platform work. His research has been published in leading academic journals, such as Research Policy or Science Advances, and has received media coverage in outlets around the world, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Telegraph, Nikkei Asia, Handelsblatt, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

He holds a PhD and other degrees in economics and social science statistics from European institutions, including Università Bocconi in Milan and the University of Cambridge. In addition to his academic positions, he has worked as a senior data scientist in the private sector and regularly advises international organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, and the OECD.