Societal

Imagineering Lab

We

We Prototype. We Thinker. We Experiment. We Explore. We Innovate. We Imagine. We Cocreate. We Design.

We are a team of socio-technologists working towards a better tomorrow through research, innovation, and collaboration.

Embedded in

Let's collaborate

View our projects

📞 Futures Installation at De Krook

May 4, 2026

EDU-box Toekomstgeletterdheid

February 6, 2026

Fresh PhD: Exploring User Perceptions and Design Challenges of Personal Data Stores

January 27, 2026

Discover our work

Featured projects

Dementia & Reminiscence Interventions

Starting soon

Funding:

BOF MVF

01/06/2026

01/06/2027

In Belgium, around 210,000 people live with dementia, and cultural heritage has been shown to stimulate memories, emotional engagement, and cognitive well-being. This project develops a mobile installation using experience cards, projection, and AI-generated narratives to help heritage professionals facilitate conversations and evoke deep memories in people with dementia.

Interested? Get in touch

ZIMPACT

Ongoing

Funding:

VLAIO COOCK+

01/04/2026

31/03/2029

The care sector is under growing pressure due to ageing populations, staff shortages, and rising costs, creating a clear need to develop and test digital and AI-based solutions in a structured and collaborative way. ZIMPACT adds value by creating a single conversational interface for information and guidance on legal and ethical frameworks, user-facing AI, and sustainable implementation.

Interested? Get in touch

CamoTEXtreme

Ongoing

Funding:

EDA

09/02/2026

04/02/2029

CamoTEXTtreme is a European collaboration to develop Multifunctional Textiles for Camouflage and Resistance to Extreme Environmental Conditions. Our research includes the study of thermoregulation and ergonomics (human factors), developing prototypes and user testing.

Project website

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About us

Who are we?

We are a multidisciplinary team of socio-technologists operating at the intersection of engineering, design, and social sciences. As a joint initiative of Ghent University and imec, the Societal Imagineering Lab (SIL) serves as a collaborative bridge between the industrial design expertise of design.nexus (UGent Campus Kortrijk) and the human-centric research of imec-mict-ugent. Together, we transform complex societal challenges into tangible, meaningful innovations.

Our goals

Pyramid explaining the different levels of research

Our methods

Futures & Foresight

Exploring possible, probable, and preferable futures through participatory design and strategic foresight methodologies.

Inclusive Design & Human Augmentation

Creating accessible technologies that augment human capabilities and ensure equitable access to innovation.

Impact & Living Labs

Real-world experimentation environments where citizens, researchers, and industry co-create solutions.

Our organisational structure

At an institutional level, the Societal Imagineering Lab is powered by Ghent University and imec. Our research core is built on the synergy between two specialized groups: design.nexus, focusing on industrial design engineering, and imec-mict-ugent, focusing on the human-technology interaction.

The Big Picture: Parent institutions

Ghent University

Providing the academic foundation and research expertise across multiple campuses.

Imec

The world-leading R&D and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, which provides the framework for high-tech societal application.

The Two Pillars: Connected research groups

design.nexus

Based at UGent Campus Kortrijk, this group leads the Industrial Design Engineering program. They specialize in physical product design and prototyping, providing the industrial expertise to ensure societal solutions are tangible and manufacturable.

imec-mict-ugent

Affiliated with Communication Sciences and Industrial Systems Engineering, this team focuses on the "human" side of technology. They provide the behavioral insights and impact analysis needed to ensure innovations meet real-world human expectations.