Lab Lead, Human-Centered Design

Prof. Dr. Bas Baccarne is a socio-technologist who integrates social science, innovation management, and product design to develop inclusive technologies that empower users and address complex societal challenges through participatory methodologies.

Visiting professor

Wouter Devriese combines his role as an R&D engineer at imec with his work as a guest professor, exploring the frontiers of emerging technologies through a creative, human-centered lens to translate innovations from the lab into meaningful real-world applications.

Visiting professor & Business Developer

Prof. Dr. Dimitri Schuurman is a leading expert in innovation management, specializing in Living Labs with a focus on bridging the gap between emerging technologies and societal needs through participatory methodologies.

Lab Magician

Yannick Christiaens specializes in computational design and digital fabrication, focusing on additive manufacturing and prototyping techniques to innovate product development processes and enhance design education.

Senior Researcher

Dr. Franziska Burger explores how conversational agents and AI-driven interfaces can promote well-being in the long term, focusing on designing systems that respond meaningfully to users’ emotional and cognitive states.

Senior researcher

Tim Theys explores the user experience (UX) of emerging technologies, such as Solid-enabled personal data stores to empower users with true data ownership and data portability, reshaping online experiences.

Researcher

Ben Robaeyst explores how integrating Living Labs with futures methodologies can empower communities, align innovation with long-term transitions, and enable deliberate, sustainable transformation.

Junior Researcher

Soetkin’s research is situated at the intersection of Living Labs and healthcare innovation, examining how Living Lab methodologies can strengthen the implementation of emerging technologies in clinical and care settings.

Junior Researcher

Wanda’s research focuses on the inclusive design of emerging technologies, exploring collaborative and user-driven approaches that address structural inequalities and empower underrepresented groups to actively shape equitable technological futures.

Junior Researcher

Margot Verhelst researches how digital technologies can promote social inclusion and well-being by developing and assessing accessible, inclusive innovative products and services that empower diverse communities.

Junior Researcher

Dennis Osei Tutu investigates how virtual reality (VR) and haptic feedback can enhance the acquisition and assessment of 21st-century skills, focusing on creating immersive learning environments that bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.

intern

Axel Kiekens examines how futures thinking, methodological experimentation, and scenario based co creation can deepen societal understanding of emerging uncertainties, from reimagining raising children through Living Lab–inspired workshops to analysing AI futures via discourse analysis in order to build grounded, plural, and actionable visions for long term transformation.