SMIT - Studies on Media, Information and Telecommunication - Team

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Market, Media & Innovation, Internet Policy, Media Policy, Cultuurlab, User Research

current employees | former employees

Prof. dr. Caroline Pauwels

Prof. dr. Caroline Pauwels was appointed Professor at the department of media & communications at the Free University of Brussels in 1995. She is director of iMinds-SMIT. She lectures national and European media & communication policies.

Researcher Paolo Aversano

Researcher within the Media, Market and Innovation research cluster.

Dr. Dorien Baelden

Dorien joined SMIT in 2005 and successfully defended her doctoral dissertation on the use of new technologies for HIV prevention in March 2013. Her research interests focus on social media, privacy, digital literacy, ICT4D, and health communication.

Prof. dr. Pieter Ballon

Senior Researcher

Pieter is head of the Media, Market and Innovation research group at iMinds-SMIT and teaches Media Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He also leads iMinds iLab.o, the lab and expert centre for open innovation in ICT.

Prof. dr. Joke Bauwens

Senior researcher

Joke Bauwens holds a PhD in Media & Communication Studies. She is a media sociologist, lecturing at the Media Studies Department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Junior Researcher

Joke Beyl is a teaching assistant at the department of Media and Communication Studies at the VUB. She is preparing a PhD on the construction of artisthood in the online encounter of blogging writers and their readers.

Lizzy Bleumers has been working at iMinds-SMIT at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels since May 2008. The study of virtual experience forms the common thread of the projects she is involved in.

Dr. Valerie-Anne Bleyen

From March 2010 onwards, Valérie-Anne works as a senior research at the MIST department of SMIT, focusing on topics and projects related to media economics and challenges ahead for media companies across Europe.

Researcher - Project Leader

Researcher and project leader within the Media, Market and Innovation research cluster.

Prof. dr. Fabienne Brison

Associated Senior Researcher

Fabienne Brison (Prof. dr.) is teaching intellectual property, media and ICT law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She also lectures at the HUBrussel and Université de Liège for their Intellectual Property Rights LLM courses.

Uschi Buchinger

Uschi joined iMinds-SMIT as a researcher in April 2012. Within the MIST unit she will concentrate on market analysis and business modeling.

Daniele joined iMinds-SMIT in 2010. She is currently preparing her PhD on the film policies of European Union and Mercosul, which is conducted in a colaboration between the Free University of Brussels and the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil.

Laurence Claeys

Laurence Claeys joined iMinds-SMIT in february 2013. Her research is always situated at interdisciplinary crossroads and focuses on end-user programming, real-time data, context-awareness, privacy and interdisciplinary R&I methods.

Dr. Tanguy Coenen

I have a broad background in information systems research and have been involved both in theoretical research and practical implementation. Until 2006, my research was mainly on sociale software and knowledge sharing. Since, it has shifted to include colla

Paulien Coppens

Junior Researcher

From 2012 on, Paulien Coppens works for iMinds-SMIT as a researcher in the user research department. She is working on projects related to privacy.

Since 2011, Annet is a member of SMIT where she manages the EMSOC project. More in specific, she coordinates the IWT Strategic Basic Research on User Empowerment in a Social media Culture involving 6 research groups of 3 different universities.

Research Manager

Hans is iMinds-SMIT's research manager. He is responsible for iMinds-SMIT's operational & business management.

Jonas De Meulenaere

From 2011 on, Jonas works as a Researcher at SMIT, and is mainly working on projects related to digital media in the home.

Dr. Sophie De Vinck

Sophie joined SMIT in October 2005. Her research is situated at the crossroads of business analysis and policy evaluation, with a focus on the film sector and European-level policymaking.

Ralf is working as a PhD researcher in the research centre iMinds SMIT at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and is part of the interdisciplinary project "Security and Privacy in Social Networks (SPION)

Jasmien Decancq

Jasmien Decancq joined the User Empowerment Unit at SMIT in September 2012. She is currently working on the projects iRead+ and O’CareCloudS.

Researcher - Project Leader

Simon Delaere joined SMIT in 2004. His research focus is on policy and regulatory issues surrounding media and ICT on the one hand, and business models for new technologies and services on the other.

Alexander Deweppe

Alexander Deweppe started working for SMIT in spring 2012. Within the Digital Arts group of SMIT, he will be working on user-centered methodologies concerned with media usage and literacy in the context of cultural-creative industries.

Dr. Karen Donders

Karen Donders completed her PhD in May 2010. In her PhD, she analyses the impact of European State aid policy on Member States' public broadcasting regimes. She specialises in public service media policy and strategies, broadcasting and its distribution.

Pieter Duysburgh

Pieter is a member of the user empowerment cluster and has participated in various iMinds projects, most of them situated in health care or education.

Shirley Elprama

Shirley works on healthcare related projects (e.g. CIMI). She joined SMIT in 2011 after obtaining her master degree in Human Technology Interaction (Eindhoven, University of Technology, 2011).

Katleen Gabriëls

Katleen Gabriels joined the SMIT-team in October 2009 to work on a PhD on morality and ethics in social virtual worlds.

Vânia Gonçalves

Vânia joined SMIT in 2008 and conducts research on business model analysis and policy issues surrounding mobile communication markets and spectrum management.

Rob started his SMIT career in 2010. As a researcher he will be mostly working on the commodification of personal information within social media as this is part of his PhD project, EMSOC.

Katharina Hölck

Since 2012, Katharina works as a Researcher at SMIT. She is mainly working on projects concerned with future media and is focused on business modeling.

Doruntina Islamaj

Doruntina Islamaj is a teaching assistant at the department of Media and Communication Studies at the VUB. She is preparing a PhD on the cultural value and ecomic sustainability of the Flemish independent television production sector.

Prof. dr. An Jacobs

Senior Researcher

An Jacobs focus is on the integration of social research within all phases of innovative product development. Therefore, she specializes in user research in the broad sense, combining both quantitative and qualitative techniques (design ethnography, proxy

Iris Jennes holds a Master degree in Communication Studies. She is currently working on a PhD and works as a teaching assistant at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Katriina has been part of SMIT since 2011.

Bram Lievens is a senior researcher and coordinates the user research unit within SMIT. His main expertise is within the domain of user centered design and Living Labs.

Dr. Sven Lindmark

Senior researcher

From 2010 on, Sven works as Senior Researcher at SMIT. He works on new ICTs and media, their business models, value networks and innovation systems as well their broader economic, social and environmental impact.

Senior Researcher

Jan works at SMIT since 2001. He currently works on a project within the Flemish Research Centre on International Policy concerning international media policy.

In July 2007 Ilse Mariën graduated cum laude as Master in Communication Science at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) with a thesis titled "User-oriented Design of ICT : inclusion or exclusion of people in poverty in Flanders". After graduating, she joi

Dr. Birgitte Martens

Senior project manager EU research (senior researcher)

Davor is in charge of acquisition & coordination of EU research at iLab.o, EU's leading living lab. So far, Davor & co have attracted research funding of EUR 25+ million. His research is in Service Science & Innovation. He has lived in Belgium & Australia.

Trisha Meyer has been affiliated with SMIT since 2009. She is currently preparing her PhD at the Institute for European Studies (IES) on online content and copyright infringement policies in the EU.

An joined SMIT in 2001. She is primarily involved in cultural projects within the Cultuurlab Cluster, with a focus on cultural policy, cultural business modelling and cultural financing.

Dr. Luciano Morganti

Senior Researcher

Luciano is a Senior Researcher working at SMIT since 2007 and collaborating with the Center since 1998. He is working in the Digital Policy Cluster on projects related to Network policies, the Internet, Internet Governance.

Lien works on a PhD on the moral attitudes of children and preadolescents concerning online privacy, funded by FWO (Fund for Scientific Research in Flanders).

Researching the crossroads between journalism practices, worthwhileness of news and digital storytelling, self-publication, user-generated content, privacy and trust and collaborative content production in a digital and social media environment.

Prof. dr. Jo Pierson

Senior Researcher

Jo Pierson is Senior Researcher at SMIT since 1996 and holds a PhD in Communication Studies since 2003. He is professor at VUB and lectures bachelor and master courses. He coordinates the User Research cluster and the User Studies methods.

Julia joined SMIT in October 2010 where she is working on her PhD about UNESCO's role in communication geopolitics. In addition, she is involved in the coordination of VUB's international Master of Communication Studies "New Media and Society in Europe".

Tim joined iMinds-SMIT in 2007, where he has been working on the IBBT project PoKuMOn. Currently, he is a PhD aspirant for FWO-Vlaanderen, doing research on the role of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) in a networked media ecology, setting out from an ana

Network Economist & Researcher

Anand joined SMIT in 2010 as a Researcher. Now he works on European and National projects on Broadband Deployments, Energy-Efficiency, and Digital Engagement.

Dr. Heritiana Ranaivoson

Senior Researcher

Heritiana Ranaivoson is Senior Researcher at iMinds-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel since 2010. He is involved in the CoMobile and BEMES projects. More generally he is working on projects related to business modelling and future media.

Multi media developer Camille Reynders

Camille Reynders develops and designs applications for the web and mobile devices, with a focus on the use of emerging technologies.

Senior Researcher

Olivier Rits recently joined SMIT and is focussing on business modelling and strategy for telecom.

Researcher and PhD student focusing on interactivity, personalized content, second screen applications and living lab research as a tool for innovation.

Communications / office assistant

Evelien Rooms joined the SMIT team in 2011 as a communications officer and office assistant.

Kassandra Rothenstadt

From April 1st, 2011 Kassandra D. Rothenstadt works as a researcher and the specific topic deals with the role of emotionality and affectivity in the formation, organisation, maintenance and ultimate disappearance of virtual tribes.

Dana Schurmans is working as a PhD researcher. Her doctoral thesis focuses on digital exclusion and inclusion policy in an urban context, and in particular targeted towards young people at-risk of exclusion.

Since 2009, Sander works as a researcher at SMIT. He is mainly working on projects in the field of business modeling and media-economics.

Sarah joined SMIT and VUB in October 2009 as a teaching assistant within the field of quantitative research methods. She is also preparing a PhD concerning user-generated content as a valuable information source during the pre-buy stage of consumers.

Pieter Jan Valgaeren

Prof. dr. Leo Van Audenhove

Leo Van Audenhove is professor at the Department of Communication Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He teaches courses on International Communication, the Information Society and Policy analysis. His research interests are the Information Society,

Wouter Van den Bosch

Prof. dr. Wendy Van den Broeck

Senior Researcher

Wendy Van den Broeck is active as project leader and researcher in user research concerning the domestication of digital media in the home, with a focus on iDTV and video-related services.

Dr. Yoni Van Den Eede

Senior Researcher

Yoni Van Den Eede conducts research into the philosophy of technology, media theory, and media ecology, with an emphasis on phenomenological, cultural, and existential themes.

Dr. Shenja van der Graaf

Senior researcher

Shenja van der Graaf is a senior researcher and project leader at iMinds-SMIT. She is a visiting senior fellow at LSE, honorary fellow at MIT Media Lab ID³ Hub, and a Futures of Entertainment fellow.

Prof. dr. Olga Van Oost

Senior researcher

From 2009 on, Olga works as a Senior Researcher at SMIT, and is mainly working on projects related to digital culture and heritage. Research topics: (digital) museum and heritage studies, (digital) arts and heritage policy.

Eva joined SMIT as a researcher in 2007. Her main research interest is (audio)visual culture in a networked society, and her research efforts are currently mainly centred on the challenges cultural institutions face in providing digital access to content.

Dr. Ben Van Rompuy

Associated Senior Researcher

Ben Van Rompuy joined iMinds-SMIT in 2006. His research mainly focuses on the application of EU competition law and internal market law in the media and sports sectors.

An Vanbellingen

Office Assistant

An Vanbellingen joined the SMIT team in 2008 as office assistant. She obtained a Master's Degree in Translation (English - Spanish, option Business Communication) in 2004 at Vlekho (HUBrussel).

Mieke Vandevyvere

Communications & Office Assistant at SCOM for the international Master

Wim Vanobberghen

Since 2011, Wim works within iMinds-SMIT as a researcher for the CIP-project 'European Platform for Intelligent Cities (EPIC)'. He conducts the user research for the Brussels pilot wihtin the project.

Carina Veeckman

From october 2011 on, Carina is working as a researcher at iMinds-SMIT involved in several user-oriented projects.

Teaching Assistant

Currently I am working as a Teaching Assistant at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. My affiliations with SMIT are related to my PhD research.

Nils has been working as a researcher at SMIT since 2007 and is mainly active in business modelling research for the mobile and media industry.

Koen joined SMIT in 2009. He’s working in the field of user centered design and currently involved in two projects: Metaverse and SEGA.

Karen is a researcher within the SMIT team since April 2011. She works on projects regarding eHealth, mainly in the Living Lab approach.

FORMER EMPLOYEES

Stijn joined SMIT in 2008 and is active in several e-culture research projects. His main research interests are digital music culture, video games and the hybrids of new media.

Matthias Barrie

Matthias has been working as a researcher at SMIT since 2009 and is mainly active in business modelling research for mobile communications.

Marijke De Troyer

Marijke De troyer holds a Master's degree in media and communication studies (2010). From 2010 on, she works as a researcher at SMIT.

Wouter concentrates his research on innovation in communication and market analysis in the industrial fields of energy, mobility & logistics and mobile vouchers. He uses the methodology of business modeling within the MIST unit.

Kristof Michiels

Scientific Researcher

Kris joined SMIT in 2006. He is a member of the user analysis cluster, where he is involved in several iMinds projects. His research focuses both on professional and private use of technological devices and applications.

Senior researcher

Gert started working at SMIT in 1996. He currently coordinates the research projects regarding e-culture. More particularly these projects are related to the transformation of the cultural domain due to the use and implementation of new media.

Herman Rucic joined SMIT in July 2010 as Research Assistant, working on projects in the field of broadcasting, innovation and media-economics. Currently he is involved in CONCORD, one of the Programme Facilitation and Support Action for the Future Internet

Jorian Vanvossel

Researcher / Communication

From 2006 on, Chris Vleugels works as a Researcher at SMIT, and is mainly working on projects related to the role of new media in increasing public support for development on the one hand and new and emerging technologies and applications within the cultur