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I am Research Professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, affiliated with the Faculty of Social Sciences and Solvay Business School. I teach in the BSc Communication Sciences and the MSc Digital Media in Europe, with courses focusing on media and digital economics.
At imec-SMIT (Studies in Media, Innovation and Technology), part of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, I am member of the Media Economics and Policy unit, where I lead research on recommender systems.
My academic background includes a PhD in Media and Communication Studies (2022), an Advanced Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence with a focus on Speech and Language Technologies (2017), a Master’s in Business Information Management (2016), and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics (2015).
Team
At imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, I lead an interdisciplinary research team studying recommender systems from a goal-oriented perspective. Our work examines how recommendation goals are defined and operationalized, not only in algorithms, but also in evaluation metrics, interface design, and broader organizational objectives. We are particularly interested in how recommender systems support different forms of discovery and visibility, and how they operate within environments shaped by economic, cultural, and institutional logics.
Our team brings together expertise in computer science, sociology, media and communication studies, media economics, and business engineering. We combine this with a diverse methodological toolkit, including interviews, surveys, log data analysis, and both online and offline user experiments.
Current members
dr. Lien Michiels
dr. Jeroen Peeters
Brett Binst
PhD student
Hanne Vandenbroucke
PhD student
Ulysse Maes
PhD student
Networks
Since 2021, I am co-founder and Chair of the Serendipity Academic Research Network (SARN), part of The Serendipity Society. SARN was established to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration on the study of serendipity in research, technology, and society. It brings together an international community of scholars interested in the conditions, practices, and implications of unexpected discovery, with a particular commitment to supporting early-career researchers through mentorship and exchange with established scholars.
In 2023, I was part of the organizing committee of DBWRS23 (Dutch-Belgian Workshop on Recommender Systems), a two-day conference aimed at fostering interdisciplinary dialogue on recommender systems across academia, industry, and policy. The event brought together over 100 participants from both within and outside academia, and from across national borders. It featured keynotes by Harald Steck (Netflix) and Georgios Paltoglou (European Commission).
At Vrije Universiteit Brussel, I am part of the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies (BCUS). BCUS is a significant hub for urban studies research, with a focus on European and Brussels urban dynamics. It also facilitates collaborations between researchers and various stakeholders in the city.
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