Bram Lievens

Bram's interdisciplinary background in social and cultural work and communication science has been instrumental in his success as an EU researcher and innovation leader. His studies in social and cultural work provided him with a solid foundation in understanding human needs and societal issues, while his master's degree in communication science equipped him with the skills to design and implement effective research strategies. With two decades at IMEC-SMIT, including key roles in setting up new research initiatives and driving a user-centred design approach, he has demonstrated a commitment to advancing research in the service of society. Bram Lievens is a senior researcher and research valorisation manager at the imec-SMIT research centre of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where he supports and facilitate user-centred interaction design research and innovation projects. With over 20 years of experience in EU research and innovation across diverse application domains, Bram has a proven track record in driving impactful research initiatives that address critical societal challenges.

As an expert in the field of social science and humanities, he has been the architect for different social science and user-centred, iterative design research activities in R&D&I projects (both on national as EU level). These activities contribute to the inclusiveness and trustworthiness of new technology solutions and services in the domains of Health, Robotics, Manufacturing, Smart cities, Citizen Science. As a dedicated council member of the European Living Lab Network, he leverages his extensive experience with Living Lab methodologies to shape the network's strategies and initiatives, enabling him to design and implement research that deeply resonates with users and drives meaningful societal change.