Network Institute
The Network Institute is pleased to invite all of you to contribute to IC-ETSI 2025 – the International Conference on Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Innovation, an interdisciplinary event bringing together academia, industry professionals, and policymakers organized by the University of Greenwich. … Continue reading
We live in an increasingly digitalized society 🌐, with growing access to a wide range of digital products. Due to strong, sometimes aggressive marketing strategies 📢, we often gravitate towards products from tech giants like Google or Microsoft, sometimes at … Continue reading
Since 2017, the Network Institute has proudly been a member of the DBpedia Association, contributing to one of the most impactful projects in the Linked Open Data ecosystem. This partnership reflects our commitment to open knowledge, data sharing, and supporting … Continue reading
We are putting an `X` on X: the Network Institute is leaving X. We keep in touch via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/16162954/, our website (this!), and via the newsletter.
The Network Institute would like to invite you to the next Research Lunch, organised to facilitate exchange between researchers at the VU across faculties and disciplines. We will have the pleasure of listening to a talk from Pia Sommerauer, discussing interdisciplinary … Continue reading
📣 Back with the fifth post featuring one of the NIAA projects sponsored by the Network Institute. 🔍 Today’s spotlight is on “Depression Detection from Multimodal Neuroimaging Data – Towards Explainability and Generalization”, led by Jakub Frac and Alexander Schmatz, under … Continue reading
📣 Another post featuring one of the NIAA projects sponsored by the Network Institute! 🔍 Today’s spotlight is on “How societal issues permeate people’s lifeworld”, led by Helen Arts and Summer Skillen under the supervision of Tim Groot Kormelink and Kasper … Continue reading
📣 Back with the third post featuring one of the NIAA projects sponsored by the Network Institute. 🔍 Today’s spotlight is on “Visualizing the Future – The Role of Virtual Reality in Promoting Environmental Sustainability”, led by Jagoda Hanuszewicz and Zixuan … Continue reading
📣 Back with another post featuring one of the NIAA projects sponsored by the Network Institute. 🔍 Today’s spotlight is on “Designing and testing peak spreading interventions – using the VU as a living lab”, led by Floor Tazelaar and Lewis … Continue reading
📣 Starting today and for the rest of the week, every day a new post will feature one of the NIAA projects sponsored by the Network Institute. 🔍 Today’s spotlight is on “Mapping Missionaries in the Dutch Colonial Empire 1600-1960”, … Continue reading
We would like to invite you to the next Research Lunch, organised by the Network Institute to facilitate exchange between researchers at the VU across faculties and disciplines. On March 13th, the ’24-’25 class of Network Institute Academy Assistants will share the projects they’ve … Continue reading
Solving Mathematical Challenges with Symbolic AI Speaker: Marijn Heule, Carnegie Mellon University Date & Time: Tuesday, 11 March 2025 10:30-12:00 AM Location: HG-00C29 (Aurora), Hoofdgebouw VU, De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam About the Speaker Marijn J.H. Heule is a computer scientist specializing in automated reasoning, … Continue reading
> Registration open: https://forms.gle/U4XkBSkxYXYJZW4EA. Fact-checking or community notes? Government intervention, external advisory boards, or internal platform moderation? Approaches to content moderation on social media platforms are at the very center of public and political debate amid the recent USA elections … Continue reading
We are excited to invite you to the next Research Lunch, organised by the Network Institute to facilitate exchange between researchers at the VU across faculties and disciplines We will host a talk by Dr. Jeroen Klein Brinke from the University … Continue reading
Emma Beauxis-Aussalet is giving a talk on “Use your brAIn”, tonight, at the art academy in the Hague. More details: 📅 Mark your calendar: 21.01.25, 18.00-20.00 📍 Location: KABK, The Hague 🎙️ Two engaging talks on AI & the Arts … Continue reading
Dear researcher, Hereby we would like to invite you to the next Research Lunch, organised by the Network Institute to facilitate exchange between researchers at the VU across faculties and disciplines. On January 23rd, we will host talks by two … Continue reading
As AI reshapes our world, critical questions emerge about its role in addressing – or perpetuating – societal challenges. From algorithmic bias and environmental costs to the concentration of AI power in the hands of a few, we face urgent questions about how to develop AI systems that genuinely serve society’s needs. To tackle this, we need to reimagine AI development through a socially engaged lens: how can we create AI technologies that actively contribute to social justice, environmental sustainability, and democratic values? What does it mean for AI to be truly “societally engaged,” and how can we ensure it serves diverse communities and needs? To address these questions, researchers should bridge technical and social perspectives, combining rigorous technical expertise with deep understanding of societal implications.
We had the pleasure of hosting the 4th Interdisciplinary Workshop on the Digital Society (IWDS). A keynote talk by prof. dr. Sennay Ghebreab was followed by a lightning talk and poster presentation by ten researchers from diverse backgrounds. The event ended with an “academic speed dating”, that saw participants discuss and propose future interdisciplinary research lines. This lead to two winner titles:
Thank you again for your enthusiastic participation. We hope you gained new perspectives, seed ideas for future collaborations, and, most importantly, had fun!
Below are the posters presented during the workshop. Click on posters below for their large version.
The 4th Interdisciplinary Workshop on the Digital Society is be a half-day event held on 25th February, 2025 at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, organized by the Network Institute. Our primary goal is to create a welcoming space for researchers from different backgrounds interested in collaborating and to provide a low-threshold opportunity to present your work. This year’s theme is societally engaged AI.
The program includes:
Schedule:
12:30 – 12:45 Registration
12:45 – 13:00 Opening
13:00 – 14:00 Keynote Prof. Dr. Sennay Ghebreab
14:00 – 14:30 Lightning Talks
14:30 – 15:30 Posters session
15:30 – 16:30 Academic speed dating + drinks
16:30 – 17:00 Closing and Awards
For more information consult the dedicated page on the website: IWDS-2025
Exploring the Future of Fairness and Privacy with Synthetic Data: Insights from Our Workshop Last Tuesday the Network Institute had the pleasure of hosting a Network Institute-awarded workshop in collaboration with Inclusive AI lab which brought together academics, industry professionals … Continue reading
Leiden University is offering a conference on how Extended Reality (XR) technologies are reshaping our interactions with digital media, demanding new ways of thinking about perception, embodiment, and sensory engagement. This symposium brings together an interdisciplinary group of researchers, artists, … Continue reading
The Network Institute is glad to invite all of you to the research symposium “Public Responses to the language of science communication: uptake, acceptance, resistance”. This event is part of Anaïs Augé’s (UCLouvain, Belgium) NI sponsored research visit, in collaboration … Continue reading
The Network Institute and Connected World invite you all to an engaging and timely event as we explore the impact and consequences of the 2024 U.S. elections. In this Connected World session, titled “The US Elections 2024: The Aftermath”, we … Continue reading
The Network Institute and DISC (Digital Sustainability Center) are excited to invite all of you to the next research cocktail with four talks that will reflect on the societal, technical, and environmental sustainability of technology. Save the date: 15th November … Continue reading
Mechanisms of a Virtual Reality Respiratory Biofeedback Intervention: a Proof-of-Concept Randomized Controlled Trial Researchers: Elke Vlemincx & Gabriela Cortez Vazquez, Health Science VUApplication development and support: Marco Otte, Network Institute VU Mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and stress, … Continue reading
We are pleased to announce that our visitor, David Tena Cucala, will be delivering a talk titled Expressive Power of Monotonic Graph Neural Networks. When and where – Date: October 7th – Time: 12:00 – Location: NU-3B19 David Tena Cucala’s … Continue reading
As researchers, the primary means of communication to our scientific peers is via scientific publications. The Network Institute facilitates our researchers in this, either via direct funding, or by providing experimental equipment, organizing match-making events, etc. Click here if you are … Continue reading
Network Institute researchers Evgeny Vasilets, Tijs Van den Broek, Anna Wegmann, David Abadi, and Dong Nguyen explore the concept of perspective-getting to enhance interpersonal understanding in online discussions. Perspective-getting involves actively seeking information about another person’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and … Continue reading
The Network Institute invites its members and all VU students and staff to apply for the ECHO Academy Programme (https://echoeurope.eu/how-to-apply). The deadline is Sunday 22nd October. Starting in November 2024, ECHO kicks off its Academy in Amsterdam at Nxt Museum, … Continue reading
We would like to invite you to the upcoming Research Lunch organized by the Network Institute. Constanza Gajardo will present her research on Integrating AI in Local Newsrooms: Towards a global comparative approach to strategies, challenges, and insights. Constanza Gajardo … Continue reading
When: 1st October 3:30-5:30pm The NIAA funds 10-15 research positions which undertake projects leading to a proposal or published paper in one year. These projects aim to give valuable and paid research experience for master students. They are always multidisciplinary, often … Continue reading
Code for humanity is a humanitarian initiative, powered by the Network Institute, led by Lara Baseggio and Radu Nicolae, with the assistance of Ivano Malavolta and Marco Otte. Our primary mission is to support humanitarian software projects in their development … Continue reading
The Network Institute is proud to announce six new Academy Assistant Projects for the 2024-2025 academic year. Each project is led by two researchers from different disciplines who can hire two Student Assistants (usually master’s students) to work on the … Continue reading
Greetings everyone! This is Lara Baseggio and Radu Nicolae joining the Networking Institute as technology developers for the following year. We are excited to embark in this journey and be part of the multidisciplinary research hub, hosted here, at the … Continue reading
Marthe Smedinga, Alan Cienki, and Henk W. de Regt National University of Singapore | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | Radboud University. “Metaphors as tools for understanding in science communication among experts and to the public” explores the pivotal role of metaphors … Continue reading
Following an open call to VU researchers, we’re thrilled to announce that the four winning research visits have been confirmed. Read more about research visits -including previous ones- at the NI here. Below we describe the exciting work which is … Continue reading
On July 3rd, Network Institute Academy Assistants (NIAA) presented the work they have been doing (one day per week) this year. They have shared with us their posters. See the academy projects in detail here, but these can be summarized … Continue reading
The VU and University of Twente have created an impact coalition called Creating Secure Societies The coalition is now looking for two new community and strategy coordinators. Coordinators set the direction of the coalition, through long-term objectives and general directions. … Continue reading
We will celebrate a year of insightful Academy Assistant Projects on Wednesday, July 3rd at NU-04A06. Come and join us to see what this year’s projects were about and take part in a special edition Network Institute Research Bingo! Our … Continue reading
Amsterdam, June 10, 2024 — The third annual Hack4Her event successfully concluded on June 9, 2024, at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam- sponsored by the Network Institute amongst others. Over three transformative days, Hack4Her 2024 brought together more than 100 participants from … Continue reading
We would like to invite you to the upcoming Research Lunch organised by the Network Institute, with a talk by Reshmi Pillai (Department of Communication Science, VU) to facilitate exchange between researchers at the VU across disciplines and institutions. When: … Continue reading
In the dynamic world of academic research, literature reviews are the cornerstone for synthesizing knowledge. However, the rapid pace of scientific discovery often renders these reviews obsolete shortly after publication. The concept of “living literature reviews” has emerged as a … Continue reading
Network Institute researchers Philip Verhagen and Dries Daems will, in collaboration with the Netherlands eScience Center, develop a platform to host a library of computational models and algorithms for simulating the past, called ModelPlaza. The platform is aiming to redefine … Continue reading
Just published by Cambridge University Press, this handbook provides a snapshot of the rapidly developing field of gesture studies. Sections cover forms and functions of gestures, methods of gesture analysis, and the relation of gestures to language, cognition, and interaction. … Continue reading
The Firefox Product team warmly invites students to attend Mozilla Festival House 2024! Mozilla Festival is a unique hybrid: part art, tech, and society convening, part maker festival, and the premiere gathering for activists in diverse global movements fighting for a more humane … Continue reading
Discover the transformative power of open hardware in academia at this university-wide gathering. When: 18th June 2024, 2:30-5pm (followed by drinks) Where: Aurora room (Main building VU) Register here Open hardware, or open-source hardware, is hardware whose design is made … Continue reading
The Forum for Young Scientists (FYS) is hosting a free, four-hour interactive workshop giving tips and tricks for interdisciplinary research. When: 29th May, 1-5pm (with snacks and a 30min break, networking and drinks afterwards) Where: VU campus (room to be … Continue reading
Apply for an interdisciplinary research project and work with 2 student assistants. Deadline June 14th, 2024 at 23.59 pm Accepted proposals will start in October 2024 with funding for 10 months The Network Institute’s (NI) Academy Assistants program (NIAA) is … Continue reading
The European University Association (EUA) is hosting two webinars on strategies for AI implementation in higher education. The first focuses on a more strategic approach, looking both at institutional approaches and broader models for developing strategies. This will include frameworks … Continue reading
The new call for the Network Institute Research Visits program is just open! The program offers scholars the opportunity to spend up to one month at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam to conduct research on the themes of digital society in … Continue reading
As a small thank you for your continuous efforts as Network Institute members and supporters, we are giving away several Techlab-related items that we do not use anymore. The list of items can be found here, and we are giving … Continue reading
Earlier this year, the Network Institute published an open call for outreach initiatives with the aim of helping researchers connect with societal partners. As reported by the VU here, Organizational scientist Yvette Taminiau and Wende Wallert, art curator at VU ART SCIENCE … Continue reading
We would like to invite you to the upcoming Research Lunch organised by the Network Institute to facilitate exchange between researchers at the VU across disciplines and institutions. Digital phenotyping: chances and challenges: With Karin Bogdanova (TU Delft), Janika Thielecke (TNO) … Continue reading
We had about 75 attendees joining our informative event about the European Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) on 25th April. This also included many students who are interested in the implications of this landmark regulation: is it too relaxed or too … Continue reading
Generative AI has enabled the production of misinformation and disinformation on an unprecedented scale. As advertised by the VU, Profesor Wael AbdAlmageed will present the latest methods his group are creating to prevent these threats to child safety, public opinion, … Continue reading
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in May 2018, represents a significant step forward in the protection of personal data within the European Union. However, despite its widespread implications, there remains a degree of uncertainty regarding … Continue reading
The Digital Science Center (DiSC) is an interdisciplinary research unit at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, with a similar focus and goals as the Network Institute. To foster exchange and research connections between both units, NI members are invited to … Continue reading
Today, organizations blend human intuition with data insights for better performance. Whether in customer support or finance, combining gut feeling with analytics or experienced decision-makers with algorithms enhances outcomes. What does it look like in practice? As advertised by the … Continue reading
The third episode of the Aesthetic Capital podcast is now available to listen here. Doortje Smithuijsen sits down with Dr. Tom Decates, a renowned doctor specializing in Botox and fillers, to dissect the growing phenomenon of aesthetic capital. Dr. Decates … Continue reading
We are inviting you to the upcoming “Generative AI for Research” lunch, co-hosted by the Network Institute and the KIN Center for Digital Innovation. This event aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among VU researchers and explore the potential of using … Continue reading
As a proof-of-concept project the Network Institute Tech Labs has created a modular conversational avatar using state-of-the-art speech and AI. This is meant to serve as a demonstrator for researchers who are interested in using: Conversational agents Realistic humanoid avatars … Continue reading
Quantum science carries risks and benefits to society yet it is hard to communicate these to the public. First then, what is the public’s perception of this topic? The NI’s Gudrun Reijnierse, VU visitor Aletta Meinsma, Sanne Kristensen, Ionica Smeets … Continue reading
The VU has published a post about the new Aesthetic Capital podcast which the NI is supporting, falling under the Connected World profile theme. In this podcast, Connected World senior fellow Doortje Smithuijsen discusses the impact aesthetic appearance has on … Continue reading
The Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is already in place in the European Union. This piece of regulation is a landmark and a unique law worldwide. Its recent approval and its application, since past February, is accompanied by many questions … Continue reading
The .nl domain registration system has been transferred to Amazon Web Services (AWS), a U.S. cloud provider. The Network Institute and others have signed an open letter instigated by the Internet Society Netherlands (ISOC NL), expressing our disappointment with the … Continue reading
Would you like to go beyond publishing research and have a more significant impact on society by implementing your findings in the real world? The Network Institute wants to help with planning, executing, and piloting impactful outreach activities. The winning … Continue reading
The Network Institute is organising a full-day event on the theme of inclusive technologies. When: 1st March, 9am-3:30pm after which there will be a bingo and drinks Where: at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Register for free here Feeds and frontpages … Continue reading
The Connected World profile theme of the VU is offering up to 18,000 euros in funding to recruit two student research assistants over a period of 9 months. VU staff can apply and propose Academy Assistant teams. Deadline: 26 February, … Continue reading
How does gender affect cybersecurity decisions? A new study by Winnie Mbaka and Katja Tuma from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam shed some light on this question in their paper “Role of Gender in the Evaluation of Security Decisions”, published in IEEE … Continue reading
The second edition of the interdisciplinary HumanCLAIM Workshop brought together scholars from various European universities with experts at the VU to explore the human perspective on multilingual AI models. The workshop started with a social event to explore how the … Continue reading
Would you like to promote your research and have a more significant impact on society? The Network Institute wants to help with planning, executing, and piloting impactful outreach activities. The winning initiative will obtain funding (up to 10,000 euros) and … Continue reading
Emotion contagion in groups via virtual representatives Emotions are known to be infectious when people meet in person. By interacting with each other, a group tends to become more similar in the emotions they express, resulting in the display of … Continue reading
The NI director Dr. Ivano Malavolta has been awarded the Dutch Prize for ICT. The jury selected his work out of nine other exceptional entries for his innovative progress in the “green robotics software” field. Malavolta managed to expand the … Continue reading
Eep Talstra, emeritus professor of Old Testament at the Faculty of Religion and Theology, after whom the Eep Talstra Centre for Bible and Computer (ETCBC) has been named, has written a new book that will be published by Amsterdam University … Continue reading
We would like to draw your attention to this conference on the future of digital wellbeing. When: on 1st and 2nd of February. Registration deadline: January 31 (see bottom of the page) Where: Hosted at KNAW’s Trippenhuis venue in Amsterdam (Kloveniersburgwal … Continue reading
The Network Institute is looking for staff members (postdoctoral level included) interested in undertaking the tasks below 32 hours per week, over 15 months. The NWO prefers hiring someone for the project who is already employed at the VU. So … Continue reading
VU staff may apply for up to 10,000 euros for a socially oriented impact project for 2024, lasting a maximum of one year on the “Connected World” theme. The call is open to a wide range of social impact, from … Continue reading
Do you wish to conduct innovative research and to engage students in this endeavour? Apply for the Connected World Academy Assistant programme. All interested VU staff can apply now! The Connected World theme allows Bachelor/Master students guided by you- VU … Continue reading
The third instalment of the Interdisciplinary Workshop on the Digital Society (IWDS) will take place at the VU on March 1st 2024. The theme is Inclusive Technologies. A call for participation will be published soon. IWDS’24 will be followed by … Continue reading
We are excited to invite you to the HumanCLAIM 2024 Workshop (see last year’s successful edition here), a one-day conference dedicated to the exploration of cognitively motivated cross-lingual language models. When: January 11, 2024 (9:30 AM – 4:30 PM) Where: … Continue reading
This past June, Maud van Merriënboer and more than a dozen others had the opportunity to participate in a TED Talk training organized by the VU Network Institute. The goal of the training was to help researchers develop the skills … Continue reading
We would like to invite you to the next Research Lunch organized by the Network Institute to facilitate exchange between researchers at the VU across faculties and disciplines. When: 14th December, 12-13:30 Where: NU-3B05 The University Library will illustrate the many opportunities the … Continue reading
NI-member and VU academic Lisa Beinborn and Nora Hollenstein published an introductory book to “Cognitive Plausibility in Natural Language Processing”. It is based on the idea that we can learn more about the cognitive plausibility of computational language models by … Continue reading
As part of the Connected World theme which the NI is supporting, we invite you to a whole-day event on the 8th December on educating for societal impact, decolonizing the digital society, knowledge production and indigenous knowledge as well as … Continue reading
On November 6, our research symposium The Role of Language in Engaging Audiences in New (Quantum) Technology took place. This was made possible by the Network Institute and NeFCA and organised as part of Aletta Meinsma’s (PhD student Quantum & … Continue reading
The Amsterdam Law & Tech Institute (ALTI) along with the NI will soon host three visiting researchers from Mexico: Dr. Nora del Carmen Osuna Millan (Computer Science), Dr. Virginia Berenice Niebla Zatarain (Computer Science), and Dr. Jesus Manuel Niebla Zatarain … Continue reading
On 26 and 27 October 2023 the Network Institute Research Visit project “Live-mapping Religious Difference Online: the interplay of Digital Society, religious texts mediated online, and live-mapping” of the Eep TAlstar Centre for Bible and Computer (ETCBC) organized two hackathons … Continue reading
This year marks a significant milestone: the 75th anniversary of the School of Business and Economics at Vrije Universiteit. Join us in shaping a vision that will guide the School of Business and Economics through the next 75 years. We … Continue reading
The open-access scientific publication that formed the basis for the last year’s NI-funded video installation ‘(re)think the role of smart sensors in the digital age‘ has been published now in the FUTURES journal here: The video installation motivated the researchers … Continue reading
Dear VU Researchers and Colleagues, Hereby we would like to invite you to the upcoming Research Lunch organised by the Network Institute to facilitate exchange between researchers at the VU across disciplines and institutions. When: 9th of November, 12.00-13.30 Where: … Continue reading
On Monday, November 6, James Pustejovsky from Brandeis University will visit the VU and CLTL. We would like to extend the invitation to members of the NI. To get a sense of how many people will attend events throughout the … Continue reading
Thanks to Patricia Lago for flagging a new journal by the Association for Computing Machinery. This new publication covers topics especially relevant to the NI’s mission and likely to overlap with our members’ interests: the ACM Journal on Computing and … Continue reading
The ‘Robot Bookworm’ project of the NI’s Academy Assistants (NIAA) has been successfully piloted. Nina Sangers (Language, literature and communication), Lisa van der Sande (Education studies) and Mike Ligthart (Computer Science) conducted this pilot featured on the VU’s news page, … Continue reading
In the week of November 20 the Network Institute is hosting Carina König. She is the coordinator of the Digital Science Center of the University of Innsbruck. The initiative will provide an opportunity to explore in depth what interdisciplinary research units … Continue reading
COMPTEXT 2024: A conference on the quantitative and computational analysis of textual data in social and political sciences, to be held in Amsterdam on 2-4 May 2024. The COMPTEXT 2024 Organising Committee consists of many NI members: ● Mariken A.C.G. … Continue reading
Responsible Robotics is an appealing goal. It captures the idea of developing and deploying physical autonomous systems for the benefit of both individuals and society. However, although a popular target, there are, as yet, no robustly reliable routes to achieving … Continue reading
Knowledge, collaboration, and innovation took centre stage at DBpedia Day, an integral part of SEMANTiCS 2023. Held on September 20, 2023, at the HYPERION Hotel in Leipzig, Germany, this event was a unique gathering of technology professionals, industry experts, and … Continue reading
Burglary is a common and costly crime which has also been found to be a gateway to violent crimes. On average, the offenders in this study committed 62 burglaries each. Personality is a robust predictor of involvement with crime but … Continue reading
On September 4, Aletta Meinsma (PhD researcher Quantum & Society, Leiden University) started her Network Institute research visit. For the next 3 months, she will be visiting Gudrun Reijnierse (Assistant Professor Language & Communication, VU). To get the visit off … Continue reading
The University of Twente and the VU’s synergistic “Creating Secure Societies” impact coalition is culminating in another meeting next month: When: 22nd November 2023, 2-6pm Where: University of Twente, at the Designlab, room LEARN-X Sign-up: here This synergy (find out … Continue reading
Tom Williams from the Colorado School of Mines will be giving an interdisciplinary talk at the VU – details below. Would be great to engage with an audience in the humanities and the social sciences in addition to CS folks. … Continue reading