VUB supervisors – InterACT [Skip to content](#main) [ ![InterACT](https://interact-programme.be/build/assets/interact-Bz2nHYWk.svg)](https://interact-programme.be) Menu - [About](https://interact-programme.be) - [Call](https://interact-programme.be/call) - [FAQ](https://interact-programme.be/faq) - [VUB supervisors](https://interact-programme.be/vub-supervisor) - [Non-academic organizations](https://interact-programme.be/non-academic-organizations) - [People](https://interact-programme.be/people) - [News](https://interact-programme.be/news) [Apply](https://interact-programme.be/apply) - [About](https://interact-programme.be) - [Call](https://interact-programme.be/call) - [FAQ](https://interact-programme.be/faq) - [VUB supervisors](https://interact-programme.be/vub-supervisor) - [Non-academic organizations](https://interact-programme.be/non-academic-organizations) - [People](https://interact-programme.be/people) - [News](https://interact-programme.be/news) [Apply](https://interact-programme.be/apply) Search VUB supervisors ================= The VUB supervisors listed below have expressed interest in supervising a postdoctoral researcher under the InterACT programme. Feel free to reach out to them to check their availability. (Please note that other VUB supervisors who are not listed here might be interested in supervising your project. Check the [VUB website](https://www.vub.be/en/about-vub/faculties-institutes-and-campuses/our-faculties) to look for supervisors in your research area). **IMPORTANT:** Supervisors are not allowed to assist the applicants with the writing of the application. Applications that have been fully or partly co-authored by the supervisors will be deemed ineligible and excluded from the evaluation process. By signing the Letter of Support, the supervisors must confirm that they have not been involved in the preparation of the proposals in any capacity. PanelAll panelsSocial Sciences and HumanitiesLife SciencesPhysical Sciences and Engineering Submit Showing 51 of 104 supervisors *from panel Social Sciences and Humanities.* - Eline Severs ------------ Associate Professor Faculty of Social Sciences / Political Science / Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Eline Severs is Associate Professor in Political Science, with expertise in representative democracy, representative claim-making, the emotions and theatricality of politics, qualitative research, gender, youth and politics. Working in democratic theory, she is especially interested in democratic representation, the relationship between civil society and democratic governance, political affect, citizens' conceptions of democracy, and what we can learn from studying more closely citizens’ sense-making of politics in the everyday. Eline Severs is a Principal Investigator of the VUB Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE). You can find more info on https://dfuture.research.vub.be. All InterACT postdoc requests for supervision by one of the DFUTURE PI’s will be assessed collectively by the entire PI team to ensure the best possible match within the supervisor team based on availability. Read more ↓ Read less - Vjosa Musliu ------------ Associate Professor Faculty of Social Sciences / Political Science / Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Vjosa Musliu is an expert on international statebuilding, EU external relations, and feminist theories of International Relations. She is Associate Professor of International Relations at the VUB, working on international and European interventions, conflicts and international political economy, with a primary focus on the Balkans and the post-Soviet space. Vjosa Musliu is a Principal Investigator of the VUB Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE). You can find more info on https://dfuture.research.vub.be. All InterACT postdoc requests for supervision by one of the DFUTURE PI’s will be assessed collectively by the entire PI team to ensure the best possible match within the supervisor team based on availability. Read more ↓ Read less - Iman Lechkar ------------ Research Professor Faculty of Social Sciences / Political Science / Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Iman Lechkar is a research professor and holds the Fatima Mernissi Chair on Islam, Gender and Power. Her research explores the intersections of Islam, gender, race and secularism, with a focus on religious conversion, identity, authority, citizenship, subjectivity and agency. Her work also examines the Palestinian question, particularly the political and epistemic dimensions of aesthetics. Iman Lechkar is a Principal Investigator of the VUB Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE). You can find more info on https://dfuture.research.vub.be. All InterACT postdoc requests for supervision by one of the DFUTURE PI’s will be assessed collectively by the entire PI team to ensure the best possible match within the supervisor team based on availability. Read more ↓ Read less - Silvia Erzeel ------------- Associate Professor Faculty of Social Sciences / Political Science / Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Silvia Erzeel is an expert on political parties and elections, political representation, and gender and politics. Her research focuses on the causes and consequences of gender and social inequalities in representative democracy, and on how representative democracy is innovated to include the views and needs of all, often through comparative survey research and in-depth interviews. Silvia Erzeel is a Principal Investigator of the VUB Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE). You can find more info on https://dfuture.research.vub.be. All InterACT postdoc requests for supervision by one of the DFUTURE PI’s will be assessed collectively by the entire PI team to ensure the best possible match within the supervisor team based on availability. Read more ↓ Read less - Karen Celis ----------- Professor Faculty of Social Sciences / Political Science / Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Karen Celis’ research focuses on the quality of democracy and how to strengthen it, currently centred on democratic design and the role of emotions in politics. She has a long record of theoretical and empirical research on the political representation of groups (women, ethnic minorities, class, age groups, LGBT), equality policies and state feminism, increasingly from an explicitly intersectional perspective. Karen Celis is a Principal Investigator of the VUB Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE). You can find more info on https://dfuture.research.vub.be. All InterACT postdoc requests for supervision by one of the DFUTURE PI’s will be assessed collectively by the entire PI team to ensure the best possible match within the supervisor team based on availability. Read more ↓ Read less - Didier Caluwaerts ----------------- Associate Professor Faculty of Social Sciences / Political Science / Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Didier Caluwaerts is an expert on democratic innovations, democracy and future generations, and polarization. He is Associate Professor of Democratic Governance at the VUB, with research interests in democratic innovations, democracy and long-term thinking, comparative politics and Belgian politics. Didier Caluwaerts is a Principal Investigator of the VUB Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE). You can find more info on https://dfuture.research.vub.be. All InterACT postdoc requests for supervision by one of the DFUTURE PI’s will be assessed collectively by the entire PI team to ensure the best possible match within the supervisor team based on availability. Read more ↓ Read less - Lisa-Marie Hemerijkcx --------------------- Assistant professor Department of Geography & Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) My research focuses on the relationships between urbanisation, food security, and food environments in low- and middle-income countries. I study how rapid urban growth shapes physical, social, and economic access to food for vulnerable households, and how food vendors adapt to changing built environments in the Global South. I primarily use quantitative methods, including household and vendor surveys, GIS & spatial analysis, and agent-based modelling. These approaches are complemented by qualitative work with stakeholders across food systems, including urban planners, policymakers, and farmers. We are interested in hosting a postdoctoral researcher working on integrated spatial approaches to advance our understanding of the complex interactions between urbanisation and food systems and to generate evidence that supports the development of more resilient, just, and sustainable cities. Candidates with interdisciplinary expertise and/or experience applying mixed-method approaches are especially encouraged to get in touch. Read more ↓ Read less - Diete Humblet ------------- Research Professor Crime & society research group - Penality & society [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) What happens when criminal justice encounters later life? Professor Humblet's research starts from this question, bringing together criminology, gerontology, and law. I am interested in how ageing shapes crime, punishment, and criminal justice, and, in turn, how these experiences shape later life. Her work is theoretically and methodologically diverse, drawing on different disciplines and approaches to understand these questions from multiple angles. She welcome postdoctoral researchers who want to explore these questions or bring new ones to the table. Possible directions include ageing and crime, punishment in later life, older people in criminal justice settings, age and ageism in penal decision-making, and later-life offending and desistance. At VUB, you would join a growing research environment around ageing and criminal justice, connected to ongoing projects, international networks, and criminal justice policy and practice. If your work challenges how we think about ageing in relation to crime, punishment, and justice, Professor Humblet would be very happy to hear from you. Read more ↓ Read less - Kevin De Moortel ---------------- Assistant Professor Business Technology and Operations (BUTO) Department / Business for Society (B4S) Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) The evaluation of high-tech projects and ventures is a contemporary concern of universities, policy-makers, and investors. These projects require substantial time and resources to yield socio-economic impact. Recent evidence points to “framing” practices by the PIs behind these projects which may bias the evaluation by regional ecosystem stakeholders. Additional research could help exploring such framing practices (e.g., on websites, news articles, pitching, annual reports…) and their impact on entrepreneurial success or support (e.g., funding, sales, internal university support…). Read more ↓ Read less - Joke Bauwens ------------ Professor Faculty of Social Sciences / Department for Communication Sciences (SCOM) / ECHO: Media, Culture & Politics Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) You study how audiences interpret popular media culture, which is viewed as a key space where social issues, political struggles, cultural representation, and societal change take shape. Your research will contribute to the ECHO research group, which examines meaning-making across media, culture, and politics, with a focus on how meanings are reproduced, challenged, and transformed. Your research draws on interdisciplinary traditions such as media psychology, cognitive sociology, and cultural studies, and you engage with contemporary debates in audience research, including the affective turn and the role of AI and algorithms. You have experience with qualitative and quantitative audience research methods and an interest in developing digital research skills, including web scraping, data mining, NLP-based text analysis, social media analysis, AI-powered tools, digital surveys, crowdsourcing, and statistical analysis. Read more ↓ Read less - Kevin Smets ----------- Associate Professor ECHO: Media, Culture & Politics Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) I supervise research in the area of film culture in relation to social and cultural issues. Your research will contribute to the ECHO research group, which examines meaning-making across media, culture, and politics, with a focus on how meanings are reproduced, challenged, and transformed. Topics can address migration and mobility, identity and heritage. My preferred approaches include ethnographic and creative methods, film analysis, practice-based and participatory research. Read more ↓ Read less - Lieselot Vanhaverbeke --------------------- Associate Professor Faculty of Social Sciences and Solvay Business School / MOBI Electromobility Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Theme: Equitable and Accessible Shared Autonomics and Electric Vehicle Fleet Deployment - Research topics include: fair charging infrastructure location optimisation, inclusive trust & acceptance assessment and distributional techno-economic business case analysis. We look for applicants with a strong quantitative background and a keen interest in the evolution of electric and autonomous mobility. Our group has solid experience in transferring results of fundamental research towards policy-making - with a good network of actors and impactful results - and we aim to broaden the scope of this activity with this position. Don't hesitate to contact us for more information. Read more ↓ Read less - Koen Lombaerts -------------- Full Professor Department of Education Science (EDWE) / Brussels Research Centre on Innovation in Learning and Diversity (BILD) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Ongoing research strands focus on self-regulated learning (SRL) and the role of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in education. Current work examines how learners and teachers navigate increasingly AI-mediated learning environments, with particular attention to learner agency, metacognitive engagement, teacher scaffolding, and the balance between human and technological regulation of learning. Emerging technologies such as adaptive learning platforms, learning analytics dashboards, and AI-supported tutoring systems create new opportunities for personalised support, while also raising important questions about cognitive offloading, overreliance on AI, and ethical AI use in education. A complementary research strand focuses on teacher self-regulated learning (TSRL) and how educators support SRL through pedagogical strategies and technology integration. Read more ↓ Read less - Nel de Mûelenaere ----------------- Associate Professor Faculty of Arts and Humanities / Department of History, Archeology, Art History an Philosophy / Social History of Capitalism [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) I am interested in supervising a Fellow working on the public history of resistance during the Second World War. I hold the “Traces of the Resistance” chair (2024–2028), in collaboration with the non-profit organization Heroes of the Resistance, and recently co-founded the Brussels Center for Interdisciplinary Resistance Studies. A postdoctoral position would focus on the history of resistance movements and could involve public engagement through a citizen science project, similar to our Last Words project on the farewell letters of executed resistance members, or collaboration with stakeholders on how resistance against authoritarian regimes emerges and is organized. Read more ↓ Read less - Walter Ysebaert --------------- Coordinator Data Office and ECOOM Impact / Associate Professor Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences and Solvay Business School [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Our work focuses on translating and structuring knowledge from universities, policy contexts and diverse textual sources to make it actionable for policymakers, businesses and societal stakeholders. We are particularly interested in text mining, structuring unstructured text, and combining LLMs, classical NLP and symbolic AI to extract, model and evaluate knowledge from sources such as grey literature, research outputs and policy documents. Qualitative evaluation is central to our approach, alongside measuring how different domains create societal impact through diverse output types. We also explore modular knowledge storage systems, such as knowledge graphs, and study how knowledge is transferred or translated to business and society, how these processes occur, and how they can be assessed or stimulated in research projects and broader societal uptake. Read more ↓ Read less - Philipp Krämer -------------- Professor Faculty of Languages and Humanities (LW) / Brussels Centre for Language Studies (BCLS) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Applications can be situated in the area of sociolinguistics and multilingualism, specializing in e.g. language policy, minority languages, multilingual border regions, or postcolonial settings. Projects focusing on Creole and/or Romance languages are particularly welcome. Read more ↓ Read less - Niels van Dijk -------------- Associate Professor Faculty of Law and Criminology [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) The research could either explore: 1) The intersection of STS and digital constitutionalism, to explore how core constitutional values such as sovereignty, fundamental rights and checks on power become increasingly mediated by digital technologies and smart infrastructures. We can see this in emblematic concepts or programs such as digital sovereignty, privacy by design, code is law, and techno-regulation. The research aim is to explore how the meaning of these constitutional values changes in these processes, which aspects may be lost and thus need new ways of protection. 2) The EU lawmaker develops digital regulations, such as the GDPR, the AI Act and the Digital Services Act, which are mostly based on a risk-based approach, to address the increasing impact of digital technologies to societal and legal values. The risk governance is used to mediate between the ‘risks to fundamental rights and freedoms’ of people with interests of those who wish to use the digital technology. The aim of this research is to investigate the consequences of delegating decisions on how to safeguard fundamental rights to organisation by risk management approaches through lens of democracy (civic participation) or Rule of Law (legal contestation). Read more ↓ Read less - Imre Keseru ----------- Associate Professor House of Sustainable Transitions / Mobilise Mobility and Logistics Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Research proposals are welcome that aim to support the sustainable transition of urban mobility to ensure that people can access essential services in an affordable, inclusive, environmentally friendly and safe way. Topics may include participatory foresight methods for resilient urban mobility planning, evaluation of policy and technology inclusiveness to address transport inequalities, enhancing democratic legitimacy through new participatory approaches, and innovative evaluation techniques to ensure impactful, user-friendly, and equitable mobility solutions that meet socioeconomic and environmental goals. Read more ↓ Read less - Faddar Jerich ------------- Assistant Professor Psychology and Educational Sciences / Brussels Research Centre on Innovation in Learning and Diversity (BILD) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Jerich Faddar is an assistant professor affiliated with the department of Educational Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel – Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences. His research interests are situated at the crossroads of educational effectiveness, international large-scale assessments, (impact of) educational innovations and educational measurement. In particular, he is interested in the use of information and technology to inform and facilitate educational practices and quality assurance in education. Read more ↓ Read less - Annelien Smets -------------- Research Professor Faculty of Social Sciences and Solvay Business School / Department for Communication Sciences (SCOM) / Studies in Media, Innovation & Technology (SMIT) Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Our team’s research focuses on how personalized, algorithmically mediated interfaces shape discovery and visibility in digital media and platform environments. We study recommender systems and personalization technologies as infrastructures that structure media offerings and user encounters, and approach this from three complementary perspectives: the empirical study and evaluation of algorithmic systems in real‑world settings; an economic perspective on digital platforms, emerging business models, and value creation; and user‑centered, HCI‑oriented research on interaction design and discovery experiences. We welcome postdoctoral researchers with backgrounds in algorithm evaluation, platform and media economics, or HCI‑oriented experimental research, who are interested in the broader implications of algorithmic mediation for digital media ecosystems. Read more ↓ Read less - Kurt Bertels ------------ Professor Faculty of Languages and Humanities [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Dr. Kurt Bertels (°1989) is a senior researcher and professor at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel and LUCA School of Arts, and assistant professor (music performance) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. Kurt Bertels is an elected member of the Young Academy of Belgium (Flanders). He is a member of the editorial board of The Saxophone Symposium. In 2023 the Flemish Royal Academy of Belgium has awarded Kurt Bertels as "Laureate 2023" of the Class of Arts. In 2024, Kurt Bertels was awarded with a Fulbright Grant (Postdoctoral Research) for archival research at the New England Conservatory (Boston, MA) and with a Veni Grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). His particular field of research is historically-informed performance, patronage, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century (saxophone) performance practice, gender and race in music. Read more ↓ Read less - Tuba Bircan ----------- Research professor, Director of BRISPO, Head of AIMS Lab BRISPO [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Professor Tuba Bircan works at the intersection of artificial intelligence, social inequality, and democratic life. She welcomes project proposals from researchers whose work engages with one or more of the following themes: AI and inequality, examining how artificial intelligence shapes or exacerbates disparities across domains such as education, labour markets, and public services, with particular attention to intersectionality and the experiences of specific population groups including ethnic and gender minorities, youth, children, and elderly people; Disinformation: understanding and countering, research into the mechanisms, spread, and societal effects of disinformation, and the development of evidence-based strategies to identify and counter it; Ethical and socially responsible AI, exploring how AI can be designed, governed, and deployed in ways that are ethically sound and socially beneficial in responding to socio-political and environmental challenges; Computational social science, methodologically innovative approaches including big data analytics, forecasting models, and other computational methods applied to complex social phenomena. Professor Bircan is especially interested in proposals that combine substantive social science questions with rigorous methodological frameworks, and that engage meaningfully with issues of equity, participation, and democratic accountability in the digital age. Read more ↓ Read less - Juan Martín Gómez Penedo ------------------------ Assistant Professor Psychology Department [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) My line of research focus on developing machine learning and AI based algorithms for treatment personalization. I work on creating models to determine which patients have higher risk of negative outcomes seeking to provide timely feedback to therapists. I also work on developing algorithms to determine the most suitable intervention for each individual patient. Read more ↓ Read less - Imke Baetens ------------ Associate Professor Department of Psychology [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) We are looking for a motivated postdoctoral researcher to join PRISM, an interdisciplinary research network focused on innovation in mental health, under the supervision of Prof. Imke Baetens. The candidate will contribute to research on adolescent and young adult mental health, with a focus on nonsuicidal self-injury, self-harm, suicide-related thoughts and behaviours, and prevention. We particularly welcome applicants with strong methodological skills, an interest in clinically and societally relevant research, and the ability to work collaboratively within national and international research networks. Read more ↓ Read less - Arvi Sepp --------- Professor Faculty of Languages and Humanities (LW) / Linguistics & Literary Studies (LIST) / Research Centre for Literary and Intermedial Crossings (CLIC) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Arvi Sepp is Professor of Comparative Literature, German Studies and Translation Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Co-Chair of the Centre for Literary and Intermedial Crossings (CLIC) and Co-Chair of the VUB/UGent Centre for Literature in Translation (CLIV). His research spans German-Jewish literature, Holocaust literature and life writing, with a particular focus on cultural memory, trauma, and their intermedial (including digital) afterlives. He works at the intersection of Translation Studies, multilingualism, and minority-language contexts, and is especially interested in postmonolingual literatures and European peripheries. His work is interdisciplinary, combining literary analysis with cultural history, philosophy, sociology, and media studies. Read more ↓ Read less - Free De Backer -------------- Associate Professor Department of Education Science (EDWE) / Brussels Research Centre on Innovation in Learning and Diversity (BILD) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) I welcome experienced researchers wishing to explore interdisciplinary topics rooted in arts education, participatory arts, and cultural practice. This includes research that contributes to social change by critically examining dominant conceptualisations of the who, how, why and what. Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in international collaborations, work with non-academic partners, and link their research to societal and policy-relevant contexts. Read more ↓ Read less - Geert Vandermeersche -------------------- Professor Psychology and Educational Sciences / Educational Sciences / Brussels Research Centre on Innovation in Learning and Diversity (BILD) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) I welcome expressions of interest that focusing on urban projects and practices with young people that use the arts as a central mode of inquiry, participation, or education. I am especially interested in projects that explore how young people use artistic practices—such as visual arts, performance, digital media, participatory arts, or socially engaged art—to investigate, imagine, and transform urban environments. The research may connect education with urban studies, cultural geography, youth studies, and participatory research. I particularly welcome projects developed in collaboration with urban actors, including cultural organisations, artists, schools, youth initiatives, community groups, municipalities, or public-space organisations. Researchers will be supported in translating their insights into policy-relevant knowledge and in engaging with cultural, civic, and policy actors. Read more ↓ Read less - Martijn Van Heel ---------------- Professor Department of Psychology [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Martijn Van Heel is a professor in developmental and educational psychology whose work centers on adolescent development and mental health, with a particular focus on how social contexts—such as family dynamics, schools, and increasingly digital environments—shape well-being. I study mechanisms like emotion regulation and interpersonal processes, including how young people use technologies such as social media and messaging in their daily lives. Across my research, I aim to combine rigorous methods with applied insights to inform prevention, assessment, and intervention strategies, as well as public and policy debates around mental health. Read more ↓ Read less - Soetkin Vervust --------------- Research Professor Archeology, Environmental Changes, and Geo-Chemistry (AMGC) Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Soetkin Vervust works at the intersection of landscape archaeology, historical geography and geosciences, investigating long-term landscape change driven by the interplay of natural processes and human interventions. She combines geoarchaeological fieldwork (including OSL profiling and dating) with historical cartography, retrogressive landscape analysis and GIS. Her current research portfolio spans the southern North Sea coastal plain (the Holocene evolution of the Belgian coast and the IJzer plain through the FWO SBO project TESTEREP) and the Eastern Mediterranean, where she works on agricultural terraces as a long-term land management strategy and on the human–environment dynamics behind the Late Bronze Age collapse in the Larnaca Bay area, Cyprus. A consistent thread across her work is the translation of long-term landscape evidence into heritage practice, public engagement and policy advice, in close collaboration with regional and national stakeholders. She welcomes postdoctoral fellows interested in developing interdisciplinary projects on landscape change, human–environment interactions or applied geoarchaeology, and in shaping their research so that it speaks to societal challenges and contributes to heritage and environmental policy at regional, national or European level. Read more ↓ Read less - Christophe Snoeck ----------------- Associate Research Professor Archaeology, Environmental Changes & Geo-Chemistry (AMGC) Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Join the Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-Chemistry Research Group in collaboration with Christophe Snoeck at Vrije Universiteit Brussel as a postdoctoral fellow and develop an independent research project at the intersection of archaeology and chemistry. You will apply cutting-edge isotope geochemistry methods to questions of past human mobility, diet, and funerary practices, with access to advanced laboratory facilities and strong international networks. Read more ↓ Read less - Koen Kerremans -------------- Associate Professor Languages and Humanities (LW) / Linguistics & Literary Studies (LIST) / Brussels Centre for Language Studies (BCLS) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) I am interested in supervising postdoctoral research that explores how language, terminology and/or language technology can contribute to more accessible and inclusive communication in multilingual societies. Relevant projects may address healthcare, migration, public services or institutional communication, and may involve topics such as language barriers, multilingual knowledge resources, public service interpreting and translation, or responsible uses of AI-supported language technologies. My research is strongly applied and often developed in collaboration with societal partners, with a view to generating practical, institutional or policy-relevant impact. More information is available on my research profile: https://researchportal.vub.be/en/persons/koen-kerremans/. I particularly encourage applications from candidates with a strong interest in interdisciplinary, impact-oriented research and a willingness to engage with stakeholders beyond academia. Read more ↓ Read less - Jolan Kegelaers --------------- Assistant Professor Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences / Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Our group conducts research on mental health in sport and other performance domains. We welcome postdoctoral candidates interested in both fundamental and applied research. On the fundamental side, we aim to better understand the mechanisms, contextual influences, and risk factors associated with mental health problems among athletes and other performers. On the applied side, we develop, implement, and evaluate interventions that target both individual-level factors and broader ecological conditions. Across all projects, our research is guided by a strong commitment to working closely with applied stakeholders, including athletes, coaches, practitioners, organisations, and policy actors. We aim to generate scientifically rigorous knowledge that is not only academically relevant, but also meaningful, accessible, and valuable for those working in high-performance contexts. Read more ↓ Read less - Sebastian Oberthür ------------------ Professor / Co-Director Centre on Environment, Economy and Energy / Brussels School of Governance [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Sebastian Oberthür is Professor for Environment and Sustainable Development at the VUB's Brussels School of Governance. He has dealt with issues of international and European environmental and climate governance for more than three decades. Trained as a political scientist with complementary expertise in international and European law, he focuses on issues of international and European environmental, climate and energy governance. Read more ↓ Read less - Tomas Veloz ----------- Assistant Professor Centre Leo Apostel for Interdisciplinary Studies [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Philosophical inclinations, some (but not too much) despair for the current state of the world, and strong mathematical/computational background. Read more ↓ Read less - Dimokritos Kavadias ------------------- Assistant Professor Faculty of Social Sciences / Political Science / Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Dimokritos Kavadias's research focuses on the political effects of socialisation and the role of educational institutions in shaping democratic attitudes, civic competences and political participation among adolescents. It examines how school contexts influence political socialisation, how citizenship education can strengthen civic competences and democratic engagement, and how social cohesion and integration develop in urban settings, particularly in Brussels. Dimokritos Kavadias is a Principal Investigator of the VUB Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE). DFUTURE focuses on studying contemporary democratic challenges and exploring innovative solutions to improve democratic processes. All InterACT postdoc requests for supervision by one of the DFUTURE PI’s will be assessed collectively by the entire PI team to ensure the best possible match within the supervisor team based on availability. DFUTURE gathers more than 50 junior and senior researchers, whose research spans critical topics, including declining trust in democratic institutions, political inequality, polarization, and citizen disengagement from formal politics. The group examines key political actors, such as representatives, political parties, and civil society, across various democratic systems and structures, with a strong focus on the quality of democracy in Western Europe and interest in democratic backsliding. DFUTURE also has extensive experience with managing large research projects (EOS, ERC, ERA-NET, FWO, Horizon Europe, Innoviris, …). DFUTURE is characterized by its interdisciplinary and multi-methodological approach. Researchers employ qualitative, quantitative, experimental, and comparative methods to address political issues from diverse democratic paradigms, including participatory, deliberative, and representative democracy. The group’s research also addresses the intersectionality of democratic inclusion, analyzing how factors like gender, ethnicity, and migration status affect political participation and representation. The primary goal of DFUTURE is to develop a framework for democratic design that integrates research across these domains to propose solutions aimed at strengthening democratic governance. The group is dedicated to both identifying problems and advancing solutions, leveraging the expertise of its scholars and fostering synergies between their research areas. Read more ↓ Read less - Ralf Vandam ----------- Professor Faculty of Arts and Humanities / AMGC (Archaeology, Environmental Changes & Geo-Chemistry) Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) As a professor in Archaeology at the VUB, my research investigates how past human societies interacted with and transformed their landscapes over the long term, with a particular focus on the Mediterranean. As an InterACT supervisor, I welcome fellows interested in landscape archaeology and human-environment interactions. Read more ↓ Read less - Gina Rossi ---------- Professor Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences / Psychology Research, Personality and Psychopathology unit [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Personality disorders in older adults are often underestimated or misdiagnosed, partly due to the atypical presentation of psychological symptoms later in life. The problems are frequently complex, with comorbidity involving other (psycho)pathologies. As a result, undertreatment is common. Assessment instruments are often not tailored to the gerontological context, and categorical classification systems fall short. Therefore, we primarily conduct research based on empirically supported dimensional models such as AMPD and HiTOP, and we develop and validate corresponding assessment tools. From the research chair clinical geropsychology we also focus on adaptation of treatment for the older context. Read more ↓ Read less - Merijn Chamon ------------- Professor of EU Law Law and Criminology / Public Law / Brussels Centre for Law, Government and Society [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) In my research I focus on horizontal questions of EU law and the EU legal order's underlying legitimacy claims: how does/should EU law come about; how is/should EU law be applied/enforced by EU/national authorities; how do/should EU institutions and Member States cooperate to pursue EU policies/objectives; what is/should be the scope of EU law in the EU's internal/external policies; etc. These questions are present (manifestly or latently) in every policy area covered by EU regulation. If your project aims to address such questions (as part of the main RQ or simply because they linger in the background of a more policy-oriented RQ) I am available for supervision. Read more ↓ Read less - Laura Rosseel ------------- Associate Professor Faculty of Arts and Humanities / Linguistics and Literary Studies (LIST) / Brussels Centre for Language Studies (BCLS) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) I am open to supervise applicants with an interest in sociolinguistic aspects of language variation, specifically relating to language perception, language attitudes and the social meaning of language variation. Read more ↓ Read less - Anemoon Soete ------------- Professor Faculty of Law, Department of Public law, Public International Law [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) I welcome applications on public international law; international environmental law; international law of the sea; human rights law. Read more ↓ Read less - Bas van Heur ------------ Full Professor Department of Geography / Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Bas van Heur is professor of urban studies, director of the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies, and programme director of the VUB-ULB MSc in Urban Studies. His main research interest, broadly speaking, is in the politics of urban development. Underlying this interest is a normative concern with state-society relations and the capacity of civic actors to develop public knowledge about the city and democratic forms of collective organization. Key topics: cultural and creative industries, migration and arrival infrastructures, urban laboratories and experimentation, culture and political economy, sociology of science. Most of his current research revolves either around community-led socio-cultural infrastructures (cultural commons, cooperatives, collective ownership) or elite-led cultural initiatives (cultural patronage, arts philanthropy, public-private partnerships, wealth elites). Read more ↓ Read less - Gaëlle Ouvrein -------------- Assistant professor Faculty of Social And Economic Sciences / Department of Communication Studies / Studies in Media, Innovation & Technology (SMIT) Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Gaëlle Ouvrein studies how online users, from adolescents to senior people, navigate a digital world shaped by online media-figures, including social media influencers. Her research focusses specifically on how interactions and relationships are developed between media-figures and the audience. These interactions can be both positive (e.g., fandom domain) as well as negative (e.g., celebrity bashing). Her research examens psychological mechanisms as well as outcomes on social and personal development. She examines such process in general as well as in specific fields such as mommy influencers, disabled influencers and silver influencers. Gaëlle Ouvrein therefore combines the fields of media psychology and celebrity studies as well as both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Read more ↓ Read less - Thomas Crispeels ---------------- Professor Entrepreneurship & Innovation Faculty of Social Sciences / Department Business Technology and Operations (BUTO) / Business for Society Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) The Brussels Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab (BREL) at VUB's Business for Society Research Group welcomes applications from post-doctoral researchers interested in working under in a research group investigating the role of academia in a modern, technology-driven society. The group has a particular emphasis on early-stage technology transfer and academic entrepreneurship. Areas of expertise relevant to post-doctoral supervision include: Technology transfer and collaborative R&D in high-technology industries; Deep tech spin-offs and academic entrepreneurship; Innovation network dynamics and inter-organisational collaboration; Public-private partnerships in innovation-driven sectors such as life sciences and biotechnology; Translation of academic research into commercial opportunities;.... Candidates with a background in Technology & Innovation Management, Entrepreneurship... or related fields, and with an interest in the societal and commercial dimensions of research and innovation ecosystems, are particularly encouraged to apply. Read more ↓ Read less - Jachin Van Doninck ------------------ Professor Brussels Research Institute on Development, Governance and Empowerment, through law (BRIDGE by PREC) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) My research focuses on a wide range of methods to uncover and systemize new and emerging principles of adjudication and reflect on the procedural embedding of societal needs. Whose rights? What remedies? Read more ↓ Read less - Corina Heri ----------- Associate Professor Faculty of Law and Criminology / Department of Water and Climate (HYDR) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) My research group is interdisciplinarily positioned between the Faculty of Law and Criminology (public law group) and HYDR, the department of water and climate. As a result, as a postdoctoral researcher in this group, you would be positioned to conduct cutting-edge research on climate litigation and climate-related human rights, while benefiting from interdisciplinary insights. Read more ↓ Read less - Antonis Kalogeropoulos ---------------------- Research Associate Professor Studies in Media, Innovation & Technology (SMIT) Research Group, Department of Communication [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) My research revolves around how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, are reshaping news consumption and the ways people access, evaluate, and engage with political information. I examine how algorithmic curation, digital platforms, and mobile environments influence exposure to news, trust in information sources, and patterns of avoidance or selective use. I am particularly interested in how AI driven systems and platform infrastructures may reinforce or mitigate social inequalities in access to reliable information across different groups and countries. Read more ↓ Read less - Eva Swyngedouw -------------- Research Professor Faculty of Social Sciences / Department of Sociology / Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies (BRISPO) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) Eva’s research focuses on urban expulsion regimes and socio-spatial inequality. She is particularly interested in projects that examine processes of displacement, eviction, and housing precarity, and how these dynamics differ across cities, social groups, and governance contexts. Her work welcomes inquiries into housing justice, tenant struggles, and forms of housing activism, as well as analyses of the policies, power structures, and governance practices that shape access to housing, exclusion, and urban citizenship. Read more ↓ Read less - Pieter Martens -------------- Associate Professor Faculty of Arts and Humanities/ Department of History, Archaeology, Arts, Philosophy, and Ethics (HARP) / Histories of Art, Architecture and Visual Culture (VISU) Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) I welcome applicants working on Architectural History. Read more ↓ Read less - Katarzyna Ruchel-Stockmans -------------------------- Assistant Professor Faculty of Arts and Humanities/ Department of History, Archaeology, Arts, Philosophy, and Ethics (HARP) / Histories of Art, Architecture and Visual Culture (VISU) Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) My research develops along three interconnected strands. The first examines the role of museums and cultural institutions in hyperdiverse societies, with a focus on participative art practices as vehicles for social engagement and community belonging. The second investigates vernacular lens media — everyday photography and film produced outside professional or institutional contexts — as forms of collective meaning-making and cultural memory. The third explores the intersections of citizen science and socially engaged art, asking how non-expert communities contribute to knowledge production through contemporary art, photography, and film. I welcome postdoctoral researchers drawn to interdisciplinary, socially committed scholarship at the boundaries of visual culture, art history, and cultural policy. Read more ↓ Read less - Bert Schreurs ------------- Professor Faculty of Social Sciences / Business Department (BUSI) / Business for Society Research Group [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) My research explores how employees experience and respond to uncertainty at work. Focusing on precarity, well-being, and work behavior, I examine how HR practices can support sustainable careers. More recently, I investigate how AI-enabled HR systems can help both organizations and employees improve decision-making, development, and work experiences. Read more ↓ Read less - Bram Spruyt ----------- Professor Faculty of Social Sciences / Department of Sociology / Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies (BRISPO) [Social Sciences and Humanities](?panel=4) I welcome candidates that would like to work on intergroup relationships (especially education-based status processes) or topics related to the sociology of education, culture and youth. 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