Bram Lievens

Background

About Bram Lievens

My key research activities are dedicated to development of new services and innovations a.o. in the domain of smart cities. More specifically, I look at the interplay between technology and society and how this influences users interaction and their experience. Exploring new methods and tools to investigate this relationship is something I enjoy. Today, various types of new technology enable me to interact with citizens in their natural setting, as they are having their experience. I apply this in various research projects, especially in my work within imec’s City of Things. This is a large-scale IoT living Lab in Antwerp. There, I perform real-life contextual inquiry, by means of tools such as experience sampling techniques and the use of proxy technologies (i.e. existing technologies that resemble the innovation under development) in the various phases of product or service development (design, shaping, testing and evaluation). I hold a bachelor degree in social and cultural work and a master degree in communication science. After a brief period of working for various local authorities, I joined SMIT in 2002. Ever since, I have been active in numerous national and European projects within the domain of user-centered design and smart cities. Specialties: user experience, living lab,(design) ethnography, social shaping of technology, smart cities contextual inquiry