Public Engagement Fellows

The Amsterdam AI Public Engagement Fellows are for anyone who wants to join the conversation about the societal impact of AI. Beyond the usual circles, in real, meaningful discussions — fostering an equal dialogue between science and society.

Since the rise of generative AI, you no longer have to explain what you work on at a party — or do you? What do people expect from AI? What worries or questions do they have? And how can you, as a researcher, contribute to that conversation? Als Public Engagement Fellow krijg je de handvatten die je nodig hebt om een gelijkwaardige dialoog te voeren over jouw onderwerp.

We offer you:

Training in the area of Public Engagement
A community of like-minded AI researchers from the Amsterdam Area
Possibilities for real coversations with diverse audiences thoughout the city
Contact with people from outside your personal bubble
Valuable insight for your research (including the possibility of citizen science)

What are you going to do?

Dates: Thoughout the year

Locations: Librabries, Civic centers, Musea and othe public places
Access: Open to all Amsterdammers

Our team

Our Public Engagement Fellows

Erik van Zwol

Communications Strategist

Ezgi Dede

Fellow

Ezgi is an multi-disciplinary researcher investigating Human-AI interactions and synthetic relationships. By combining her expertise in psychology, computer engineering, and communication science, she is interested in learning why individuals find artificial partners attractive and how humans augment their capabilities with AI.

Peter Powell

Fellow

Musician by training, entrepreneur by accident, Peter has founded 3 companies and realized 2 successful exits. He’s worked with companies like Nike, KPMG, The BBC and Deloitte and is now the co-founder if the AI for Impact Collective, a profit-for-good company that connects top level AI talent with social impact organizations and non-profits to accelerate positive change using responsible AI.

Hans Luyckx

Fellow

Founder of AI-advies en training, I support organizations in healthcare, legal, and education to adopt AI responsibly and effectively. We provide tailor-made training programs that empower employees to use AI tools in an ethical and practical way. My mission is to bridge technological innovation with human values in everyday professional practice.

Jan Pecka

Fellow

Student at the University of Amsterdam and co-founder of AISO, the largest student-led AI community in Amsterdam. Interested in helping students apply AI in their studies, careers, and daily lives, and in creating awareness of how AI is developing in society.

Roemer Wage

Communications

FIlip Ilievski

Fellow

Jona Ruthardt

Fellow

In my PhD, I study large-scale foundation models, similar to ChatGPT. I focus on how well they can interpret and understand the world when given images. My goal is to create AI solutions that go beyond theory and help solve real-world problems.

David Graus

Fellow

I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam and Lab Manager of the ICAI OpenGov Lab. My research focuses on AI for government transparency, and I teach on the societal impact of AI in UvA’s BSc AI program. After obtaining my PhD in Information Retrieval in 2017 I worked for in industry for a few years, building real-world AI-systems at Randstad and FD Mediagroep. My interest in enga

Zuhir Bodalal (Elkarghali)

Fellow

Zuhir Bodalal is a clinician-scientist passionate about using AI to bridge the worlds of imaging and tumour biology. He sits at a round table everyday with doctors, engineers, and biologists.

Vanja Skoric

Fellow

My research explores striking the right balance between artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic systems development and protecting and promoting human rights and freedoms, while embedding participatory methods to discuss, develop and deploy AI.

Bart Sjoerdsma

Fellow

As Education Manager for IT program at the University of Applied Sciences Inholland, I focus on curriculum innovation and preparing students for the rapidly changing digital landscape. I am particularly committed to integrating responsible AI use in education, ensuring future professionals are both skilled and ethically aware.

Sean Benson

Fellow

Sean Benson is an Assistant Professor in the Cardiology department of Amsterdam UMC, specialising in digital twin models and generative AI. Sean worked as a particle physicist for 9 years with the LHCb experiment at CERN, focusing on AI models to enhance statistical analyses, before joining the Netherlands Cancer Institute in 2020.

Caesar Pepijn de Keijzer

Fellow

I’m a Dutch AI engineer and researcher who likes the complexity of intelligent machines. Got questions or want a chat? I am always eager to ascend our common gradient!

Emma Beauxis-Aussalet

Fellow

I research how to make AI systems safe, fair, explainable and transparent — for example by modelling their errors and bias. Before becoming a researcher, I acquired a multidisciplinary expertise in the industry as a system designer and R&D engineer. The interplay between design, research, and engineering is what fuels my research on the multi-faceted impacts of AI on society.

Jiaqi Chen

Fellow

I’m currently active with AISO (AI Student Organisation Amsterdam) and DialogueTrainer, and recently completed a board year at the PLNT incubator in Leiden. My background is in AI and startups, and I’m both excited and concerned about the ways it is shaping society. I’m passionate about philosophy and dialogue, and I see the public engagement initiative, as an important bridge between critical thi

Ana Manzano Rodriguez

Fellow

PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam and Amsterdam UMC, working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and surgery. With an engineering background, I explore how to build meaningful AI models and bridge the gap between technical and medical worlds. I’m passionate about people, technology, and how AI can make a real difference in society. Always happy to chat!

Stella Verkijk

Fellow

As an advocate of developing independent language technology, my research focuses on the development of domain-specific language models. Both in the medical sector and working with historical documents, I have seen how off-the-shelf models struggle. I would like to contribute to a more open and informed dialogue on what language models are, how they work, and how we can and cannot use them.

Ilja Cornelisz

Fellow

Full Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, with a focus on interdisciplinary research on how data can contribute to better human decision-making in education, healthcare, and other public policy domains.

AI Public Engagement Fellows

What are you going to do?

As a Public Engagement Fellow, you’ll gain the tools you need to engage in an equal and meaningful dialogue about your field. We offer you:

Training in the area of Public Engagement and dialogue
A community of AI researchers with from Amsterdam with a Public Engagement mindset
Possibilities for real coversations with diverse audiences thoughout the city
Contact with people from outside your personal bubble
Valuable insight for your research (including the possibility of citizen science)

Do you want to be part of the network?

Our team is happy to help you learn more about what Amsterdam AI can do for you and how you can contribute to advancing AI in the Amsterdam region.

Registration form

Events

Our agenda

Thu 2

Oct

Socratic Dialogue Session [CANCELED]

Thu 16

Oct

Art of Dialogue Training

Thu 6

Nov

Socratic Dialogue Session [Cancelled]

Thu 4

Dec

Socratic Dialogue Session

News

Recent news articles

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