Dr. Niels Hendriks

Niels is the research coordinator of the research unit Inter-Actions and also a design researcher and lecturer. His interest domains are in interaction and product design, participatory design/CoDesign and design for health. He worked on several projects on online journalism, internet of things but mostly on healthcare, empathy and well-being-related projects. His research has a strong focus on designing for and together with people living with dementia. This research zooms in on exploring different methods and materialisations of participation, but also looks at ways to engage empathically as a designer or at how design can contribute to the reflection on what position people with a (cognitive, intellectual, physical) impairment is given. In line of that work, Niels has worked with children with autism, people with high support needs, etc. His most recent project (Certification-D, Interreg NWE) works on defining design requirements for 'better' design for people with dementia. Niels is also the co-founder of the Dementia Lab which clusters research and educational activities and the name of a conference on dementia and design. He has been active in Belgium, Hong Kong, Denmark and Germany, both in education as well as in research.

• Projects:

Lieke Lenaerts: Development of a handover approach in design for dementia

Teis de Greve: Hack your neighbourhood: Hacking as a critical practice in the smart city

Certification-D

• Contact:
  niels.hendriks@luca-arts.be
  KU Leuven: wie is wie