About Us
ECDA serves as a flagship centre within Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), facilitating applied research and active learning in the domains of AI, data, digitalisation, and making it tangible through immersive technology which encompasses VR and AR and creates captivating digital experiences. This technology intersects with AI, data, and digitalisation by harnessing data-driven insights for personalised interactions, leveraging AI for enhanced realism, and contributing to industrial digital transformation via interactive and data-rich environments. This convergence increases customer engagement, empowers informed decision-making, and drives innovation across sectors.
We concentrate on supporting the development and application of data analytics methods to address real-world challenges. Hence, we partner with both public and private organisations through an extensive partner programme.
Our Belief
We hold the belief that data, algorithms, and AI act as vehicles to bring the necessary changes and transitions required to confront current and future societal challenges and to move closer to achieving objectives like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We recognise our responsibility to equip our society with emerging talent that is proficient in data and AI – preparing them to navigate the swiftly evolving AI landscape in an effective and thoughtful manner. This approach should contribute to society in a positive and sustainable way.
"You cannot look at data analytics in isolation anymore. It is not just influencing technology, operation management and marketing – it is redefining whole industries”
Marcel van Oosterhout
Executive Director, ECDA
Our Approach
At ECDA, our hands-on, human-centred approach serves as a central tenet of our programmes and activities. This approach involves working with real and current data sets, along with real individual, organisational, and societal challenges.
This human-centred approach is a critical aspect, and the link between context, strong techniques and society is a direct embodiment of the different schools (rooted in law, sociology, art, business, economics, and healthcare) that together form the Erasmus University Rotterdam and shape the Erasmian values.
We encourage and facilitate vital debates on AI’s design and the ethical, social, and legal considerations surrounding its use and societal impact. We contemplate its influence on aspects such as consumers, employers, workers, and the emerging generation of talent. In this light, we strongly believe that a balanced focus on context, techniques, algorithms, and human aspects is essential to ensure these technologies effectively serve broader society.
Our Focus
Within the ECDA community, we focus on facilitating multidisciplinary collaborations across established and emerging domains through various ways, including:
- Creating a structure of expert practices and chapters centred around specific impact themes;
- Enabling and igniting collaborative research and innovation programmes and initiatives;
- Cultivating and linking our fast-growing and diverse network of external partners with our researchers;
- Building and nurturing a strong community around data, AI, digitalisation and immersive technology through EUR initiatives and organisations like AiPact, Q-Intelligence, EDSC (EUR University library), and ErasmusX, CLI, EDIS and ERS;
- Facilitating and organising regular opportunities for engagement with both internal and external stakeholders through planned events, such as the annual Erasmus Data Summit and other gatherings, as well as spontaneous encounters within our physical hub: the Erasmus Data Collaboratory – Convergence House-of-AI.
Our Structure
Currently, the ECDA organisational structure includes 28 Expert Practices (or XPs), the Erasmus Initiative ‘AiPact,’ and the Convergence House-of-AI initiative ‘the Erasmus Data Collaboratory’:
- The Expert Practices focus on four foundational domains (technologies, methods, organisation & governance, and human/societal perspective) and five application domains (industry, health & care, port & logistics, energy & sustainability, public).
- The Erasmus Initiative ‘AiPact’ revolves around innovative and interdisciplinary AI research and education that places people and society at its core.
- The Erasmus Data Collaboratory | House-of-AI functions as the campus hub for data and AI activities.
Team
Expert Practice Directors
Prof. Dr. Ting Li
Professor of Digital Business at RSM
Fields of expertise: digital strategy, e-commerce, digital platforms, business analytics, social media and mobile marketing, digital advertising, pricing and revenue management. Professor Li’s interdisciplinary research has been sponsored by multiple grants from the Dutch National Science Foundation (NWO) and multinational companies.
Prof. Dr. Gui Liberali
Professor of Digital Marketing at RSM
Fields of expertise: marketing analytics, machine learning, advertising analytics, optimal learning, multi-armed bandits, adaptive trials, online advertising, morphing theory and applications, and dynamic programming. Professor Liberali is also a researcher at the Erasmus Medical Center, developing methods for clinical trials.
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ketter
Professor of Next Generation Information Systems at RSM and University of Cologne
Fields of expertise: autonomous systems, energy and mobility, sustainable energy and digitalization using AI and ML. Prof. Ketter is also Director at the Erasmus Center for Future Energy Business, Professor at the University of Cologne, Director at the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne and Fellow and member of the Global Future Council on Mobility at the World Economic Forum.
Dr. Rebecca Moody
Assistant Professor at ESSB
Fields of expertise: data governance and management, particularly around the social, ethical and individual consequences of the urban data revolution for people in the city. Professor Van Zoonen is also Academic Director at the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for BOLD Cities and Dean at the Erasmus Graduate School Social Sciences and Humanities.
Dr. Robert Rooderkerk
Associate Professor of Operations Management at RSM, ECDA Lab Director of Retail Analytics, and Academic Director of the MScBA Business Analytics &Management at RSM
Fields of expertise: supply chain analytics, management of products and services lifecycle based on using data and analytics. His research addresses retail operations challenges on the marketing-operations interface, with an emphasis on omnichannel retail. He is particularly interested in research questions related to assortment, product lines, and fulfillment. His empirical work integrates insights from psychology and consumer behavior with advanced analytics that include Bayesian statistics, econometrics and operations research. His conceptual work focuses on how new technologies, data sources, advanced analytics, and business models are reshaping the global retail landscape.
Dr. Anne Kathrin Klesse
Associate Professor of Marketing at RSM
Field of expertise: impact of technology on consumer judgment and decision making, consumer perceptions of AI and algorithmic advice. Dr. Klesse was awarded the prestigious Veni grant from NWO for her research on voice interfaces and decision making. She has frequently visited Stanford Graduate School of Business as a Visiting Researcher.
Prof. Dr. Martijn de Jong
Professor of marketing research at the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE)
Martijn de Jong is a professor of quantitative marketing at the Erasmus School of Economics, and formerly a visiting scholar at Columbia Business School and New York University. He has acted as a data science & artificial intelligence consultant for various companies in the market research, luxury & defense industries, for the Catholic Church, and also served as a legal expert witness.
Dr. Yashar Ghiassi-Farrokhfal
Associate Professor of Technology and Operations Management at RSM
Fields of expertise: digital energy, wholesale and retail energy markets, energy system integrations, energy storage systems, smart charging and e-mobility, and city-wide energy planning. Also ivolved in the European project FlexSUS which aims at providing a decision support system for sustainable and efficient energy transitions for city planners.
Prof. Dr. Rob Zuidwijk
Professor of Global Supply Chains and Ports at RSM
Fields of expertise: coordination for sustainable global supply chains, synchromodal transport networks and inter-organisational systems in logistics. Professor Zuidwijk is also Captain of Science of the Topsector Logistics in the Netherlands and ambassador Smart Logistics of SmartPort, a collaborative arrangement with the port community of Rotterdam.
Prof. Dr. Iris Wallenburg
Associate professor Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management
Iris Wallenburg is an associate professor at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She studies how AI transforms traditional practices of providing, receiving and governing healthcare. Iris leads two national action-based research projects related to healthcare staffing and employment (RN2Blend and RegioZ), in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Vilans, professional associations and field level parties (i.e. hospitals, nursing homes) and collaborating universities. She is a member of a national advisory committee for future healthcare employment, and has joined various national and international research initiatives to strengthen healthcare workforce development
Prof. Dr. Moniek Buijzen
Professor of Communication and Behavioural Change at ESSB
Fields of expertise: benefits of digital technology in a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, dissemination of health campaigns for youth and peer influencers in online social networks. Professor Buijzen also leads the NWO funded SocialMovez project.
Prof. Dr. Yvonne van Everdingen
Professor of Marketing and Innovation at RSM
Fields of expertise: marketing of new products, use of new technologies (VR, AR) for the development and launch of new products and consumer adoption of sustainable new products. She is also a member of the EUR Diversity Advisory Board of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, member of the Special Interest Group Virtual Reality at the Erasmus Behavioral Lab, member of the “Profgroep Onderwijs” of the MOA Expertise Center, and chair of the jury for the MOAward Insights Scientist of the Year.
Prof. Dr. Luca Berchicci
Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and New Business Venturing at RSM
Fields of expertise: decision making in problem solving, firm’s capabilities building, (green) innovation and business models and machine learning algorithms for model uncertainty mapping. His primary interest lies at the intersection of strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Prof. Dr. Dennis Fok
Professor of Econometrics and Data at ESE
Fields of expertise: econometrics, data science, machine learning, marketing, and high dimensional data. Professor Fok also advices companies and other organizations on research related issues. He is the director of the Econometric Institute and the Academic Director of the master in Business Analytics & Quantitative Marketing (specialization within the Econometrics and Management Science program).
Prof. Dr. Aurélie Lemmens
Associate Professor of Marketing Management at RSM
Fields of expertise: customer analytics, machine learning, causal interference, optimization of managerial decisions such as customer targeting. She is the author of the recently developed ProfitBoost algorithm to optimize customer retention campaigns. Dr. Lemmens was awarded several prestigious grants, including a Marie Curie from the European Research Council, a Veni and a Vidi grant from NWO.
Prof. Dr. Marcus Specht
Full professor at Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Prof. Dr. Marcus Spechtis Professor for Digital Education at the Technical University of Delft and Director of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Center for Education and Learning. He is also Professor for Learning Technologies at the Welten Institute of the Open Universiteit. His research focus is on Mobile and Contextualized Learning Technologies and Social and Immersive Media for Learning. Prof. Specht is an Apple Distinguished Educator and was President (2013-2015) of the International Association of Mobile Learning.
Dr. Trilce Navarrete Hernandez
Assistant Professor of Digital Cultural Economics at EUR
Specialist in the economic and historic aspects of digital heritage. Navarrete is scientific advisor at the [European Group of Museum Statistics ][European Group of Museum Statistics](EGMUS) since 2011, board member of the [International Committee of Documentation][] of the International Council of Museums (CIDOC), and regular guest lecturer at various Museology programs worldwide.
Dr. Kristiaan Glorie
Executive Director at Erasmus Q-Intelligence
Fields of expertise: econometrics, data science, machine learning, operations research. Dr. Glorie leads the development of data science and AI solutions for businesses at Erasmus Q-Intelligence, and he advises organizations on their implementation. He is the director of the post-master Data Science & Business Analytics program.
Prof. Dr. Claartje ter Hoeven
Professor of Organizational Dynamics in the Digital Society at EUR
Professor ter Hoeven is the scientific director and coordinator of the interdisciplinary master and research program ‘Organizational Dynamics in the Digital Society’. Her scholarly interests encompass constant connectivity, digital labor, algorithmic management, and worker’s well-being. Currently, her teaching and research focuses on how digital technologies reconfigure work for different people in different types of work.
Research interests: Digital labor, algorithmic management, remote work, worker’s well-being
Prof. Dr. Gabriele Jacobs
Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Culture at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (ESSB)
Professor Gabriele Jacobs is Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Culture at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences and Academic Director “AI in public safety and security” expert practice at ECDA. Her research interests include: Organizational change, justice and identity, leadership, international public safety management, civic engagement, co-creation, methodology. Since September 2022 Gabriele Jacobs leads the NWA project AI-MAPS (Artifical Intelligence in Multi-Agency Public Safety), an multi-disciplinary research project with more than 20 partners from academia, the private and public sector and civil society.
Prof. Dr. Peter van der Spek
Professor of Pathology & Clinical Bioinformatics at EMC
Fields of expertise: Biological Studies, Computer Science, Information Engineering and mathematics and statistics to support the diagnostics of complex patients. Professor Van der Spek is also Visiting Professor at the University of Chulalongkorn Bangkok, Thailand
Prof. Dr. Klaus Heine
Professor of Law and Economics at ESL
Fields of expertise: legal consequences of technological disruption. Professor Heine is also the Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Digital Governance. He is also a member of the platform Learning Systems of the German government.
Core team
Dr. Marcel van Oosterhout
Executive Director, ECDA
Marcel van Oosterhout is executive director of the Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics. He is passionate about the opportunities of digitalization, AI and immersive technologies in relation to contributing towards societal challenges, such as the energy transition and developing smart sustainable cities. Marcel is a connector, strong in initiating new projects and partnerships on the edge of science and practice. He has an academic background with a PhD from Rotterdam School of Management on Business Agility and Information Technology in Service Organizations. He has over 25 years of experience in project management, applied research and executive training programs.
Marlon Domingus
Data Protection Officer
Marlon Domingus serves as Data Protection Officer for the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), the EUR Holding and RSM BV. He is regularly tasked as chair of working groups on national level. He is responsible for the content of free online courses on data protection and the GDPR. Marlon specializes in GDPR, and writes and speaks about privacy governance, (data) ethics, privacy by design & privacy engineering, risk management & privacy audits, and developments in EU data governance reform. He has a background in philosophy.
Dr. Zaman ZiabakhshGanji
Data Analytics Support Engineer
Experiences in data engineering, deep Learning, ETL processes, full-stack software development, database management systems, and expertise in developing Restfull API. An expert in crafting robust data pipelines and developing cutting-edge Machine Learning and Computer Vision solutions. As well as proficient in Python, Django, and cloud platforms such as AWS GCP and CI/CD pipeline. Thoroughly familiar with delivering AI results-driven projects seamlessly integrating across diverse disciplines.
Saskia Dechaene
Digital Coordinator
Passionate about virtual reality and its implications on accessibility both within and outside the gaming sphere. Currently studying MA in Media and Creative Industries, having previously completed an MA in Cultural Economics and Entrepreneurship, and a BSc in International Business at Maastricht University with a major in organisation.
Farshad Hasanabadi
Platform Engineer
A passionate thinker and doer. Having a background in chemical engineering (BSc) and renewable energy systems (MSc) and holds an engineering doctorate (EngD) in Smart Buildings & Cities. Having built and prototyped solutions for extracting value from data in the engineering and smart city domains. Being hands-on in developing the components of ECDA Data Collaboratory, where data and AI come to life.
Monika Olbrycht
Design & Digital Marketing Coordinator
A graphic designer and illustrator with experience in DTP and digital design. Experienced in working with communication and marketing tools. Passionate about creating new design solutions and thinking outside of the box. Creating digital portraits and patterns as a hobby.
Marta Stachowiak-De Wit
Marketing Lead
Passionate about the customer domain, entrepreneurship, stakeholder management and data driven decision making. Previously part of the founding team of Erasmus Enterprise at the Erasmus University, and later Head of Marketing and Communications. Strong in strategic positioning, community building, (new) concept and brand development, and portfolio management. Before this, gained international corporate operations management and project management experience as Customer Excellence Manager EMEA. Avid in creative management, specialized in developing video presence, framing, and storytelling. Team player, leading by example, lifelong learning, human/society centered innovation and tech, and combining strategic management with eyes for a strong delivery.
Daphne Broer
Project and Event Manager
Passionate about organizing events and creating a place where people can meet and learn from each other. Experiences in organizing various B2B events. With a background in Media and Entertainment Management(BA), I possess the skills and knowledge necessary to plan, coordinate, and execute events and projects that not only meet but exceed expectations. A real team player with a hands-on mentality and always happy to help.
Jos van Dongen
Director Erasmus Data Collaboratory
Jos van Dongen joined ECDA on July 1 2023 as director of the Erasmus Data Collaboratory – House of AI. Jos has been involved in software development, business intelligence (BI) and data analytics since 1991 and is the (co)author of three highly acclaimed (open source) BI books and numerous blogs and magazine articles. Previously he worked for SAS Institute as a principal consultant in the Dutch customer advisory team. Prior to that he was an independent consultant, speaker, and analyst. During his career he successfully led analytics teams for a wide variety of organizations in both public and private organizations. Jos is still regularly invited as a guest lecturer at conferences and academic institutions where he teaches and inspires the next generation of data scientists and business analysts.
Matthijs Malkus
Project and Event Manager
Background in public administration and health economics. Sustainability and data enthusiast, with previous experience as a lector at Erasmus University College in health sciences and economics. Founder of the sustainable initiative ‘Plantaarnpaal’ that aims to make the city greener by growing plants on street lampposts. Project manager of the EUR Smart campus project and AI@EUR program. Strong in organizing, connecting and analyzing. Loves finding new and creative ways to make ECDA & the EUR a better place.
Lisa Noordam
Event Coordinator
Enthusiastic and driven student who likes to go out of the comfort zone and learn new things everyday. Currently studying the MSc Business Information Management while having previously completed a MSc Strategic management and a BSc Business Administration all at RSM, Erasmus University. Passionate about the impact of (emerging) technologies, strategy, (digital) business transformation, organizing and connecting.
Delal Aktas
Analytics & Website Coordinator
A hard-working and continuously learning MSc Business Analytics Management student who immerses themselves in the world of entrepreneurship, business, and technology. Have taken on multiple positions, ranging from technical sales and algorithm-based marketing to leadership positions in student associations and freelancing teams.
Asa Yudhistira
Data Analyst
A driven Data Analyst and MSc Business Analytics Management student with a proven track record in enhancing pricing accuracy and improving enrollment predictions. Proficient in Python, R, and SQL, and skilled in delivering strategic insights through advanced machine learning models and real-time dashboards. Passionate about leveraging data analytics to drive operational efficiency and business improvements across various domains.
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