In 2004, he began as a psychology lecturer at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences in the then Department of Welfare Studies. He was involved in developing practice-oriented research in the bachelor’s and master’s programs in Social Work. He also served as a project leader for establishing the Master’s in Digital Innovation in Care and Welfare (now Health Innovation), which started in 2015.
As a practice-oriented researcher, he has been involved in several Research Groups since 2007, addressing various issues related to the social participation of vulnerable groups. This includes the reintegration of people with mental health issues, tackling loneliness among the elderly, and promoting self-reliance among people with mild intellectual disabilities.
Since 2012, his focus has been on digital innovation in care and welfare. He has been an associate lector with the iHuman | Digital Welfare Research Group, leading several research projects on this theme. Over the years, he has been responsible for and led projects such as SoVaTAss (RAAK Public) and project NATALIE (ZonMw). He has also been closely involved in projects like Vital Regions (Interreg) and FAITH (RAAK Sprong). More recent projects include Anders werken in de Zorg Friesland and Deskundigheidsbevordering Zorgtechnologie (development budget under the Long-term Care Act in Friesland). He is also a co-initiator of the MEE Lab project, a multi-year collaboration with the welfare organization MEE Noord. In all these projects, the emphasis is on a design-oriented approach: how can we, together with clients, patients, residents, and professionals, improve care and support innovatively (and possibly digitally)? Sometimes the focus is more on designing digital tools themselves, while other times it’s on implementing these innovations.
Much of his research experience contributed to the development of the textbook “Ontwerpen voor Zorg en Welzijn” (Designing for Care and Welfare) published in 2020, of which he is the lead author. Based on this, he is involved with the Social Studies Academy and the Health Care Academy, where educational development is focused on Design Based Education (DBE) and design-oriented working.
