Elly Konijn

Elly A. Konijn is full professor in Media Psychology at the Department of Communication Science, VU University Amsterdam. Building on her multidisciplinary background in psychology, media studies, and computer science, she initiated and developed the unique graduate and research program in Media Psychology Amsterdam. Her research focuses on three interconnected lines: 1) Relating to media figures, virtual humans, and social robots; 2) Emotions and media-based reality perceptions; 3) Media use among adolescents. Konijn’s research work has been published in major scientific journals in the field, books and edited volumes, and was presented in professional documentaries, invited lectures, and media appearances. She served as chair of the Information Systems division of the International Communication Association and editor of Media Psychology.

Johan Hoorn

Dr. Dr. Johan F. Hoorn (D. Litt., D. Sc.) is full professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and at VU University, holding two PhD degrees, one in General Literature and one in Computer Science from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His in-depth knowledge of the workings of fictional characters is applied in research and development of communication robots. Hoorn combines user studies with the design of artificial intelligence systems (AI) in developing the Robot Brain Server, handling data, data security, AI, and a Cloud for the robot as a safe and trustworthy confidante to its user. His latest research efforts are modeling reality perception, creative problem-solving, and to model human emotion processes after quantum physical mechanisms for the robot to simulate.

Marly kiewik

Marly Kiewik is a Director at Deloitte Consulting within Human Capital. She has twelve years of experience as a Management Consultant, and is a specialist in the field of strategy- and innovation challenges in relation to transitions within the healthcare industry. In her daily job, Marly likes to connect humans with technology, and is working on projects together with healthcare providers, ministries and various municipalities. Furthermore, Marly is an author of several healthcare publications commissioned by the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports.  

‘’I am involved in innovative healthcare projects with expected and unexpected partners. I focus on the social side of innovation. My motivation to lead Alice is the following: not everyone who is alone feels lonely, but when you experience loneliness, it is an unwanted feeling. Even if you have a large social network, you can experience a low sense of belonging, if those contacts have little meaning for you. In today’s world, where we struggle with a shortage of healthcare professionals and caregivers, more vulnerable elderly have to age in their homes and get more and more lonely. It is good to reward initiatives that contribute to the quality of life of the elders. As a social innovator I am glad to facilitate projects on loneliness within Deloitte Consulting. I am happy to work together with my team on Alice, as it supports the social approach and attention to people who need more contact. Alice can considerably increase the social network of people, and research has shown that this has a significant effect on the well-being of the elderly. With this project, we hope to contribute to a social robotics ecosystem that is truly sustainable for the future.’’ 

Franklin Heijnen

Franklin is a creative director at Deloitte Digital, with nearly 20 years of experience in digital projects. He is specialized in concept development, service design and has experience in the financial industry, public sectors and manufacturing (chemical sector).  During each project Franklin tries to create a connection between the needs and the journey of the client and the goals and challenges of an organization.  

 ‘In my work I like to bring different disciplines within an organization together. I always start with focusing on the challenges that have been raised from within the organization itself. Listening and developing a good picture of not only the functional needs but also the emotional needs is an effective starting point. By making use of co-creation techniques the future becomes tangible and testable. This motivated me be part of the Alice project team. Co-creation is an important part of Alice, since the beginning of the project elderly have been actively involved in the creation of Alice. We have paid close attention to the needs of elderly and according to these insights we created a prototype that has been tested by elderly. Seeing that research, development techniques and technology come together to decrease feelings of loneliness among elderly fascinates me.’