About me
A short personal introduction.
I would like to tell you a bit more about two things I am very interested in: education and promoting women in tech.
When I was a student, I was very interested in education. I had various jobs teaching computer science skills at various school levels. But my interest for education has become less connected to teaching in the traditional form. Nowadays I am more interested in serious gaming, as a means to educate people. I like that this is a very promising and broad field. There is a lot of research in this field, for a broad scope of purposes. I am specifically interested in how serious games and gamification can empower vulnerable people. Serious games and gamified applications can be a tool for those who are vulnerable, which can improve their health, quality of life or safety. For example, the serious game I created for doorstep scams, is a tool for vulnerable elderly to improve their safety.
I am very passionate about promoting more women in tech. When I was a student I volunteered at various events to promote women, or more specifically girls, to consider tech (and science) as a career option. Personally I think that it is very important to show girls, but also boys, that often stereotypical thoughts about jobs are not true. These stereotypical thoughts can influence learners on their educational choices, or even influence how teachers/parents advice them. During an interview with TechGirl (in Dutch) I said that I think that gender should not influence your education or career choices.
Furthermore, I was interviewed by the Advalvas about why I was organizing Girlsday at the VU, which is available here.
