dr. Olivia De Ruyck
Senior researcher at the research group for Media, Innovation and Contemporary Technologies, Department of Communication Sciences and Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Product Design, Ghent University.
#UserResearch
#Co-creationTechniques
#IdeaGeneration
#TrainingAndWorkshopFacilitation
#InternetOfthings
Olivia holds an interdisciplinary PhD (since September 2024) from Ghent University, between the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture and the Faculty of Communication Sciences. Her dissertation was entitled: “Smart Products, Complex Interactions: Unraveling the Complexity of User Interactions in the Design Process of Smart Products.”
Olivia has a background in Industrial Product Design (Antwerpen) and a Master's in Marketing Management (Vlerick). Previously, she worked for almost 10 years as an Innovation Consultant at Verhaert Masters of Innovation in Kruibeke, Belgium, and as a Business and Innovation Consultant at Europraxis (formerly The Node Company) in Barcelona, Spain.
Over the years, she has worked with international and Belgian companies from various sectors (healthcare, education, telecom, food and beverage, logostics, IoT) and has been involved in research projects at Ghent University and imec, including successful projects for European (H2020) and Belgian (SBO, ICON) programs. She is the co-inventor of a patent on a modular control device and has (co-)authored several peer-reviewed articles in international journals and conferences.