Dr. Niels Hendriks, Associate Professor

Dr. Niels Hendriks is an Associate Professor and the coordinator of the Caring. and Design research cluster at LUCA School of Arts (Associated Faculty of the Arts, KU Leuven, Belgium). His work focuses on inclusive and participatory design methodologies for individuals with high support needs, particularly those living with dementia. Beyond traditional product design, Niels employs a systemic lens to explore the reciprocal influence between artifacts and users within the broader care ecosystem. He is the co-founder of the Dementia Lab Conference, an international platform bridging research, education and practice. Under his leadership, the Dementia Lab conference series (published by Springer) has become a global cornerstone for the design-and- dementia-care community. His methodology centers on relational expertise, prioritizing trust-building through immersion and 'backstage work' in care settings. Niels explores how embodied interaction and design artifacts act as performative mediators, reconfiguring material environments to enable more dignified realities for those often excluded from traditional design.

Niels supervises a diverse cohort of PhD researchers across LUCA School of Arts, KU Leuven (both in the Faculty of Arts as well as in the Faculty of Psychology), the University of Maastricht (Faculty of Psychology) and the University of Hasselt (Faculty of Architecture). Their research spans critical themes including design-mediated collaborative decision-making, sexual expression in residential care, and design as a mediator in palliative care.

Previously, Niels led HOMEDEM, a Marie Curie Doctoral Network focused on creating better home environments for people with dementia through interdisciplinary research in design, policy and health economics. He is a core team member and lecturer for the European Master in design and care, Response-Able Futures, and currently coordinates URBAN, a project developing a European portfolio for care, design, and sustainability next to being a member of the KU Leuven 'Care & Care Policy' group. A veteran of the Participatory Design Conference (PDC) and a member of the CoDesign editorial board, Niels is a frequent reviewer for top-tier journals and conferences. He has experience as a researcher and lecturer in Belgium, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Dr. Andrea Wilkinson, Post-Doctoral Researcher

Andrea is a senior lecturer and Coordinator of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in Design and Health_Care, Response_Able Futures and researcher in the Inter-Actions Research Group. A designer, researcher and lecturer in design, she has expertise across interaction design, visual language communication, service design and design education. In her research, she mainly focuses on design equity and how empathy emerges within the designer through interaction and participation with ‘design-poor’ individuals (people with dementia, young people with autism, people with a disability, people on the fringes of society, etc). This relation-based design participation between designer and participant and necessary proxy participants informs design decisions (products, services, functionality) as well as a designer’s future creative practice.

In 2016, together with Dr. Hendriks, she co-founded the Dementia Lab Conference. A native of the US, but based in Belgium since 2010, Andrea is active mainly in Belgium, but has also worked in New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Portugal and India in workshops and educational exchanges.

Since 2024, she has led a team from Sheffield Hallam University (UK) and the University of Aviero (PT), within the European Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) in Design and Health_Care, ResponseAbleFutures. ResFut brings together international top designers from diverse disciplines together in a two-year, intensive Masters programme focused solely on the care industry and creating impact through design. She is also involved with the Erasmus+ project EduCare looks at developing a care-centered educational framework for design education that promotes well-being, inclusion, and innovative teaching pracitces.

Lieke Lenaerts, Designer-Researcher

Lieke is a Belgian designer-researcher working at the intersection of design, care and education. Her practice explores how design can function as a tool to inform, engage and create shared experiences. With a strong belief in participatory and inclusive design, she develops research-based interventions, objects and methods that invite interaction and dialogue.

Since 2019, Lieke has been affiliated with the Caring. And Design Research Group at LUCA School of Arts, where she combines research, education and project development. Her PhD research focuses on capturing experiences of living with dementia and translating them into accessible tools and artefacts that foster understanding and empathy. Alongside her doctoral research, she contributed to the set-up of European and Belgian Living Lab initiatives and she teaches in the Productdesign department and the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's Response_Able Futures.

Amber De Coen, Designer-Researcher

Amber is a graphic and service designer with a passion for participatory and social design. She graduated with an MA in Arts in 2020, completing a participatory design project that explored how loneliness in young adults can be understood, communicated, and visualised. In 2021, she completed a Postgraduate degree in Space and Service Design at Thomas More.

In her practice, Amber supports others in interpreting their social and personal contexts by positioning herself at the intersection of careful observation and active participation. Her work focuses on vulnerable and marginalised groups, using visual language to facilitate understanding, connection, and translation between people and their wider societal contexts.

In 2021, Amber started a PhD within the Contextualized Creation Research Unit at LUCA School of Arts (Genk). Conducted within the Blink. project, her research examines how design research and participatory design can support person-centered care by helping carers recognise, share, and translate nonverbal expressions of personhood. She also develops inclusive methods and more transparent ways of documenting participation with nonverbal people, including persons with late-stage dementia and persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD), in professional care settings.

Since 2025, Amber has been teaching within Response_Able Futures, an MA in Design and Health Care. She also works on the EduCare project, which aims to develop a care-centered educational framework for design and other academic fields, promoting well-being, inclusion, and innovative teaching.

Yoni Lefévre, Design Researcher

Yoni Lefévre is a design researcher and her work mainly involves challenging ageism, unpack taboos, and spark new ways of imagining how we want to grow older through participatory practices. Currently pursuing a PhD, Yoni explores how design can be used to navigate the complexities when addressing intimacy, sexuality, and sexual health together with residents and staff in care homes. She has a background in communication design (Design Academy Eindhoven, NL), in health and well-being research (The Glasgow School of Art, UK), and worked as a design research consultant at STBY (NL) where she contributed to innovative and strategic design projects for local and international clients. Blending her background of social design, industry, and academic research, she creates interdisciplinary research projects that’s always grounded in people's everyday experiences, using design as a tool to reframe ageing—not as a decline, but as a space for playfulness, curiosity, and vulnerability.

Rising Lai, Designer-Researcher

Rising Lai is an industrial designer from Taiwan, concentrating on universal design and inclusivity for several years. In 2019 Rising graduated with a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Tatung University, Taiwan, and in 2022 they completed a Master of Industrial Design at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, Netherlands. Rising is experienced in design research and product development, mixed with artistic and experimental expression. Along with their multicultural and international background, Rising’s design practice intends to stimulate discussion, make positive social impacts, and work closely with the education and public sectors. Their choice of media include but are not limited to products, tools, crafts, and installations.

In 2023, Rising started their PhD project at the Inter-Actions Research Unit based at LUCA School of Arts in Genk. Their research aims to research and design products and services to support mediating shared decision-making communication for mealtime throughout the dementia journey in the Marie Curie Doctoral Network HOMEDEM.

Britt Pellens, Design Researcher and HOMEDEM Project Manager

Britt Pellens is a design researcher at LUCA School of Arts, focusing on impactful design interventions within the context of the end-of-life. Through her PhD research (2026–2030), Britt explores the role of design in facilitating meaningful interactions when the end of life is near. Her work investigates how design interventions, objects, and rituals can support feelings of connectedness and meaningfulness during the palliative stage. Britt focuses on material explorations and participatory methods to unravel the articulation of existential feelings, moving beyond verbal encounters. This work is deeply informed by her time as a volunteer in palliative home care, where she seeks to learn from the everyday realities that a life-limiting illness evokes.

With a background in architecture and urbanism (University of Antwerp), Britt later transitioned into Space and Service Design at Thomas More University. This multidisciplinary path allows her to bridge spatial design with a relational and empathetic practice, an approach reflected in her work on an inclusive museum toolkit for people with intellectual disabilities, which was nominated for the 2022 New European Bauhaus "Rising Star" prize.

Britt also coordinates the European-funded Marie-Curie doctoral network ‘HOMEDEM’ (2022–2026) and co-teaches the Master elective ‘Care in Crisis,’ which focuses on design interventions within the context of palliative care.

Reine Pinxten, Design Researcher

Reine is a Belgian product designer with expertise in both design and health sciences. After a year of studying physiotherapy, Reine transitioned into the design field, completing a Master’s in Product Design at LUCA School of Arts in 2024. This blend of knowledge fuels her passion for creating products that focus on health and well-being.

Her graduation project focused on developing products for migraine management, demonstrating how design can contribute to alleviating discomfort for individuals with this condition. Reine thrives in multidisciplinary environments, bringing together insights from various fields to drive thoughtful research and creative solutions. She believes that well-designed products have the potential to significantly enhance both physical and mental wellbeing, shaping a healthier future.

Floris Carpentero, Project Development Manager, ResponseAbleFutures

Floris is a Space and Service Designer from Belgium, using a holistic approach to tackle social challenges through the design of services and their environments. He earned his Master’s degree in Interior Architecture from the University of Antwerp in 2023 and further expanded his expertise by completing a postgraduate program in Space and Service Design in 2024.

With a commitment to placing users at the heart of his designs, Floris has developed a unique ability to integrate a holistic perspective into his work. Initially focused on designing physical spaces, he has successfully transitioned into service design, combining spaces and services to address social challenges that directly impact users and create future-proof solutions.

Throughout his postgraduate program, Floris completed several design projects within international and cross-disciplinary teams. This experience leveraged his skills in collaborating within multicultural settings and designing from diverse viewpoints, enriching his approach to problem-solving.

Floris is dedicated to crafting environments that not only serve practical purposes but also enhance user experiences and encourage community connections. He is part of the team supporting the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programme ResponseAbleFutures.

Annelien Hofmans, Designer-Researcher

Annelien is a designer and visual artist who sees her design practices as easy ways to communicate clearly, create awareness and tap into people's ability to connect. She’s dedicated to creating strong yet playful concepts and has a deep interest in artistic projects that tackle societal issues in the long run.

After graduating her BA/MA in Communication Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (2013), Annelien continued her studies with a BA/MA in Graphic Design and Media & Information Design at LUCA School of Arts, Brussels (2017). Throughout her practice, she developed a profound fascination with the way individuals relate to their selves: a commonality we all share yet sets us apart.

November 2023, she joined the ‘Inter-Actions’ Research Unit to work towards a PhD in the Arts. Her doctoral research focuses on the potential of participatory, multisensory and arts-based methods as well as creative analytical practices to gain more insight into the lived experiences of people with dementia and their informal caregivers. The aim is to find out how it is possible to set up interventions that contribute positively to their well-being, vision on the self and personhood. This way, she wants to empower persons with dementia and their loved ones to cope with the challenges posed by this condition and change stigmatizing perceptions to prevent a decline in their well-being and delayed care.