Marianne Bossema awarded doctoral grant for teachers
Media Technology alumna Marianne Bossema has received a doctoral grant for teachers. This grant enables teachers to spend five years doing research that will eventually lead to a PhD graduation. Marianne will do her research on social robotics, under supervision of Leiden University's Rob Saunders.
Annually, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science makes 9 million euros available for the PhD positions. With the grant, the teachers receive the opportunity to further develop themselves and to strengthen the link between universities and schools.
Marianne Bossema is a lecturer HBO-ICT and a researcher at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. For her Media Technology MSc thesis (2020, read it here), she studied whether observers of an abstract robotic object ascribe intentions based on its movements.
Social robotics and generative AI to support and enhance creative experiences for older adults
Extensive research has shown that creative activities can promote health and well-being with older adults. At some point in their lives, it becomes more difficult for seniors over 65 to participate in the creative activities that give them pleasure. Social robotics and generative AI offer unique opportunities to keep creative activities accessible and engaging, but there are unanswered questions about the added value and the specific wants and needs of older adults. Research into this contributes to the empowerment and wellbeing of the elderly, as well as to the development of theories about human-machine creative collaboration.
Marianne's PhD research will be undertaken at Leiden University, within the Media Technology research group. Her supervisor is Rob Saunders.