I am an independent researcher at the intersection of business administration, society and technology. My interest and expertise are in management systems, such as quality and knowledge management, in the application of technologies, particularly Internet and Web 2.0 technology, to support the implementation of management systems, and in the overall architecture and design of the social, technological and commercial aspects of enterprises. I am equally intrigued by the challenges of investigating models that explain and applying these models to both companies as permanent and projects as temporary organisations.
More recently I have started to investigate and develop models and formats of co-creation, in the context of his work as a senior project manager at Waag Society, within the Fablab community, and together with colleagues Abdul Samad Kazi (VTT, Helsinki, Finland) and Patricia Wolf (ETH Zurich, Switzerland). First results of this endeavour have been the development and delivery and evaluation of “unconference” and co-creation formats in academia and business.
In addition to the organisational and interactional aspects of co-creation, I am also investigating how structural and societal conditions influence and are influenced by various forms of co-creation, one example being the current intellectual property and copyright regimes.
I have worked as a research manager in knowledge management and technologies at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland, UK; 2001-2004) and I have been a researcher in industrial psychology at ETH Zurich (1993-1999). I have also worked in business as a senior consultant for Akronym GmbH (since 1997) and for GEC Alsthom (now Areva T&D) as an industrial engineer (1988-1995).
Next to my business and academic assignments, I have helped to initiate various interdisciplinary cultural and artistic projects – in Lucerne (Switzerland) and Melk (Austria) I co-founded the group p&s (2000) that is responsible for the European project readme.cc virtual library (funded by the European Culture 2000 programme), and in Aberdeen (Scotland, UK) I initiated the project Oil and the City (2004/5) discussing the impact of the oil industry on the social life an cohesion in the city. My contribution was in bridging the gap between culture and entrepreneurship. My interest in these projects was integrating arts, academia and media, and bringing about public involvement and public discourse.
I received a Dr. sc. techn. and an MSc. in industrial engineering from ETH Zurich, and a certificat in International Copyright Law from the University of Amsterdam. I received formal training in online journalism, in educational video production, as a facilitator for Local Agenda 21 and for future workshops, and in sound engineering. I am proficient in German, English, Dutch and French.