UTDesignLabDesignLab welcomes ITC members to the DesignLab Research Fellows team!

DesignLab welcomes ITC members to the DesignLab Research Fellows team!

Making societal impact, by joining forces

Eager to connect their profession with the goals of DesignLab and having the drive to make societal impact together: we proudly present to you five researchers of the faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, who have recently joined the Designlab Research Fellows team! Dr. Paulo Raposo, Dr. Monika Kuffer, Dr. Mila Koeva, Dr. Funda Atun Girgin and Dr. Javier Martinez. What motivates them to be part of the community?

Paulo Raposo

Paulo Raposo

Assistant Professor of Geovisualisation (ITC)

"I have broad geographic and anthropological training, and the social-science aspects of these are one of the ways I envision myself contributing most intensely to work done with other Fellows. Also exciting to me is the opportunity to work with curious, driven students at the DesignLab, whose creativity I hope to foster in open-ended projects or classes."

Monika Kuffer

Monika Kuffer

Human Geographer, urban remote sensing, GIS, urban planning, environment and poverty expert.

"Happy to get more involved into the activities of DesignLab! We would like to make use of DesignLab for several PhD researches, for instance Mapping and Ethics (Isaac Oluoch) and Digital Twins of historic city reconstruction. Additionally, we would like to connect the educational activities with the development of training material for communicating with diverse stakeholders on urban development questions, within the ongoing Tailor-Made Training (TMT) projects."

Mila Koeva

Mila Koeva

Mila's activities contribute to developing and combining innovative techniques for land administration and urban planning, including the third dimension for different applications in the field. 

"I believe that my educational background obtained from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy (Sofia), alongside with my broad professional experience in the field of geodesy, cadaster, photogrammetry and remote sensing, 3D modelling/Digital twins, will contribute to what DesignLab stands for."

Funda Atun Girgin

Funda Atun Girgin

Assistant Professor of Strategic Spatial Planning

"I am a scientist who supports the transdisciplinary research and involvement of citizens in science. The DesignLab provides an excellent environment for transdisciplinary research, and allows students and citizens to join the research activities related to their future as active, strong and knowledgeable actors."

Javier Martinez

Javier Martinez

Specialised in Quality of Life Studies, Intra-Urban Inequalities and (Qualitative) GIS in different geographic contexts.

"I have become a DesignLab Research Fellow because I found potential synergies between my teaching innovation goals, societal relevant research interests and the focus areas of DesignLab. This fellowship will be an opportunity to incorporate the DesignLab in future research applications and be part of its community."


DesignLab Research Fellows

The DesignLab Fellows Team consists of researchers from the various faculties of the University of Twente, who value creativity, societal engagement, and transdisciplinarity. For them, DesignLab is a platform to meet and discuss, to work on joint research proposals, and to conduct research projects. Together, the DesignLab Research Fellows do not only advance their own research projects, but also the overarching focus areas of DesignLab: citizen science, responsible design, by working in a transdisciplinary way. They all have a strong commitment towards exploring, understanding or solving societal challenges, often within the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.