Claudia Delgado Simão is materials scientist expert in the design and preparation of smart surfaces with tuned optical, magnetic and electric properties, for preparation of molecular based devices such as sensors, actuators, harvesters and switches. She has participated and coordinated different national, European and private procurement projects, author of multiple peer-reviewed publications and patent applications and received several awards for her research. Currently, she is supervising technological development strategy as chief operating officer of GraphenicaLab, a startup dedicated to the development of graphene-based printed devices for healthcare, environmental and energy applications, and is lecturer in the Digital Health postgraduate program of Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal).

On July 30th, Claudia gave the lecture 'Conformable sensors for innovative cycling saddles' at our faculty

Jimmy Henry Nzally teaches at the University of The Gambia (UTG. He has a master’s degree in African History at the UTG and a second master’s degree at the VUB where he employed postcolonial theorising and discourse analysis in his thesis: ‘A Socio-Criticism of Gambian Literature’. Nzally has a PhD in Political Science from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where he was also a lecturer and teaching assistant. Nzally is an interdisciplinary researcher with expertise spanning African History, Political Science, Migration Studies and Postcolonial Studies. His research methodologies span from historiography, archival research, oral history, postcolonial theorising and discourse analysis. Nzally's main expertise lies in African international relations, postcolonial African studies, and decolonisation approaches.
Nzally has a strong network in Belgium within African diaspora communities which stems from his studies. At the VUB for example, he founded the Africa Students Community (ASCOM) and subsequently the Latin America Students Community (LADCOM). Furthermore, he partnered with “Memoir Coloniale” in Belgium, an organisation dedicated to creating awareness in the construction of a decolonial civic consciousness through history, the cultural values of Africa, and the investment of public space. Furthermore, he has served on the Diaspora Advisory Board as a board member of the International Organisation for Migration in Belgium and Luxembourg.

​On April 24th, Jimmy gave the lecture 'Decolonising Gambia's Heritage' at our faculty​

Serena Iervolino is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Critical Museology at King’s College London, where she also serves as Impact and Engagement Co-Lead. Her research investigates how museums respond to post-colonial challenges through institutional transformation, collaborative practice, EDI strategies, and decolonisation processes. She is currently writing a monograph on decolonisation in European ethnographic museums, based on longitudinal fieldwork. Dr Iervolino works in close partnership with museums, activists, and scholars to foster sectoral change and rethink curatorial practice. Her research—both individual and collaborative—has been supported by major funders including the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council and Qatar National Research Fund. Through critically engaged scholarship, she contributes to reimagining the civic and epistemic role of contemporary museums. Currently, she is an FWO-funded Research Fellow at the University of Antwerp’s ARCHES group. Previously, Dr Iervolino was the Vice-Chair of ICOM's International Committee for Museums and Collections of Ethnography (2022-25) and held academic positions at the University of Leicester, University of Warwick, UCL Qatar, and the Science Museum.

​On November 27th, Serena gave the lecture 'Decolonising the museum : beyond the curatorial' at our faculty​

Louis A. Merlin, PhD, AICP, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Florida Atlantic University and the program coordinator for the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program. Dr. Merlin draws upon a strong background in Mathematics and Operations Research and experience as a professional urban planner.
Dr. Merlin’s current research concerns how to better integrate transportation and land use planning through the development of accessibility-based performance measures and tools, as well as improved methods for analyzing pedestrian travel patterns and travel needs.

On November 12th, Louis gave the lecture 'Planning for human-scale cities' at our faculty

​Jodi Sturge is an assistant professor in Interaction Design with the Department of Design, Production and Management in the Faculty of Engineering Technology at the University of Twente. Jodi’s research is inspired by health geography and design research. Her mixed-method research focuses on mobility, human building interaction and well-being to inform the design of healthcare facilities, home environments and other social infrastructure. Jodi has experience with co-design, evidence-based design and citizen science projects to improve public health, healthcare services and community outcomes in the Netherlands, Canada and South Africa. She has extensive experience working on interdisciplinary, international research projects in Australia, Canada, Germany and Sweden.

On October 17th, Jodi gave the lecture 'Healthcare transformation with design research' at our faculty

Amit Srivastava is Director (India) for the Centre of Asian and Middle Eastern Architecture (CAMEA) based at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Having trained and practiced as an architect in India, his primary research focuses on the architectural and construction histories of colonial and postcolonial India. His 2015 book, India: Modern Architectures in History with co-author Peter Scriver, published by University of Chicago Press, offers the long history of architectural modernity in India, from its beginnings in the colonial modern enterprise of the British PWD to the late twentieth century struggles with post-colonial identities. While his current research examines the transnational exchange of materials, skills, and construction processes across the Indian Ocean region, spanning across Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Australia, with a particular interest in South-South cooperation.

On October 17th, Amit gave the lecture 'South-South Cooperation in Construction' at our faculty

Yujie Zhu is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies at the Australian National University in Australia. He is currently a visiting fellow at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. Yujie earned his PhD in anthropology from Heidelberg University in Germany. His research focuses on the cultural politics of the past within various heritage and memory spaces. He is the author and editor of 8 books, including the recent monograph China’s Heritage through History (2024), Heritage Tourism (2021), and the recent edited collection Heritage, Conflict, and Peace-Building (2024). Yujie served as the vice-president of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies from 2014 to 2020 and is an expert member of the ICH Committee of ICOMOS.

On November 25th, Yujie gave the lecture 'Rethinking Heritage as Public Education: Challenges and Possibilities' at our faculty