Researchers

PhD Candidates
	F. Kaya MSc is a PhD Computer Science candidate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She leads and chairs the research for Decentralized Governance Design within DISE group. She co-founded “DECENT” (Decentralized). DECENT is developed in the philosophy that we as society have the responsibility in creating fairness in how rules of engagement are decided. Decentralization is an important aspect in promoting transparency and fairness. Blockchain technology did not live up to the hype of true decentralization. Mainly because ecosystem design is still to a large extent centralized and decision making is not transparent nor decentralized over multiple actors. In our research we position Decentralized Governance as a Design artifact. We have developed DECENT through industry-strength cases and study this field through the lens of decentralized ecosystems such as decentralized energy trading and decentralized finance: digital currency creation. We study the topic by taking a conceptual modeling approach, as our vision is that amodel-based approach (machine processable formalization) will lead to our long-term research goal: computational governance. In her view, the information technology world is shaping, restructuring, and organising the world at distributed levels. She is curious to look beyond disciplinary boundaries, to develop innovative techniques and methodologies that will benefit society at large. She also established the IEEE Decentralized Governance Design. Find here her DISE publications and here her Github, where you can access the DECENT modeling toolkit to design decentralized governance.
	I. da Silva-Torres MSc is a PhD Computer Science candidate in the field of process- and value modelling. In particular, his research concentrates on deriving an e3value model from a BPMN 2.0 process model using a set of validated guidelines. His research is in cooperation with Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). He has a degree in Production Engineering at Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), and works with mapping and analysis procedures since 2008. He works in the area of ​​Business Process Management (BPM) since 2011. He also has experience in working for renowned companies as a production engineer: Faber-Castell, Honda, Samsung and Envision. He also works as Process Analyst at the UFRGS Process Office, acting on the following topics: process management, implementation of BPM, modeling processes, redesign processes and process analysis. Find here his DISE publications.
	N. Bartels MA is a PhD Computer Science candidate from Fraunhofer IESE. He studied Business Administration in Germany, UK and Argentina, and obtained degrees from the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern and the Universidad Nacional del Litoral. The topic of Nedo is the Business Model Construction Kit, which offers existing and proven knowledge on the development of business models available for practitioners in a tractable way. The focus of his research is on the various revenue models for platform business models. Find here his DISE publications.
	F. Dittoh MSc is PhD Candidate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and researcher at the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale, Ghana. His research is in the interdisciplinary field of ICT for Development centers around the design and deployment of context-aware, community-centered information systems for people in low-resource environments. He is involved in the establishment of a new Computer Science department and in the design of a new software engineering curriculum at the University for Development Studies in Ghana. He is a member of the interdisciplinary research program W4RA – the Web alliance for Regreening in Africa. As an ICT professional he is founder and director of the Ghanaian tech firm Faith IT Consult and an ICT Associate of United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
	A. Almaarif MSc is a PhD Computer Science candidate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The focus of his research is on ICT for Development (ICT4D), concentrating on Smart Cities for the Global South, especially for Indonesia. His work is about conceptual modelling and requirement engineering and how they affect the implementation of Smart Cities. Ahmad has a degree in Computer Science from the University of Indonesia and a Master’s degree from Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia.
	J. Cheng MSc, is an exchange PhD Candidate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the field of business model and supply chain. She studied Management Science & Engineering in China, and will obtain the doctorate degree from Northwestern PolyTechnical University. Her research interests focus on the interdisciplinary field around business ecosystem and supply chain integration.
Researchers
	Dr. Ir. M. Xander Makkes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science, at  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Marc was previously a postdoctoral associate at VU. Marc’s thesis is on the controllability of virtual infrastructures was completed at the University of Amsterdam. His recent research interests focus on building high performance distributed system for blockchains and distributed ledgers using high performance cryptography primitives. Find here his DISE publications.
	Dr. A. Bon is a researcher Information and Communication Technologies for Development countries(ICT4D). From an interdisciplinary perspective, she is studying local value networks for cereal seeds in West Africa, to understand how innovative context-aware technologies can be developed/co-created to support local value chain and improve food security, serving especially the most vulnerable communities in Africa’s drylands. Her other research/education projects are: ICT4D Community Service Learning in low resource environments; Sustainability and Ethics in Digital Development; AI for Sustainable Development in rural Africa. Anna is a Senior Editor of the Electronic Journal for Information Systems in Developing Countries and member of the interdisciplinary research program W4RA (Web alliance for Regreening in Africa). Anna supports the Vienna Manifesto on Digital Humanism. Find here her DISE publications.
	Dr. Ing. J. Gordijn is founder and managing partner of The Value Engineers, a company designing peer-to-peer business models for technologies such as blockchain. Also, he is associate professor of innovative e-business at the VUA, Amsterdam. He is the key developer of, and has internationally published on, the e3-value methodology, which comprises a graphical technique to design and evaluate networked business models. Earlier, he was a member of Cisco’s International Internet Business Solution Group. As such, he was active as an e-business strategy consultant in the banking, insurance, and digital content industries for Fortune 500 companies. Find here his DISE publications
Research Collaborators
	Prof. Dr. emer. H. Akkermans is Professor Emeritus of Business Informatics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and professor at the University for Development Studies UDS in Ghana. He is the Founding Director of the interdisciplinary Network Institute in Amsterdam that studies the interaction between digital technology and society, in which researchers from the faculties of social sciences, humanities, law, economics, and informatics participate.  He has worked for many years in knowledge engineering & management, information systems and innovative e-business modelling, with for example applications and innovations in smart electricity distribution networks and the sustainable energy transition that have been internationally field-deployed and are now in industrial and commercial use. His current research interests focus on the interdisciplinary research, education and community service program W4RA (Web alliance for Regreening in Africa). He is co-chair of DigHum’s Curriculum Working Group. He holds a cum laude PhD in theoretical physics in the field of nuclear reactions from the University of Groningen.
	Prof. Dr. emer. R. Wieringa, is Professor Emeritus Information Systems at the University of Twente, The Netherlands. Over the past 20 years, he significantly contributed to the e3value value & business modeling method. Today, he is managing partner at The Value Engineers, where he writes about ecosystems, business model and platforms regularly. Find here his DISE publications.
	Dr. F. Perez Bianco, is an Assistant Professor from Kybele Research Group of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain. His work is about model transformations of various conceptual models, expressed by different modelling languages. He has a degree in Computer Engineering and Information Systems Engineering. He also has experience as technological consultant in companies as Deloitte. His research interests are mainly focused on Model Driven Engineering (MDE) applied to business and process modelling in the context of Service Design.
	C. Gómez Macías MSc, is a PhD Computer Science Candidate from Kybele Research Group of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain. His doctoral thesis aims to facilitate the design of smart contracts in Solidity language through Model Driven Engineering techniques. Christian has a degree in Computer Engineering and a Master’s degree in Teacher Training in Secondary Education and Baccalaureate. He has industry experience in the field of programme analyst. His research interests are focused on Model Driven Engineering applied to smart contracts and process/business modelling in the area of Service Design.