Thomas van Rompay is an Associate Professor at the Department of Communication Science of the University of Twente (UT) in the Netherlands. He has a background in cognitive psychology. After obtaining his master degree at Leiden University, he pursued his PhD at Delft Technical University, Department of Industrial Design Engineering. Specifically, he studied design experience from an embodied cognition perspective, investigating how design communicates meaning and affect. Since 2005, he works at The University of Twente.
His current research projects take place on the threshold of design and psychology where he studies influences of environmental design (and âgreenâ / natural stimuli in particular) and technology on health and wellbeing, and the potential of innovations in packaging design (multisensory design and 3D printing) for promoting responsible (food and beverage) consumption.
In addition, Van Rompay collaborates in multi-disciplinary projects in order to develop design and technology for people with health challenges, amongst others in ZonMW's "Growing Roots: Connecting Elderly through Virtual Nature Spaces", in Horizon 2020's "MinD: Designing for people with Dementia" and in Connecting Industries' (Top Technology Twente) âDigital Nature - Enhancing patient care & controlâ (in collaboration with Philips Research])".
At the UT, he participates in tech-inspired programs in close collaboration with BMSLAB and teaches and works at the Universityâs DesignLab where he is a DL-fellow.
Thomas van Rompay teaches in multi-disciplinary courses in which relationships between design & technology and societal challenges take centre stage, such as:
MA course âDesign and Behavior Changeâ (in collaboration with ET-IDE).
The goal of this course is to connect theory and practice and come up with a concept/prototype of a design intervention in the context of a specific societal challenge (e.g., active lifestyle promotion). Students work in mixed teams (CS/IDE/HMI) with the goal to enable a multidisciplinary perspective on current societal issues.
BA course âCommunication by Designâ
Focus in this bachelor course is on communication by means of creative technology (VR technology as a way to immerse people in restorative environments with the goal to enhance performance and wellbeing) and/or multisensory design (packaging design to promote healthy food consumption and healthy lifestyle development).
MA course âSocietal Challengesâ
Goal of this course is to engage students with stakeholders in the context of a specific (NWO/EU-based) societal challenge (e.g., green energy transition, mobile technology use and social dynamics, healthy living). It includes reflection on the role of communication in the specific challenge at stake. Through this course, we aim to complement studentsâ academic skills and mindset with an acute sense of where and how communication professionals can make a difference in the world of tomorrow.
Vakken in het huidig collegejaar worden toegevoegd op het moment dat zij definitief zijn in het Osiris systeem. Daarom kan het zijn dat de lijst nog niet compleet is voor het gehele collegejaar.