Videos

What if you could store your personal data in your own digital vault and control who accesses it? Computer scientist Dore Staquet is working to make this a reality by solving key challenges, like efficiently retrieving data when hospitals or services need it. His goal? Putting you back in control of your data, without sacrificing speed or convenience.

Did you know that the data from your sports watch can help detect heart disease? Every day, millions of pieces of health data are collected in Belgium: from your movement and heart rate to your sleep quality and blood pressure. This data is gathered via smartphones, sports watches, and doctors, but often remains fragmented and unused. Via 'We Are', a secure online platform, you can consciously connect and share your health data, as researcher Cato van Schyndel explains.

🔒 Did you know your DNA is protected by strict privacy laws like GDPR, but your protein data often isn't? When you take part in research studies, protein data can end up in public databases to help scientists find new cures. But what about your privacy? Bioinformatician Frédérique Vilenne, along with ethicists, is working on solutions to protect your data while still driving scientific progress.

The sole is beloved on the plate, but increasingly difficult to catch. ILVO researcher Lancelot Blondeel shows how smart data and technology help fishermen fish more efficiently and sustainably.

Do you know what happens with your blood sample after a visit to the doctor for a check-up? Your blood sample undergoes testing for common biomolecules like cholesterol, glucose, or vitamin D. Modern technology allows for testing beyond these basics, generating vast amounts of data. Dries Heylen is developing visualizations and analytical techniques to help researchers make sense of this complex data, providing deeper insights into how specific biomolecules relate to diseases and which ones are crucial to monitor. Bloody genius, right?

To measure is to know. That is the credo of Michelle Laeremans (VITO). Together with a team of researchers, she monitors the health of 300 children in Mol, Dessel, and Retie (Belgium). They do this from pregnancy until the child reaches the age of 18. In this way, they map exposure to chemicals.

How long will a patient live after his or her cancer diagnosis? And how long will a marriage between a new couple last? To make predictions of this so-called 'survival time', the time until an event occurs, researchers use statistical methods to analyze lifetime data. But what if you have incomplete data? Can you still make accurate predictions? That's what Worku Ewnetu is working on. Watch the video to find out more.

"Several people with visual impairments use screen readers, which means that if an app or a website is not built with accessibility in mind, some information may not be noticeable to them at all."
Through her research, Olga Gkotsopoulou (VUB) wants to raise awareness and help organizations make information about our personal data accessible to the widest audience possible. 

A personal data breach is not to be taken lightly: it can lead to depression, divorce, and even death. Seems far-fetched? Not really, as the data breach of a Canadian adultery website showed in 2015. Lina Jasmontaite (VUB) researches how companies (should) handle data breaches in Europe, since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 

Research shows police spend only 60% of all patrol time in crime hotspots. Philipp M. Dau (UGent) uses data to analyze both police and crime hotspots. These new insights could help police departments more efficiently, guide officers while being on patrol and make our cities a safer place. 

Ever wondered why your smartphone seems to know everything about you? You talk to a friend on Whatsapp about getting a new coffee machine and suddenly you see online ads about coffee machines everywhere. What is happening and what can we do about this? Laura Drechsler (VUB - FWO) tells you more about data & data protection law in this video.

A smart speaker can make our lives easier by acting as our home assistant and helping us manage our daily tasks. But what about our privacy? Can we trust these devices with our family arguments over money spending? By designing technologies and workflows, engineer Rafa Gálvez wants to help companies develop smart devices that respect our privacy.