Hanne Vandenbroucke

Hanne Vandenbroucke joined imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel as a PhD researcher on the topic of recommender algorithms and news personalization in the Flemish news media industry.

She followed a unique Bachelor’s trajectory combining Languages and Linguistics with Communication Sciences at KU Leuven. She completed her Master’s in Communication Sciences cum laude at KU Leuven and extended it with an extra semester abroad at Universidad Camilo José Cela in Madrid. After graduating, Hanne gained experience working as a marketing and CRM manager in the field of digital education.

In May 2023, Hanne joined the Media Economics and Policy unit. Her research focuses on recommender systems in the news media industry. Throughout her four-year doctoral journey, her research delves into the opportunities and challenges related to recommender systems development within commercial news organisations through the lens of media strategies.

The first phase centers on unraveling the strategic decision-making processes in the development and implementation of recommender systems from a multi-stakeholder perspective. In the second phase, the focus shifts towards a user-centric perspective, aiming to examine the added value brought about by recommender systems throughout users' journeys and experiences.