Elias Carayannis
George Washington University School of Business
Thinking-beyond-the-box, gaming, living labs, quadruple & quintuple helix innovation helix, design thinking, efficacious helical entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems.
Dr. Elias G. Carayannis is a Full Professor of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at The George Washington University School of Business. As an “entrepreneur of the mind,” Dr. Carayannis is dedicated to fostering constructive social, economic, and political change through innovative thought leadership. In 2009-10 he co-created the Quadruple Helix concept and later expanded it to the Quintuple Helix, incorporating environmental sustainability to drive growth and resilience. This concept has been widely adopted globally, with initiatives like EPIC- WE serving as tangible demonstrations. Dr. Carayannis champions transformative thinking and innovative frameworks for constructive social, economic, and political
change.
Geatano Dimita
Queen Mary University of London
Interactive entertainment law, regulation, cultural heritage.
Gaetano Dimita is a Reader in Interactive Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS), Queen Mary University of London. With a focus on Games and Interactive Entertainment Law, Gaetano contributes to EPIC-WE by exploring how legal frameworks influence game creation and gameplay experiences. His expertise helps ensure that EPIC-WE supports the design of better games and the development of positive and inclusive online communities.
Mary Flanagan
Dartmouth College
Game-making, value-making, game through and for culture, cultural heritage, social values, game-design, participatory practices, design-thinking.
Mary Flanagan is Distinguished Professor of Digital Humanities at Dartmouth College, where she engages in transdisciplinary teaching and research. She is the founder and director of Tiltfactor, one of the longest-running game research labs in the U.S., with over 20 years of groundbreaking work. As an artist and board game company operator, Mary’s expertise lies in inclusive game design methodologies. Her projects at Tiltfactor focus on reducing biases, encouraging women in science, promoting scientific learning, and challenging social stereotypes. With two decades of experience, Mary is a pioneer in leveraging games to address social and cultural barriers.
Annakaisa Kultima
Aalto University
Game Jams, game-making, cultural game-jams, game-design, culture-making
Annakaisa Kultima is a university lecturer in the Game Design and Development Master’s programme at Aalto University. With a PhD in Game Studies from Tampere University, she has dedicated over two decades to researching the creative practices of game developers and makers. A leading expert in game jams, Annakaisa has participated in over 50 such events globally in various roles, including organizer, judge, and participant. She co-founded the Finnish Game Jam organization in 2013 and served as its president until 2020. She is currently building a new European masters’ program in games, RePlay (first intake starts in 2024).
Dimitri Schuurman
Visiting Professor Gent University – Business Developer imec-MICT-UGent – Senior Research Strategist ENoLL.
Living Labs, innovation management, participatory design, co-design, provocative design, user innovation.
Dimitri Schuurman is an expert in Living Labs, innovation management, co-creation, co-design, and user innovation, particularly in the context of emerging technologies. Through his role at the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), Dimitri brings valuable insights to EPIC-WE, supporting the scalability of initiatives into fully-fledged Living Lab organisations. His expertise in evaluating and guiding innovation processes helps ensure that EPIC-WE fosters impactful and sustainable outcomes.
Chris Solarski
Solarski Studio
Game design, empathy, kinaesthetics, identity, self-expression, embodiment, youth engagement, participatory practices, culture-making, game jams, game prototyping.
Chris Solarski is an independent researcher and author renowned for his series of books exploring the intersection of traditional art and games, with a particular focus on empathy, self-expression, and cultural heritage. His empathy-driven game design method, Kinaesthetic Time Capsules, is a powerful approach that aligns perfectly with EPIC-WE’s goals, helping young people express their identities and cultural backgrounds through game design.
Anneke van Woerden
Freelance learning designer and creative facilitator
Participatory practices, design for sustainability, cross-cultural communication, building communities, cultural participation, action research, multi-disciplinary collaboration.
Anneke van Woerden is a learning designer and creative facilitator based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. With extensive experience in higher education, she specializes in design, sustainability, and co-creation. Drawing from her work in growing the Global Goals Jam—a global community of changemakers—Anneke brings valuable expertise to EPIC-WE, particularly in designing for multi-disciplinary collaboration and fostering cross-cultural communication.
Inês Nunes // Óbidos YAB
Neuropsychology student and researcher
Psychology, Data Analysis, Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Inclusion
Inês Nunes obtained a BSc in Psychology from ISPA-IU in 2021. Currently she’s a master’s degree student in Neuropsychology at Lusófona University in Lisbon, Portugal. During her studies, she developed an interest in academic research; and in March of 2022, she became a scholarship holder (first stage researcher), working as a neuropsychologist investigating the field of communication sciences and serious games for rehabilitation.
Her experience in research, game-based rehabilitation, and working with diverse populations aligns with EPIC-WE’s focus on innovation, inclusion, and education, contributing to meaningful impact.
Leonard Hjuler Baungaard // Aarhus YAB
Software developer
Software and Game Development
Leonard Hjuler Baungaard is a software developer with expertise in C#, game development, and agile project management. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Digital Media and brings experience from leading game development projects at Ludic Lemur and teaching programming at Erhvervsakademi Dania, among many others. Through his knowledge on the technical side of Game Development, as well as experience in cultural relations, he brings valuable expertise to EPIC-WE.
Stig Børsen Hansen // External Ethics Advisor
Professor at the University of Southern Denmark
Value sensitive design; design for learning; research ethics
Stig Børsen Hansen works in the fields of philosophy of technology, digital humanities and educational science. He has served on his University’s Research Ethics Committee since its inception. With his extensive academic knowledge but also practical expertise, he will guide EPIC-WE on topics related to values and ethics. Stig Børsen Hansen’s interdisciplinary approach and long-standing involvement in ethical research ensure that his guidance will be both insightful and impactful for EPIC-WE’s work on values and ethics.
