Zeynep Birsel

Zeynep BirselConcept & Project Developer

Zeynep Birsel is concept and project developer for the Open Design Lab and Space Lab at Waag. She has fifteen years of professional experience in working with scientists, academic entrepreneurs, start-ups and mid-size companies in commercial development of early stage technologies and designing for sustainable innovation. She is also experienced in policy development for regional innovation, having worked with technoparks and incubators as well as private universities across Turkey, in collaboration with Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council and regional development agencies. 

Zeynep studied English Literature and philology at Istanbul University and holds a masters degree in Communications from California State University. She lived and worked in Istanbul, Turkye for most of her career before moving to The Netherlands in 2017. 

Currently, Zeynep is working on her PhD research at Erasmus University, focusing on collaborations between art, science and technology, investigating how a shared social ecology for collaboration across diverse epistemic cultures can be conceptualised. In her research, she asks what we can learn from individual and collective experiences of artists, technologists and scientists when co-habiting a space for situating science and technology in societally and culturally relevant contexts. Zeynep also gives guest lectures at Erasmus University, is an active member of a number of research groups such as ITD Alliance and SEADS Collective, and is one of the co-authors of Creative Producers Manifesto published during Ars Electronica 2021.

Current projects

Een vrouw met een velgekleurd jasje houd een apparaat vast. Achter haar is een sterrenhemel geprojecteerd tegen een muur met gele en paarse sterren.
Future Internet Lab

EXCENTRIC

EXCENTRIC ontwikkelt en implementeert een Collaborative Data Practice door de uitvoering van vier sectorspecifieke en twee cross-sectorale pilots onder echte werkomstandigheden.
starts4water2
Open Design Lab

S+T+ARTS4WaterII

S+T+ARTS4WaterII focuses on clean water as a basic right for all people and the preservation of life in our oceans, seas and marine life.
VOICE Work
Open Wetlab

VOICE

VOICE (Valorising Artist-Led Innovation Through Citizen Engagement) is an EU-funded project that explores the intersection of art, technology, and society to drive social and environmental change. The project is structured in two phases, supporting artists as key facilitators of collaborative, concern-driven innovation. In the pilot phase, six selected ATSI projects are undergoing a structured process of praxis-based research, mentoring, capacity building, funding and communication support. 
S+T+ARTS Prize trophy with logo
Open Design Lab

S+T+ARTS Prize

The STARTS Prize is an annual recognition of two innovative projects at the interface of science, technology and art.
Female Farm beauty products
Open Design Lab

Better Factory

Better Factory will provide methodology and opportunities for manufacturers to collaborate with artists at developing new and personalized products.
Cyberspecies Proximity by Anna Dumitriu & Alex May
Open Design Lab

Vojext

By collaborating with artists, technology partners and manufacturers, Vojext addresses human-robot interaction that contributes to today’s societal and also environmental challenges. 
Open Next - Embassy of Health DDW
Open Design Lab

Open Next

Today’s mass-produced product creation is expensive, risky and unsustainable. SMEs and maker communities across Europe are coming together to fundamentally change the way we create, produce, and distribute products.