William DeJong | Change Theory | Innovative Research Award

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Dr. William DeJong | Change Theory | Innovative Research Award

Partner at INI-Research, Netherlands

William DeJong is a Dutch researcher and consultant with a strong background in applied mathematics, organizational change, and innovation management. He has extensive experience in academic research, government policy, and consultancy, particularly focusing on the systemic effects of information and communication technology (ICT) implementation. His work emphasizes the difference between ordinary change and innovation, often through the lens of second-order change.

Publication Profile 

Orcid

Educational Background 🎓

  • University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands

    • Studied Applied Mathematics and Model Building

    • Graduated in 1980

  • Ph.D. – University of Groningen

    • Focus: Innovative effects of ICT-implementation on organizations

    • Based on over a decade of experience in ICT strategy

Professional Experience 💼

  • 1980–1983 – Leiden University (Social Sciences, Section Futurology)

    • Developed a combined game and computer model of the Dutch Educational System

  • 1983–1994 – Ministry of Education and Science (Netherlands)

    • Held various roles in policy, management, and executive functions

    • Specialized in computerization and business process redesign

  • Since 1994 – INI-Research / INI-Consult

    • Role: Researcher and Consultant

    • Focus areas include organizational innovation and change management

Research Interests 🔬

  • Management of change and innovation in organizations

  • Differences between innovation and ordinary change (first-order vs. second-order change)

  • ICT implementation and its organizational impact

  • Second-order change in biological and geological systems

  • Systemic modeling and futurology

Conclusion🌟

William DeJong has built a career at the intersection of technology, organizational science, and systemic change. With a strong foundation in mathematics and systems modeling, he transitioned into roles that combined research and policymaking. His contributions to understanding second-order change in organizations—and even in natural systems—have led to a body of work comprising around 20 co-authored articles, primarily with collaborator Gea Mulder. His professional journey reflects a consistent focus on the dynamics of deep, structural innovation.

Publications 📚

  1. 🆕 DeJong, W. M., & de Vries, H. J. (2025, May). A socio-mathematical definition of innovation – The distinction with ordinary change. Technovation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2025.103220

  2. 🔬 DeJong, W., & Degens, H. (2024, Apr 15). Micro- and Macroevolution: A Continuum or Two Distinct Types of Change? Qeios. https://doi.org/10.32388/KIEJWR.2

  3. 📄 DeJong, W., & Degens, H. (2024, Feb 29). Micro- and Macroevolution: A Continuum or Two Distinct Types of Change? (Preprint). https://doi.org/10.32388/KIEJWR

  4. 🌋 DeJong, W. M., & Mulder, G. (2021, Jul). Griggs’ theory of the viscosity of rocks: A chain of mistakes. Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 10(4), 1–5.

  5. 🧬 DeJong, W. (2011, Mar 1). The Evolutionary Dynamics of Digital and Nucleotide Codes. The Open Evolution Journal, 5, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874404401105010001

  6. 📚 DeJong, W., & Mulder, G. (2022, May). A Catastrophe Scenario Explanation for the Rise of Diapirs. In Current Advances in Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences (Vol. 3). https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/cagees/v3/15812D

 

 

 

Vincent Zakka | Human Behaviour Analysis | Young Scientist Award

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Mr. Vincent Zakka | Human Behaviour Analysis | Young Scientist Award

Postgraduate Research Student of Aston University, United Kingdom

Vincent Gbouna Zakka is a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at Aston University, specializing in human behavior analysis in smart environments. His research has applications in ambient assisted living, human-robot collaboration, and user-centered building system control. With a Master’s in Mechatronic Engineering from Zhejiang University and a Bachelor’s in Electronics Information Engineering from Liaoning University of Technology, Vincent has gained valuable experience as a Research Assistant at institutions like The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Westlake University. His expertise spans activity recognition, vision-based monitoring technologies, and smart building systems. He has received several awards, including Best Paper Runner-Up at the International Conference on AI in Healthcare (2024), and has contributed to numerous publications in high-impact journals. ✨🤖🏠

Publication Profile : 

Scopus

 

🎓 Educational Background :

Vincent Gbouna Zakka is a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at Aston University, where he focuses on human behavior analysis in smart environments, with key applications in ambient assisted living, human-robot collaboration, and user-centered building system control. He holds a Master of Engineering in Mechatronic Engineering from Zhejiang University (2018-2021) and a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics Information Engineering from Liaoning University of Technology (2014-2018).

💼 Professional Experience :

Professionally, Vincent has been a Postgraduate Teaching Assistant at Aston University since October 2022, where he also mentors students and engages in research. Prior to this, he served as a Research Assistant at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2021-2022) and Westlake University (2021). His dedication to academia is reflected in his contributions to several high-impact conferences and journals, earning recognition such as the Best Paper Runner-Up Award at the 2024 International Conference on AI in Healthcare and the Best Paper Award at the 22nd International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality in 2022.

📚 Research Interests : 

Vincent’s research interests include activity recognition, user trust in monitoring systems, vision-based technology acceptance in home environments, human-robot collaboration, and smart building systems. His innovative work spans publications on privacy-preserving ambient assisted living, thermal comfort modeling, and IoT-enabled robot skin systems. He actively reviews for leading conferences and journals in his field, such as IROS and ISIE.

📝 Publication Top Notes :

  1. Darras, K., Balle, M., Xu, W., Yan, Y., Zakka Gbouna, V., Toledo, M., Sheng, D., Lin, W., Zhang, B., Lan, Z., Li, F., & Wanger, T. (2024). Eyes on Nature: Embedded Vision Cameras for Multidisciplinary Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring. Method in Ecology. Accepted.
  2. Zakka Gbouna, V., Dai, Z., & Manso, L. J. (2024). Hierarchical Temporal Convolution Network: Towards Privacy-Centric Activity Recognition. 16th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence. Accepted.
  3. Zakka Gbouna, V., Lee, M., Zhang, R., Huang, L., Jung, S., & Hong, T. (2024). Non-invasive vision-based personal comfort model using thermographic images and deep learning. Automation in Construction, 105811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2024.105811
  4. Zakka Gbouna, V., & Lee, M. (2024). A generalized thermal comfort model using thermographic images and compact convolutional transformers: Towards scalable and adaptive occupant comfort optimization. Building and Environment, 112118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.112118
  5. Zakka Gbouna, V., Dai, Z., & Manso, L. J. (2024). Action Recognition for Privacy-Preserving Ambient Assisted Living. International Conference on AI in Healthcare, 15. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-67285-9_15
  6. Xie, K., Lee, M., Khalid, R., & Zakka Gbouna, V. (2023). The impact of personal environmental control on the performance of thermal systems: Building energy consumption, occupant thermal comfort, and productivity. Energy and Buildings, 113552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2023.113552
  7. Zakka Gbouna, V., & Lee, M. (2022). An Integrated Design of Energy and Indoor Environmental Quality System for Effective Building Performance Management. Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality.
  8. Zakka Gbouna, V., Pang, G., Yang, G., Hou, Z., Lv, H., Yu, Z., & Pang, Z. (2021). User-interactive robot skin with large-area scalability for safer and natural human-robot collaboration in future telehealthcare. IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics, 3082563. https://doi.org/10.1109/JBHI.2021.3082563 (Featured on Cover Paper)
  9. Zakka Gbouna, V., Hou, Z., Pang, G., Yang, H., & Yang, G. (2021). IoT-Enabled Robot Skin System for Enhancement of Safe Human-Robot Collaboration. International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications, 43. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89098-8_43
  10. Heng, W., Pang, G., Zakka Gbouna, V., Pang, Z., Yi, K., & Yang, H. (2019). Facile Fabrication of Highly Soft Tactile Sensor based on Porous Sponge with Geometry Effect on Sensing Characteristics. 2nd IEEE International Flexible Electronics Technology Conference. https://doi.org/10.1109/IFETC46817.2019.9073774