New collaborations sparked at Applied HAI SIG Booster Borrel

On March 10, 2026 the Special Interest Group Applied Human-centered AI hosted the first Booster Borrel & Grant Lottery, bringing together Utrecht University researchers and societal partners to explore new interdisciplinary collaborations.

During the networking event, participants engaged in structured discussions designed to spark new project ideas at the intersection of Human-centered AI and real-world societal challenges. The event successfully achieved its goal: inspiring new collaborations between researchers and societal partners. 

In total, five interdisciplinary teams were formed and submitted proposals for the Applied HAI SIG Booster Grant. Two teams were selected by lottery and each received a €2,500 Booster Grant to develop their collaborative project: 
 

• Longitudinal Evaluation of Human-AI Collaboration in Rail Planning by Talha Özüdoğru, Chris Janssen, Leendert van Maanen, Silja Renooij, Quintess Barnhoorn (representing NS)
• Digital Detox by Tim van Timmeren, Shihan Wang, Madeleine van der Burg (representing Stichting MIND).

The Booster Grants are intended to support early-stage interdisciplinary initiatives and help teams take the first concrete steps toward impactful Human-centered AI research in collaboration with societal partners. The Applied HAI SIG looks forward to seeing how these new collaborations develop over the coming year.