Varun Aggarwal
Senior Engineering Manager – Data Security, Booking.com, NL.
Varun Aggarwal is a Senior Engineering Manager – Data Security at Booking.com in Amsterdam, with a focus on building security into systems from the ground up. His experience includes developing and implementing product security strategies at Adobe and leading data security initiatives at Booking.com, with a strong emphasis on “Security by Design” principles. He will be sharing his insights on implementing privacy and security in practice with students at the summer program.
Ot van Daalen
Assistant professor at the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, NL.
Ot is an assistant professor in the field of privacy and security. He is also the founder of a law firm specialised in privacy and security, Root Legal. He wrote a PhD on the human rights-compatibility of the regulation of offensive and defensive information security technologies, focusing on quantum computing and encryption. Previously, he worked at the Dutch Data Protection Authority and relaunched the Dutch digital rights movement Bits of Freedom.
Els De Busser
Associate Professor Information Law at Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, NL.
Els is the Programme Director of the Master Information Law at UvA. She specializes in multidisciplinary education and research on a broad range of topics including digital justice, data protection and privacy, legal aspects of cyber security, AI and human rights and European criminal law. Els is UNESCO expert AI and the Rule of Law and a member of the Standing Committee of Experts on International Immigration, Refugee and Criminal Law (also known as the Meijers Committee).
Max van Drunen
Researcher, Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, NL.
Max van Drunen is a researcher at the Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam. His work explores the regulation of technologies used to produce and distribute information such as news and political advertising. He takes an interdisciplinary perspective on these issues, collaborating extensively with journalism, communication, and computer scientists.
Charlotte Ducuing
Post-doctoral researcher, CiTiP, KU Leuven, Belgium.
Charlotte Ducuing is a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre for IT and IP law of the KU Leuven (CiTiP) in Belgium. She did her PhD on data commodification and the law and more specifically on the reconciliation of data markets and data protection objectives in European Union’s data legislation. She conducts research in Law & Technology and is generally interested in how the law addresses socio-technological environments. She engages with infrastructure studies, the regulation of public utilities, commodification, regulatory studies and legal theory.
Joost Gerritsen
Digibeetle
With more than 15 years of experience, lawyer Joost “Legal Beetle” Gerritsen is a household name. He helps organisations in government, education, healthcare and business navigate through the jungle of legislation on data & technology. In addition to being a lawyer, Joost is an established author, researcher and speaker. Always in the field of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics and big data. He is the CEO of Digibeetle (the knowledge platform for legal AI & data professionals), co-founder of the Association of AI Lawyers (VAI-A) and a frequent guest at the PrivacyPod.
Kristina Irion
Associate Professor at the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, NL
Kristina Irion is Associate Professor at the Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam. She is a Lecturer in the Research Master’s Information Law. Kristina is a member of the Scientific Committee of the annual Computer Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) International Conferences and the International Advisory Board of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). A baseline of Kristina’s research is the interpretation and analysis of the transformational processes that reconfigure the legal properties of digital data in line with societal needs. Kristina’s current research agenda focuses on the governance of transnational digital technologies and global data value chains from the perspective of European law and international economic law.
Heleen Janssen
Senior researcher, Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, NL.
Heleen holds a PhD in law (Maastricht University, 2003). Her research at IViR focuses on centralized and decentralized data governance infrastructures; she considers the potential of data management and computing infrastructures, and their legal, regulatory and policy implications. Her current projects revolve around data intermediaries (e.g., data trusts, data commons, personal information management systems).
Stefan Kulk
Coordinating Advisor, DCA, Dutch Data Protection Authority, NL.
Stefan Kulk works as a Coordinating Advisor at the Department for the Coordination of Algorithmic Oversight (DCA) of the Dutch Data Protection Authority, where he is involved in the development of supervision under the AI Act. Stefan previously worked as a researcher and Associate Professor in the field of law and technology.
Marjolein Lanzing
Assistant Professor Philosophy of Technology, University of Amsterdam, NL.
Marjolein is Assistant Professor Philosophy of Technology at the University of Amsterdam. Marjolein studies the ethical and political concerns related to (AI) technologies, such as discrimination, manipulation, exploitation, and surveillance and privacy.
Sjoera Nas
Senior privacy consultant, Privacy Company, NL
Sjoera Nas is a senior privacy consultant. She has worked for the Dutch data protection authority for almost 12 years, as internet and telecom expert. She was responsible for many national and international investigations, involving for example Google, Facebook and Microsoft. She has been rapporteur or co-rapporteur of many opinions of the Article 29 Working Party related to internet and technology. In May 2018, she switched to the Dutch privacy consultancy Privacy Company. She acts as an external DPO for a number of public sector organisations, and has conducted multiple Data Protection Impact Assessments on Big Tech cloud services for the Dutch government and for the Dutch education sector.
Laurens Naudts
Postdoctoral researcher at the AI, Media and Democracy Lab and Insitute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, NL.
Dr. Laurens Naudts is a postdoctoral researcher at the AI, Media and Democracy Lab and Institute for Information Law (University of Amsterdam) and an affiliated senior researcher at the KU Leuven Centre for IT & IP Law. He is working on the political philosophy, law and governance of AI and media, focusing on relational dynamics, social justice, inclusivity, political equality and representation, and the protection of fundamental rights within a digitally mediated society.
In his doctoral research, Laurens examined the concepts of equality and non-discrimination and their function for the regulation of automated decision-making.
Jan Penfrat
Senior Policy Advisor, EDRi, Brussels, Belgium.
Jan is Senior Policy Advisor at European Digital Rights (EDRi) and has spent the past 15 years influencing EU policymaking. Today, he leads EDRi’s work on online platform accountability and the structural power of big tech firms. Before joining EDRi, Jan was a freelance technology reporter at the German IT magazine Golem.de where he covered internet regulation, IT security and open source software. He started his career as a policy consultant for the lobbying firm EUTOP and was a co-founder of the Privacy Training Center.
Laura Poolman
Senior associate, Kennedy Van der Laan, NL.
Laura is a senior associate at the privacy practice group of Kennedy Van der Laan. She specializes in European and Dutch (e)privacy and data protection law, as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and contract & liability legislation. She has great experience in coordinating and performing GDPR compliance projects, and regularly performs comprehensive Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) for organizations in diverse sectors performing “high risk” data processing activities. She has outstanding knowledge of the Adtech ecosystem and associated regulatory framework.
Hannah Ruschemeier
Junior professor of Public Law, Data Protection Law/Law of the Digital Transformation, Faculty of Law of the FernUniversität Hagen, Germany.
Hannah Ruschemeier has held a tenure-track W3 Junior Professorship in Public Law, Data Protection Law, and Law of the Digital Transformation at the Faculty of Law of the FernUniversität Hagen since 2022. She studied law at Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. In 2018, she received her doctorate from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf with a dissertation on the theory of fundamental rights interference. Her research integrates traditional issues in Public Law with the challenges posed by Digital Transformation. She is particularly interested in collective dimensions of rights, privacy, technology-driven inequalities, data power, new interferences with fundamental rights, surveillance, regulation of technology and AI, and legal theory. From August 2025, Hannah Ruschemeier will hold the Chair of Public Law at the University of Osnabrück.
Marijn Sax
Assistant professor, Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, NL.
Marijn is an assistant professor at the Institute for Information Law with a background in Political Science, Philosophy, and Law. His research is centered around the question of how to understand and normatively evaluate attempts to influence behavior in and through digital choice environments. In his work he tries to use ethical theory to inform legal theorizing and interpretation.
Marten Steketee
PhD student, University of Amsterdam, NL.
Marten Steketee is a PhD student at the University of Amsterdam, where he specializes in Human-Aligned Video-AI. With a dual background in Computer Science and Law, Marten brings a unique perspective to the intersection of technology and regulation. Marten’s work explores how AI technologies can be developed and deployed responsibly, ensuring they align with human values and legal frameworks. His research focuses on video-AI applications, where he examines regulatory challenges when designing systems that classify or generate video’s. Marten also serves as a member of the Committee for Personal data Amsterdam (CPA), where he helps advice the municipality of Amsterdam on the processing of personal data.