Silvia Van Aken (PhD) is a research expert in visual storytelling for immersive, interactive and audiovisual media and project manager for digital transformation initiatives.
After completing her master in Communication Sciences (KU Leuven) about the representation of the Afro-American in American cinema, she gained project experience in media (freelance journalist for Mediahuis) and communication (internal and external media and events).
In 2007, she transitioned to higher education where she started as a lecturer and researcher at LUCA School of Arts in Genk. She taught research methods, change management, media and design theories to students Interaction Design. She supervised several student projects, including interactive stories and journalism, AR projects, 360° videos (e.g. the exhibition for Cosmodrome Genk and Conn3ct for Flemish Heritage Library and KB in The Hague). She guided awareness campaigns, such as the fine dust data campaign (VITO), donation (WeForest), organ donation (Maakbare Mens), earplugs (Festival Genk), and Color Your Media (VRT/Mediarte).
In 2016, she obtained a PhD in Social Sciences (KU Leuven & LUCA School of Arts) with the dissertation "The Labyrinth of the Mind. A Narrative and Stylistic Analysis of Van Dormael's Mindfilms". She is specialized in the grammar and the storytelling techniques of audiovisual media. In this context, she designed her own analytical model to study mindfilms: the 5 modes of characters’ consciousness: dreams, memories, imagination, hallucination and hybrid modes of consciousness. And gave lectures at several international conferences, including on non-linear stories (Theatre Academy Helsinki), adaptation of Incendie (VUB), Magritte's “Les amants” & Van Dormael's “Toto le héros” (European Narratology Network Conference, University of London).
In 2016, she started at AP University College of Applied Sciences and Arts: first as a lecturer for the bachelor Graphical and Digital Media, where she gave research methods and guided student projects (360° video, VR and AR). Together with a group of colleagues, she founded the Immersive Lab, the knowledge center for VR, AR, MR, 3D scanning and generative AI (AP University College). Until January 2026, she was the research coordinator of the Immersive Lab. At this moment, she works for the Immersive Lab as an experienced researcher in storytelling techniques, writer of external funding (e.g. VLAIO & AP research infrastructure: value of 1 million EUR) and project manager (e.g. Show & Tell: Immersive Storytelling in VR, Adaptive User Interfaces, Let’s Go Virtual, Living Lab Media XR-5G, Storyliving).