In January 2024, Michel Ajzen joined UNamur's Department of Management Sciences as Professor of Organization and Innovation Management. In addition to his professorial role, he is also a member of the Creativity and Innovation Research Center (CIRCE) within the Namur Digital Insitute (NaDI), where he continues to explore the innovative and sustainable dimensions of hybrid work.

Michel Ajzen's research focuses primarily on organizational and managerial innovation, with a particular interest in hybrid work. His thesis, focusing on telecommuting during the crisis, provided the foundation for his current work on "sustainable hybrid work". He strives to understand the organizational, managerial and human stakes of temporal and spatial flexibility and technologies in work.

He examines the reconfiguration of work relationships in hybrid environments, the management of comfort differences with these new modalities, and the challenges of preserving the collective and commitment to work. He also explores the crucial role of proximity managers in this context, focusing on their sustainability and questions of well-being at work, inclusion and sustainability. His research highlights the risks of over-individualization of work and the ethical implications in terms of equity and collective solidarity. He advocates a contextual, trans-disciplinary approach to exploring sustainable solutions, in close collaboration with stakeholders in the field. Its aim is to develop critical thinking and innovative management practices in response to contemporary challenges in the world of work. It contributes to enriching the field of management through its in-depth reflections and significant contributions to understanding hybrid work and its impacts on organizations and their members.

Michel Ajzen began his academic career at the Catholic University of Leuven, where he obtained a master's degree in human resources management. He then continued his studies with a PhD in Management Sciences at Louvain. During his doctoral years, Michel was an assistant at the School of Labor Sciences in Leuven, which enabled him to gain solid pedagogical experience while conducting rigorous research.

After obtaining his PhD, Michel Ajzen was awarded a four-year contract as a post-doctoral fellow at Leuven. Alongside his post-doctoral work, he held the position of research manager of a chair in human management, demonstrating his ability to juggle academic, high-level research and team management roles. He was also a visiting lecturer at Louvain.

Floriane Goosse's thesis explores how voice assistants (such as Alexa and Google Assistant) can improve the well-being of users in vulnerable situations, particularly visually impaired people. More concretely, her research aims in the first instance to understand how these technologies can impact the well-being of these users, and help them and their families on the path to resilience. Secondly, it seeks to personalize voice assistants to better meet the needs of these people. The aim is to adapt not only technical functionalities, but also more subtle aspects such as intonation and voice type. This personalization could play a therapeutic role, helping users - and their loved ones - to better accept and manage their disability. This study represents a major advance in understanding the role of technology and in promoting the inclusion and well-being of vulnerable groups in society.

The efforts of this research team have been crowned with success. In June 2024, this work won the prestigious "Best Research Paper Award" at the American Marketing Association's SERVSIG 2024 conference in Bordeaux. The originality and societal impact of the subject were particularly commended. The methodological approach of the work was also highlighted. Indeed, through fieldwork with associations helping the visually impaired, this research shows a potential to transform and impact lives.

Wafa Hammedi emphasizes the importance of the societal impact of her PhD student's research and, more broadly, that carried out at UNamur's Centre de Recherche en Marketing et Management des Services, the NaDI-CeRCLe. "Our research aims to promote a more inclusive society and make this world a better place for all," adds Wafa Hammedi. "The potential lies in applying the results to change something in these people's world. It also questions the meaning of what an academic does. You have to have passion for research, and we're even more passionate when we know that what we produce will have meaning. "

The University of Namur stands out here for the societal impact of its research, transforming it into concrete solutions for a more inclusive society. Floriane Goosse and her co-authors have high ambitions for the future. Their work demonstrates that academic research can and must have a direct impact on society. International collaboration, particularly with renowned institutions at the cutting edge of technological advances such as Maastricht University, strengthens the relevance and innovation of research projects!

The conference began with a word from Rector Annick Castiaux, who recalled the growing importance of AI in our societies, to the point of being considered a new industrial revolution. As AI brings with it profound changes, the Rector insisted on the development of an inclusive and responsible AI. This introduction was followed by a presentation by Steven Latré, from the VUB and IMEC, a company active in the field of nanoelectronics and digital technologies.

He noted the speed of adoption of tools like chatGPT, before recalling that in the past, AI had already experienced two "winters", once the craze had died down. In his view, its colossal energy consumption is a major problem, calling for a change in poparadigm. He also pointed to Europe's strengths in developing AI that is respectful of citizens' privacy. "This conference makes it possible to unite all the researchers in the AI community around a reasoned adoption of the technology, which is Trail's mission in Belgium," said Anne-Laure Cadji, Executive Officer of Trail.

The conference continued with the presentation of research work, starting with Pierre Poitier, a PhD student at UNamur, who has been involved in the development of a French-Sign Language Translation Dictionary from French-speaking Belgium. According to the researcher, this dictionary shows that AI is already having a positive impact on society. In addition, Heritiana Ranaivoson from the VUB, in collaboration with the NaDI Research Center, presented her first results from the study of recommendation algorithms which, by controlling our access to the media, have become veritable "algorithmic gatekeepers".

Finally, Florent de Geeter, a PhD student at ULiège, presented a new type of neural network that consumes less energy when running on neuromorphic processors.

After a poster presentation of the various works, several AI-related policymakers then took the floor. Willy Borsus, Vice-President of Wallonia, confirmed the desire to integrate social and ethical aspects into the development of AI. Mathieu Michel, Federal Secretary of State for Digitization, called for European AI governance that does not threaten innovation. Antoine-Alexandre André, Policy and Legal Officer at the European Union's AI Office, summarized the EU's legislative approach to the issue. Finally, Nathanaël Ackerman, from AI4Belgium, presented the Belgian AI landscape. The conference concluded with a series of keynotes, presented by people from management and the business world, completing a rich panorama on AI in Belgium.

"We witnessed very different points of view, and it's very important for young researchers to be confronted with a more societal angle on AI. This conference gives our field great visibility", said Benoît Frenay, Professor of AI at UNamur and organizer of the conference.

"It's also an opportunity for research, industry, and the general public to meet, which are worlds that don't talk to each other enough" added Professor Bontempi of ULB and president of Trail. "We're working on systems that affect the lives of all citizens, and it's important to keep listening to them."

Le laboratoire de robotique de la Faculté d’informatique de l'UNamur s’intéresse au développement des mécanismes permettant aux robots de s'adapter de manière autonome à des environnements sociaux et physiques complexes et variés. Le projet baptisé : « Chœurs synthétiques » a commencé début 2021, pendant la pandémie.  Il est né d’une collaboration entre l’Institut naXys de l’UNamur, du TRAKK, des artistes belges du Collective VOID et de la société gembloutoise 3DTECHLAB. Ce projet a pour objectif d’utiliser différentes méthodes de conception basées sur un ensemble de techniques d'intelligence artificielle et d'apprentissage automatique.

Techniquement complexe, il consiste à concevoir et construire une quinzaine de robots autonomes qui se déplacent de manière aléatoire dans un espace fermé. Ensemble ils vont s’organiser, se regrouper, pour générer une composition sonore … un chœur de chant. Tout a été créé à la Faculté d’informatique de l’UNamur, depuis la conception jusqu’à l’assemblage.  Des prototypes y ont été réalisés et ont subi de nombreux tests. 

La programmation est une discipline complexe. Chaque robot a son algorithme, son cerveau, en quelque sorte. Il réagit à différentes règles de base : « Va tout droit » ; « Si tu trouves un mur, va en arrière » ; « Si tu rencontres un autre robot, arrête-toi et émets un son » ; etc… Il a aussi son propre système de contrôle qui est programmé pour coopérer avec les autres robots. 

Pour l’aspect scénographique, c’est l’idée d’une tête anthropomorphe qui a été retenue car sa forme garantit (et c’est primordial) une qualité de son optimale.  La tête sera imprimée en 3D et posée sur un châssis qui accueillera les batteries, les pièces électroniques et mécaniques.  Customisées par les artistes du collective VOID, elles donneront un aspect original à l’ensemble.

L’assemblage demande beaucoup de manipulations et de précision : carcasse, roues, batterie, fils, détecteurs, circuits… La société 3DTECHLAB a été chargée de produire les têtes.  Elles seront posées sur un châssis qui accueillera les batteries, les pièces électroniques et mécaniques.   En attendant que les têtes soient terminées et les voix enregistrées par une chorale, quelques tests grandeur nature ont été organisés, non seulement avec les différents partenaires du projet mais aussi lors de visites d’élèves de l’enseignement secondaire lors du Printemps des sciences 2023.  Une excellente manière de sensibiliser les jeunes aux différentes facettes des sciences et des technologies.

Des rencontres entre les artistes du collectif VOID et les choristes du Centre d’art vocal et de musique ancienne (CAV&MA) - ont été organisées.  Assez vite, plusieurs idées sont échangées.  Mais que choisir comme harmonie ?  Quelles seront les bonnes notes ?  Et surtout, quelles seront leur durée ? 

Des tests informels sont effectués avant de passer à l’enregistrement en studio.  Car l’originalité de ce projet réside dans le fait que des voix pré-enregistrées seront transférées sur microcarte et intégrées dans chaque robot.  Des notes simples mais qui, grâce aux interactions, créeront des harmonies. 

C’est une composition qui évoluera en permanence et qui, en théorie, ne se répètera jamais puisque cela dépendra du déplacement aléatoire des robots dans l’espace. 

Les robots sont maintenant opérationnels : ils circulent, s’arrêtent et se reconnaissent.  Ils échangent des notes, une véritable chorale !

Lorsque ces robots ne seront pas employés pour des expositions, ils seront utilisés par l’institut naXys avec la collaboration de la Faculté d’informatique, pour des activités d’enseignement, de sensibilisation et surtout de recherche. 

Dans le domaine de l’intelligence artificielle et de la robotique en réseau, la recherche évolue sans cesse.  Elle a déjà, et elle aura de plus en plus d’applications directes dans notre vie quotidienne.

• Prof. Elio Tuci : BABots, un projet européen en bio-robotique
• Prof. Katrien Beuls : Parlez-vous IA ?
• Les projets en cours au laboratoire de robotique de l'UNamur sur le site de l'Institut naXys