Research
The research group for Media and ICT (MICT) is affiliated to the Department of Communication Sciences at Ghent University. MICT was founded in 2004 and currently has 34 members. MICT carries out both fundamental social-scientific research and applied and policy-orientated research in the field of the new media and information and communication technologies.
In the research, it is not only the end-user who is of central importance. We also take into account the vision and strategies of all those involved in the innovation process: the hardware and software manufacturers, the service and content providers, the media institutions, the advertising sector, policymakers etc. We take this three-part perspective (residential user, policymaker and industry) in each research process, whereby our social-scientific research expertise is of central importance.
MICT uses its qualitative and quantitative research expertise in the various phases of the innovation-development process. In addition, our research activities and expertise are primarily concentrated in 5 clusters on a basis of great methodological expertise:
- Media Production & Distribution
- Media Use & Experience
- Profiling & Targeting
- ICT & Society
- Gaming
This translates into a mix of applied and fundamental research and a mix of Flemish, federal and European research. Furthermore, as one of the research groups within the IBBT, the Interdisciplinary Institute for BroadBand Technology, most of our research activities are very interdisciplinary.
Our research activities are valorised in a number of ways:
- scientifically: in the form of publications in journals and books, participation in congresses and doctorates
- educationally: by ‘converting’ the results of our research into education
- commercially: primarily through collaboration with the IBBT, which results in the material application of specific guidelines for the business world and policy.