Fernando Van Der Vlist Email & Phone Number

Fernando van der Vlist, PhD, is a researcher, writer, and educator specialising in digital media and technology. He is Assistant Professor and programme coordinator for the Master’s Cultural Data & AI in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), Faculty of Humanities. 🔍 His research focuses on the critical study of digital platforms and apps, their ecosystems, data, and artificial intelligence (AI) in culture and society. 👥 He co-directs the international App Studies Initiative (ASI) and is affiliated with the Digital Methods Initiative (DMI), the Public Data Lab, and the UvA's School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA), Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR).🔍 Platforms, Data, & Society—His research focuses on the critical study of digital platforms and apps, their ecosystems, data, and artificial intelligence (AI) in culture and society. He has made significant contributions to the field, with his research being published or forthcoming in leading scholarly journals, such as Big Data & Society, New Media & Society, Social Media + Society, Internet Policy Review, Convergence, Internet Histories, and Computational Culture. His research has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Dutch Research Council (NWO), and the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), amongst others.🕓 Prior to his current position, Fernando worked as a postdoctoral Researcher in the focus area ‘Governing the Digital Society’ (GDS) at Utrecht University (UU) and the Collaborative Research Centre 1187 ‘Media of Cooperation’ at the University of Siegen, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). He has also taught as a Lecturer in New Media and Digital Culture and Digital Methods at the UvA, UU, and the Utrecht Data School (UDS).🎓 He obtained his PhD from Utrecht University in 2022. The title of his PhD thesis monograph is ‘The Platform as Ecosystem’ and it was jointly supervised by Prof. José van Dijck at UU and Prof. Carolin Gerlitz at the University of Siegen, Germany. His empirical research extensively examines the intricate governance and power dynamics within digital platforms and ecosystems, providing critical empirical, theoretical, and methodological insights into the complexities of platform governance and influence. In addition to his academic pursuits, Fernando has valuable professional experience as a graphic (information) designer, combining research and design expertise.🔗 You can follow him on 𝕏 (Twitter), LinkedIn, Google Scholar, or visit his homepage at fernandovandervlist.nl.