ECTS: 2.5
Number of sessions: 2
Hours per session: 8 and 4

Unlock the Power of AI & Citizen Science in Cancer Research:
Join the Design-a-thon!

Are you a PhD candidate eager to make real-world impact with AI, cancer research, and community-driven innovation? Join our Design-a-thon and help shape the future of AI-assisted cancer research, in collaboration with the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI). The sessions are built around the question: ‘how to bring together AI, human expertise and citizen science to increase access to the groundbreaking immunotherapy?’

What’s the challenge?
One of the major bottlenecks is the lack of data on the cells in our body. This is slowing down the development of AI in cancer research; AI that could help predict if a patient is eligible for immunotherapy. What if we can solve this by simply playing an online cell game to feed AI? NKI together with ChangeGamers have developed a game called TillyOpens external to allow everyone to playfully identify and collect different cell types. Now the next step is to create a collaborative space to increase impact.

Key Facts & Figures

Type: Workshop
Start date: Wednesday 14 May 2025
Instruction language: English
Mode of instruction: Offline

What will you achieve?

• You will be able to make a tangible impact: contribute to cutting-edge research into immunotherapy and AI.
• You will collaborate across disciplines: work with scientists, designers and pathologists and bring in your expertise to think out-of-box.
• You will gain hands-on AI experience: learn how AI models are trained and used in real-world applications and what role society has in this development.
• You will be able to expand your network: connect with experts from academia, industry (Vodafone/Ziggo), and healthcare

Start dates

• Wednesday 14 May 2025
  Time: 09:00 – 17:00Designathon (including lunch)
• Wednesday 11 Jun 2025
  Time: 13:00 – 17:00Co-creation session

Session 1: design-a-thon

In this hands-on workshop, you’ll work together with researchers, AI experts, and industry partners to design the Cell Lab – a hub where players, patients, pathologists, and scientists unite to map human cells and advance cancer research. Moreover, a hub that visibly increases the learning capacity on all fronts: from algorithms, to doctors and researchers, to patients and players. In short, it makes impact and learning go hand in hand, with the goal to make immunotherapy available and known to as many patients as possible.(Lunch is included for this session).

Session 2: amplifying the Social Impact of Your Research

This session focuses on enhancing the social impact of your academic work. What difference can your research make in the world? What values and tangible outcomes would you like it to foster? How can you identify or create opportunities for your work to extend beyond academia—into policy, art, medicine, community engagement, education, politics, public discourse, technological innovation, or everyday practices?

Together, we’ll explore the skills you need to develop and the actionable steps you can take to realize this vision. By mapping your research context and crafting a plan for meaningful impact, you will not only hone transdisciplinary collaboration skills but also create a concrete strategy to translate your work into real-world change.