The Media Culture & Policy Lab (MCP) produces critical scientific research across four domains: journalism and news, strategic communication, human–computer interaction, and media culture.

For the Gam(e)(a)ble project, MCP’s expertise in social media, video games, and interaction design is particularly relevant.

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Within MCP, the Meaningful Interactions Lab (Mintlab) specializes in emerging technologies and convergence, online media interactions, and design for and with children. Mintlab collaborates with a wide range of stakeholders through integrated research, design, and dissemination processes that critically examine, envision, and foster technology-mediated interactions that make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

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In the context of Gam(e)(a)ble, MCP and Mintlab collaborate with LUCA School of Arts on WP1, which focuses on media research.

Rozane De Cock is associate professor in Communication Sciences at the Institute for Media Studies of KU Leuven (Belgium) and director of the Brussels Center for Journalism Studies (BCJS, KU Leuven campus Brussels). She is principal investigator of the SBO-FWO Gam(e)(a)ble research project on the blurring lines between gaming and gambling among teenagers.  In her research, she studies news production, news use and news effects next to internet use and riskful issues such as problematic gaming and excessive use of social networking sites.

Tim Smits is a full professor in persuasion and marketing communication at the KU Leuven Institute for Media Studies and the current vice dean of education at the KU Leuven Faculty of Social Sciences. His research mainly focuses on persuasive processes and psychological effects in marketing communication targeting children and adolescents. The understanding of these techniques can then be used in policy recommendations, but also in a further test of how these techniques can be applied from a social marketing perspective persuading for healthy or socially desirable behaviors.​

Maarten Denoo is a researcher in media and game studies with a focus on the intersection of gaming, gambling, and digital platform design. His doctoral research, conducted within the Gam(e)(a)ble project, examined how gambling-like elements are designed, experienced, and regulated in contemporary video games, with particular attention to loot boxes and monetization practices. Maarten’s work combines qualitative game analysis, survey research, and industry-focused methods, and aims to contribute to both academic debate and public policy on responsible game design.

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Bruno is in charge of the overall organization of the project: collaborations, scientific agenda, communication, and valorization. Besides this task, he participates in the media research part of Gam(e)(a)ble through bringing up his expertise in game and media studies, particularly from a semiotic and media education point of view. His research interests include depictions of video games in media, intermedia phenomena, and video game literacy.   

Bieke's work lies primarily at the intersection of human-computer interaction research and communication sciences. She is research group leader of the Meaningful Interactions Lab (Mintlab), part of the Institute for Media Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium.

Eva graduated as a Master in Communication Sciences at KU Leuven. She also holds a Masters degree in Management and Business Economics. In her studies, Eva always had a strong interest in advertising, marketing, and persuasive techniques.

As Postdoctoral lecturer and researcher at the Media Culture & Policy Lab and the Meaningful Interactions Lab at the KU Leuven in Belgium, Eva's research is focused on the blurring lines between video gaming and monetary gambling. She also looks into the effects of persuasive media, such as video game streaming and gambling advertising. Her research is mainly focused on adolescents, using both quantitative and qualitative research methods.