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Erik van der Spek is an Assistant Professor at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), where he serves as the research director of the TU/e Game/Play Lab and as the secretary of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Technical Committee on Entertainment Computing (TC14). His research interests lie in game design, play, and entertainment, focusing on enhancing learning, vitality, and empathy through playful interaction and immersive virtual reality experiences. He aims to uncover elements that engage users in constructing imaginary magic circles and facilitating cathartic mediated presence in fantasy environments. He also serves as a board member of the TU/e Data Science Center and chairs the ID Department Council, leading the Vital Play and Learning Games Play squads. Van der Spek is involved in various program committees, including the steering committee for the ICEC conference and serves as the student game competition chair for CHI Play and ICEC, supervising more than 60 student games annually, which have earned numerous national and international awards. He obtained his MSc in Game Technology in 2007 and his PhD in Human-Computer Interaction in 2011, both from Utrecht University, and founded the game design consultancy firm Game Descience in 2013.
Specific departments like Industrial Design require a portfolio. Programs like Data Science and AI require a GRE-General test for certain international backgrounds.