Koert van Mensvoort, MFA

“I want to better understand our co-evolutionary relationship with technology and help set out a track towards a future that is rewarding for both humankind and the planet at large.”

Koert van Mensvoort is a University Fellow of Next Nature at the Department of Industrial Design. He is director of the Next Nature Network, board member of the Society of Arts at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and supervisory board member of VPRO television.

Van Mensvoort is an artist and philosopher best known for his work on the philosophical concept of Next Nature, which revolves around the idea that technology has become so complex, omnipresent and autonomous that it is best perceived as a nature of its own. Among his award-winning design-research projects are the In Vitro Meat Cookbook, the ECO Coin, the NANO Supermarket and the HUBOT job agency for people and robots. Van Mensvoort gave over 300 lectures on six different continents. His Letter to Humanity was translated into 26 languages.

Koert van Mensvoort studied Computer Science at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). After obtaining his MSc in 1997, he studied Philosophy at Utrecht University and obtained a MFA in Design from the Sandberg Institute. He worked as an Associate Researcher at the IPO center of TU/e before starting his PhD research in Industrial Design at TU/e as well, concluded in 2009. He founded and is creative director of the Next Nature Network, exploring the changing relation between nature and technology. Van Mensvoort previously held the position of Assistant Professor, leading the Next Nature Lab from 2003 to 2015. As of 2015, he is University Fellow.