Kim Baraka is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam and a member of the Social Artificial Intelligence Group. Prior to joining VU, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Socially Intelligent Machines Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a dual PhD in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, USA, and Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) in Lisbon, Portugal. At CMU, he was part of the Robotics Institute, where he was advised by Prof. Manuela Veloso. At IST, he was affiliated with the Group on AI for People and Society (GAIPS), under the supervision of Prof. Francisco Melo.

In addition to his scientific career, he is a trained contemporary dancer with a strong interest in movement improvisation. He regularly performs, teaches, and co-creates nationally and internationally (see the Art section or his artistic CV for more information). His scientific and artistic interests are increasingly intertwined, and he is curious to explore where this dialogue will lead.

Prof. dr. Somaya Ben Allouch is a scholar in human–robot interaction (HRI) and human–computer interaction (HCI)  with a sustained focus on data-driven interactions. Her research advances intelligent interactive systems in real-world healthcare practices. Ben Allouch contributes to the global research agendas in human–robot interaction and served as Programme Chair Europe for IEEE RO-MAN 2025. Nationally, she co-leads the AI Ned NWO ELSA Lab “AI for Health Inequity,” addressing ethical, legal, and societal implications of artificial intelligence in healthcare.  She co-leads the AI Ned NWO ELSA Lab “AI for Health Inequity,” addressing  societal, technological, ethical, legal, and implications of artificial intelligence in healthcare. In recognition of her scientific leadership, she was appointed Founder Fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2023. Her role in the Marie Curie D-CODE project further demonstrates her commitment to strengthening design competencies for AI-driven futures. Holding academic positions at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and the University of Amsterdam, she bridges applied and fundamental research to advance human-robot interaction research and its implantation in real-world contexts.