Simone de Droog

Simone de Droog is an Associate Professor of Child Technology at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, where she leads research within the Digital Life Research Group. Her work focuses on how social robots, digital characters, and emerging technologies can positively impact children's well-being, development, and education.

Her research emphasizes:

• Designing adaptive interventions for long-term child-robot educational interactions
• Developing evidence-based frameworks for sustainable child technology deployment
• Interdisciplinary collaboration with schools, hospitals, and robotics companies
• Practical applications in healthcare and education settings

  Recent work includes the publication Back to School (2024), analyzing recurring child-robot educational interactions post-break, with implications for personalized learning systems. She also collaborates with the Social AI group at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and is affiliated with the Smart Systems for Healthy Living research group at Hogeschool Utrecht.