José van DijckView profile
Professor
José van Dijck is a Distinguished University Professor of Media and Digital Society at Utrecht University's Faculty of Humanities, Department of Media and Performance Studies. She obtained her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of California, San Diego (1992) after graduating from Utrecht University (1985). Previously, she served as Dean of Humanities at the University of Amsterdam (2008-2012) and President of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW, 2015-2018). Her research critically examines the impact of digital platforms, algorithms, and datafication on public values, democracy, and societal structures. Key research domains include platform governance, digital education infrastructures, AI ethics, and the preservation of public values in connective technologies. Her conceptualization of the 'Platform Society' has become foundational in media studies. Major scientific awards include the Spinoza Prize (2021), the C.Edward Baker Award for lifetime achievements from the International Communication Association, and honorary doctorates from Lund University (2019) and University of Oslo (2024). She leads Utrecht University's focus area Governing the Digital Society , developing tools like the Ethical Data Assistant (DEDA) for public institutions. She advises governments on digital policy (e.g., COVID-19 apps) and contributes to initiatives like PublicSpaces coalition. Her research has been supported through the Spinoza Prize grant (€2.5M) focusing on public digital infrastructures. Van Dijck directs research on platformization in education, data governance, and AI. She collaborates with Utrecht Data School and coordinates international projects like PERITIA on trust in expertise. Her work bridges humanities, law, public administration, and computer science.








