An-Sofie Smetcoren

An-Sofie Smetcoren is a postdoctoral researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), affiliated with the Educational Science postdoctoral program and the Ageing Research Lab. She holds a temporary replacement position in Educational Science and contributes to the Educational Science Society. Her research focuses on aging populations, social participation, and housing policies for older adults, with emphasis on migrant communities and culturally sensitive care practices.

Key projects include the COCO_ENV initiative examining compassionate communities in end-of-life care (2024-2029), and EU-funded work on aging, place, and home (2023-2026). She has supervised 12 master’s theses addressing topics like culturally competent care training, asset-poor populations, and migrant employer empowerment.

Her work integrates qualitative methods with interdisciplinary collaboration, exploring themes like housing justice, co-creative research frameworks, and policy implications for aging populations. Over 180 research outputs since 2011 include peer-reviewed articles, datasets on migrant care workers and pandemic solidarity, and conference presentations on aging-related spatial justice and cultural competency.