Gunter Bombaerts

Gunter Bombaerts is an Assistant Professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, with dual affiliations in the Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences faculty and the Philosophy & Ethics department. He holds additional positions as EAISI Assistant Professor and EIRES Research Assistant Professor. His work focuses on interdisciplinary research at the intersection of engineering education, ethics, and societal challenges. Bombaerts has managed several high-impact projects, including Come-RES (2020–2023) and Scaling up Co-creation (2018–2021), both addressing energy justice and community-driven innovation. He also co-leads the ESDiT initiative (2019–2028), exploring ethics in disruptive technologies like AI and social media.

Bombaerts has taught courses such as ITEC-Ethics of Technology and Engineering, Sociophysics 1 & 2, and Research set-up. His educational philosophy emphasizes Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) as a tool to foster ethical reasoning and systemic thinking among engineering students. He has systematically restructured curricula using frameworks like Self-Determination Theory and Value Sensitive Design to prioritize student autonomy and societal impact.

His research interests span engineering ethics pedagogy, energy transition justice, and the ethical implications of AI. He actively bridges disciplinary divides, collaborating with computer scientists, sociologists, and policymakers. Key themes include co-creation methodologies, mediation theory, and Buddhist-inspired ethical responses to attention-economy technologies.

• Recipient of the 2021 SEFI Maffioli Award for excellence in engineering education reform
• Co-winner of the 2023 Award for Best Poster and 2024 Best Formal Paper Prize
• Recognized for his work on Generative AI in academic writing (2023)

Bombaerts oversees 7 supervised academic works and has published 113 research outputs. His grants include EU-funded initiatives on energy communities and AI ethics. He contributes to Philosophy and Technology, Ethics and Information Technology, and Organization Studies, and frequently engages in media commentary on topics like virtual power plants and energy justice frameworks.

He participates in transnational research alliances such as EuroTeQ, emphasizing universities' role as societal transformers. His current projects explore normative frameworks for energy transitions, hybridization strategies for community initiatives, and the interplay between individual and collective values in decision-making.