August Bourgeus

August holds a Master's in Business Engineering: Data Analytics from Ghent University and a PhD in Communication Sciences at imec-SMIT-VUB on personal data governance, privacy and the role of intermediaries in data sharing. His current research shifts from individual data control to the ecosystem level, examining how value is created with AI in media and how AI and data governance arrangements shape power relations between citizens, institutions, and industry. He studies emerging European data spaces, AI infrastructures, and the governance models built around them, asking how innovation in these ecosystems can be steered toward citizen-centric and publicly accountable outcomes.