Roos Gerritsma
. Lab lead:
As the founder of the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab, urban sociologist and associate professor Roos Gerritsma was there at the start of the lab in 2015.
Dr. Guido Stompff and his research team are working at the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab Amsterdam seeking solutions for the increasing pressure of tourism on Amsterdam.
5 questions for Guido Stompff
What is your educational background? And what are you doing now?
I studied Industrial Design at TU Delft, worked as a designer for years on products, software, services and communication. Ten years ago I obtained my PhD in facilitating innovation in teams, also at TU Delft. I am a lecturer in design thinking, a way of thinking and creating things teach you what is necessary. So don’t first pick out problems and then come up with a solution, but come up with creative solutions and see what ‘works’ and why.
What do you add to the learning community that is the lab?
I help students and researchers to perform design research, which means investigating the root causes by thinking up and testing inspiring interventions. This requires a different mind-set, i.e. don’t get bogged down in big problems, but engage in playful interventions to learn what is feasible.
What is your favourite spot in Amsterdam-North?
I was very impressed with Herberg the Mandela cottage (near the ferry) where I sat outside enjoying a Syrian meal and a beer from Brouwerij ‘t IJ, while the sun went down.
Finish this sentence: for me, leisure and recreation mean…
… escaping from the hustle and bustle, especially in my own head.
What factors do you think are key for the positive development of the tourism, recreation and events industries?
The transition from consuming thought-out experiences to the creation of new and shared experiences.
