Data Commons for Soundscape Awareness in Neonatal Intensive Care
Sound pollution in Neonatal Intensive Care Units affects premature babies' development, family stress, and nurse burnout—yet current tools only show meaningless decibel readings. This project co-designs a data commons platform with NPICU nurses at Sophia Children's Hospital Rotterdam, empowering them to understand and transform their acoustic environment. You'll shadow nurses, run participatory design sessions, use generative AI for rapid prototyping, and explore data visualization approaches from ambient displays to mobile companions. Your work launches a PhD project within the Auditory Footprints initiative. Design with healthcare professionals, not for them—creating tools for empowerment, not just monitoring.
The Challenge
Imagine working in an environment where every beep, alarm, conversation, and mechanical hum matters—not just for your own wellbeing, but for the most vulnerable patients in a hospital. Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Units (NPICU) are incredibly sensitive acoustic environments where sound pollution affects everyone: it can disrupt the development of premature babies, increase stress for families, and contribute to burnout among nursing staff.
Here’s the problem: current “solutions” just measure decibels. Nurses see numbers like “85 dB” flash on a screen, but what does that really tell them? Which sounds are problematic? When do they occur? What can actually be done about it? These tools fail to translate acoustic complexity into meaningful, actionable insights for the people who need them most.
The Vision
The Auditory Footprints project is pioneering a different approach: designing a data commons—a platform that empowers nurses to explore, understand, and actively transform their acoustic environment. Not another monitoring dashboard imposed from above, but a tool shaped by and for nurses themselves.
You Project: Co-Designing Empowerment Through Data
You’ll explore how to design this data commons through participatory design with NPICU nurses at Sophia Children’s Hospital Rotterdam.Your journey:
- Become an insider: Shadow nurses, observe workflows, understand how sound shapes their work experience
- Make the vision tangible: Introduce the data commons concept in ways that spark imagination and engagement
- Co-create futures: Run participatory design sessions where nurses become your co-designers
- Experiment with data probes: Use generative AI to rapidly create semi-functional prototypes that provoke discussion
- Make data speak: Test different ways of visualizing soundscape data—ambient displays, dashboards, mobile companions
- Build the foundation: Deliver design requirements and prototypes that will kickstart a PhD project
What Makes This Special
- 🏥 Real impact – Work with healthcare professionals addressing problems that affect patient outcomes daily
- 🤝 Truly participatory – Design with users at every step, not for them
- 🚀 Cutting-edge methods – Combine data-centric design with generative AI for rapid prototyping
- 🔬 Part of something bigger – Contribute to Auditory Footprint with TU Delft, Erasmus MC, and international partners
- 📚 Rich learning – Work with experts in data-centric and sound-driven design, hospital staff and acoustic engineers
Who We're Looking For
You can conduct research in Dutch and have experience with qualitative research methods and prototyping. You’re excited about data visualization, communicate well in sensitive contexts, and most importantly: you’re curious and empathetic about designing for empowerment rather than just efficiency. Bonus points for healthcare design experience, basic coding skills, or familiarity with participatory design methods.
