The Making of CommunitySense

It's been long, way too long since my last post. The good news is that I am back, and with a vengeance! The past year has been a soul-searching time for me. Basically, all my working life I spent in academia. It has been a most valuable experience, allowing me to develop a rich set of ideas, and to meet many wonderful, committed, and creative people from all over the world through conferences and research visits.

However, academic life has also been frustrating. The, unfortunately ever increasing, obsessive publication and project acquisition pressure in universities made it increasingly difficult for me to balance work and life and to focus my efforts where my heart lies: the development of community applications that make a meaningful contribution to society.

I have therefore taken the bold step to leave academia, and start my own research consultancy company, CommunitySense. My mission is to be a linking pin between academic researchers and practitioners in the rapidly advancing field of community informatics, and to translate state-of-the-art research insights into practical solutions that work.

Right now, I am still on a sabbatical, recharging my batteries and laying the groundwork for my company. My plan is for CommunitySense to become fully operational in the fall. I am looking forward to this new step in my career, and to use the freedom of my new status to be even better able to work towards the realization of the dedication of my Ph.D. thesis, which I wrote in 1999:

To all the people
Working together
To make our only planet Earth
A better world

For more information on my experience and interests, see the CommunitySense website.

Comments

[Elmine Wijnia]

Welcome back, Aldo! And congratulations with this big step. Exciting times lay ahead!

[Andy]

Gee Aldo
Bid step, do keepi in touch we need smart people helping us from time to time

I am going to be in Brussels in May and i did think of dropping you a line and grabbing some food together, you around?

Andy

[maria]

veel sukses toegewenst! de community sense website ziet er in ieder geval mooi professioneel uit, en goed navigeerbaar.