Overview

Erik Duval (11 September 1965 – 12 March 2016) was a Belgian computer scientist and researcher in educational technologies. He combined interests in human–computer interaction, metadata, and the design of systems to support learning. Duval was a prominent academic at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, where he held leadership roles in informatics and HCI research.

Research focus and contributions

Duval worked on the intersection of computing and education, exploring how digital systems can represent, find and reuse learning resources and how learning activity can be supported by software. His work addressed themes such as metadata for educational resources, personal learning environments, and approaches to understanding learner activity. He published on practical and conceptual issues that helped shape thinking in learning technologies and influenced practitioners and researchers in the field.

Career and roles

At KU Leuven Duval chaired the informatics section within the computer science department and led a research unit on human–computer interaction. In these capacities he supervised students, coordinated projects and contributed to the development of multidisciplinary teams that combined technical, pedagogical and design perspectives. Further information about his academic profile is available from his institutional profile.

Impact and legacy

Colleagues remember Duval for bridging technical standards and educational practice, for fostering collaborations across institutions, and for mentoring younger researchers. His ideas about how metadata and interaction data can support discovery and adaptation of learning materials are still referenced in discussions about learning analytics and resource interoperability. A selection of retrospectives and tributes to his work can be found here and in academic memorials here.

Death and remembrance

Erik Duval died in Antwerp, Belgium, on 12 March 2016 at the age of 50 after a battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Notices of his passing and information about memorial events were published by colleagues and his home institution; an obituary with details is available here. His contributions continue to be cited in the research communities that study educational technology, HCI and information organization.

  • Born: 11 September 1965
  • Died: 12 March 2016
  • Main affiliation: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven