Recently, our work on decoding speech understanding using brain activity has been highlighted by different media venues! Our new technique doesn’t just tell us whether you’ve heard something but also whether you have understood it. Fascinating stuff indeed. You can read more about it here: KU Leuven University news (EN + NL) https://nieuws.kuleuven.be/en/content/2018/got-the-message-your-brainwaves-will-tell De Tijd (NL) https://www.tijd.be/tech-media/wetenschap/Leuvense-onderzoekers-meten-of-u-de-boodschap-verstaat/9986774 De Morgen (NL) https://www.demorgen.be/wetenschap/een-gesproken-boodschap-goed-verstaan-deze-methode-achterhaalt-het-b74b9768/C2tcm/ The research project has been carried by Jonas Vanthornhout and Prof. Tom Francart. Good job!

We would like to invite you to attend the #FallingWallsLab event! Here, researchers get to present their world-changing ideas in 3 slides in 3 minutes. https://www.kuleuven.be/communicatie/wetenschapscommunicatie/iedereen/falling-walls-lab-2018 Our very own Klara Schevenels will be there! Your support would be greatly appreciated (the audience can hand out an award to their favorite contestant). Entrance is free (but registration is required) Looking forward to see you there!

We are very happy to confirm the first edition of the Auditory EEG Signal Processing (AESoP) symposium, to be held from May 21 (noon) to May 23 (noon) in Leuven, Belgium. We aim to bridge the gap between the existing auditory neuroscience and engineering conferences. You will find all the important information right here: http://exporl.blogspot.be/2018/01/announcement-we-are-very-happy-to.html Looking forward to meeting you in Leuven in May!

We are very happy to congratulate Dr. Astrid DV for having defended successfully her PhD! After a very solid presentation, she had the opportunity to further discuss her project with her jury members. 2018 will be a great year! Congratulations :D

We would like to congratulate Dr. Charlotte Vercammen for successfully defending her PhD! She did a great presentation and then had a (friendly) discussion with her jury members. What a way to close the year! Congratulations :D .

A couple of weeks ago, our PhD candidate Dimitar Borisov Spirov and our student Mira Van Wilderode volunteered at "Healthy Hearing", an initiative part of the "Unifié de Basketball" competition in the framework of the Special Olympics Belgium. They examined and screened athletes and the general population overall, while raising awareness about taking care of our ears. Good job, guys!

The Anual Congress 2017 of the Royal Belgian Society for Ear, Nose, Throat, Head and Neck Surgery took place in Louvain-la-Neuve on the 24th and 25th of November, 2017. Not only did our Jan Wouters give a talk about current state of B-Audio, but ExpORL also had a strong presence with contributions by Astrid van Wieringen, Tobias Busch, Anouk Schiffelaers-Sangen, Benjamin Dieudonné, Sam Denys, Benson Hsu, Sara Magits, Annelies Devesse, Lien Decruy, Tilde Van Hirtum, and Charlotte Borgers. This gathering was a fantastic platform to present the results of some of our most recent studies to the scientific community in Belgium in different ways. Additionally, it allowed the discussion, sharing, and exchange of new ideas. (Photo credit: Benson Hsu)

Save the date! The Symposium on Auditory EEG/MEG Signal Processing (AESoP) will be held from the 21st to the 23th of May, 2018. We aim to bridge the gap between the existing auditory neuroscience and engineering conferences. You will find all the relevant information in our webpage http://exporl.blogspot.be/2017/11/dear-colleague-we-are-pleased-to.html Looking forward to meeting you in Leuven in May!

Would you like to join our group? We have an open position (with the opportunity to obtain a PhD)! You will find all the information here https://icts.kuleuven.be/apps/jobsite/vacatures/54447289 Feel free to share!

Last Friday, October 6th KU Leuven University #UniversityTrail took place! We were present with two teams: The Explorers (10 km) and The Musketears (5 km) . It was a fantastic (healthy) experience! Special thanks to Maaike Van Eeckhoutte and Annelies Devesse for being the leaders of their corresponding teams.

Opportunities for two new PhD students in Melbourne & Sydney! Hamish Innes-Brown is looking for two new PhD students, both using fNIRS brain imaging technology. One project will be based at the Bionics Institute in Melbourne, and will use fNIRS to examine 'listening effort' in people who use cochlear implants and bone-anchored hearing aids. This project is funded by Oticon Medical, and is based in Melbourne but will involve a study period at Oticon in Lille, France. The other project is based in Sydney, under the main supervision of David McAlpine at the Australian Hearing Hub. A study period will be spent with me in Melbourne too. This project also uses fNIRS, but also EEG and MEG to examine how the auditory system uses our two ears together to create a 'sense of space.' Both projects are cutting edge science, fully-funded and include a stipend. If you are interested, get in touch with him or visit the following link https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/opportunities-two-new-phd-students-melbourne-sydney-innes-brown

Apple and Cochlear Americas team up to bring the first cochlear implant natively controlled by an iPhone https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/26/apple-and-cochlear-team-up-to-roll-out-the-first-hearing-aid-implant-made-for-the-iphone/