Els De bruyn has been Head of Research at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp since 2009. In collaboration with the University of Antwerp and AP University of Applied Sciences and Arts, she developed a research policy that led to the establishment of four research groups in which artists actively engage in research and PhD trajectories. These trajectories generate publications, teaching activities, workshops, exhibitions, and events, and play an active role in shaping the research profile of the Academy and the local art scene.