Imagine a world where news is more than just boring black-on-white articles. Imagine a world where a headline draws you into a place of wonder. An interactive world. Such is the world that Michiel van der Ros likes to create.

The buzzword for Michiel is ‘interactive.’ He’s practically turned making interactive journalistic productions into an art form. Check out “On The Ground Reporter,” “Wartime Stories,” and “Did evil win,” for example. He met Albertine Piels back in 2015 at De Tegel, the Dutch Oscars for journalism. Michiel made a production for Nieuwsuur, a Dutch news program, on the spot.

Screencap from ‘Wartime Stories’

It’s A Match!

He likes variation and has always been interested in the creative side of developing. “You keep learning; you always have to learn new techniques.” You can see why he fits in well with Hackastory.

Soon after their meeting at De Tegel, Albertine invited Michiel to come along for a virtual-reality themed hackathon in Ghent. It was there that Michiel discovered what Hackastory is all about, “and the rest is history,” as he said.

He Can Do It All

Michiel is a developer. He studied Multimedia Design and Technology. It’s a broad field of study, and that’s exactly why he chose to study it. Coding, video editing and graphic design – Michiel can do it all!

Michiel liked the cut of Hackastory’s jib and has often worked with us since then. “If you take coders, designers and storytellers and you put them together, the result is more than the sum of their parts. Hackastory’s combination of workfield, method and people is unique.”

Michiel (left) during the hackathon in Austin

A Great Cause

He started going to trainings, Hackastory hackathons in The Netherlands and Belgium among other places. He even flew across the pond, as it were, joining Hackastory’s ranks for the hackathon in Austin, Texas. “I like the enthusiasm that people have within Hackastory, and it’s a pleasure to be involved with such a great cause.”