diff --git a/UvA.Workflow.Api/Infrastructure/ApiControllerBase.cs b/UvA.Workflow.Api/Infrastructure/ApiControllerBase.cs
index 5be1156..e0e78ae 100644
--- a/UvA.Workflow.Api/Infrastructure/ApiControllerBase.cs
+++ b/UvA.Workflow.Api/Infrastructure/ApiControllerBase.cs
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 namespace UvA.Workflow.Api.Infrastructure;
 
 [ApiController]
-[Authorize]
+//[Authorize] //TODO: enable authentication when UI has SurfConext support
 [Route("[controller]")]
 public abstract class ApiControllerBase : ControllerBase
 {
diff --git a/UvA.Workflow.Api/Infrastructure/ServiceCollectionExtentions.cs b/UvA.Workflow.Api/Infrastructure/ServiceCollectionExtentions.cs
index 5732ee6..386a459 100644
--- a/UvA.Workflow.Api/Infrastructure/ServiceCollectionExtentions.cs
+++ b/UvA.Workflow.Api/Infrastructure/ServiceCollectionExtentions.cs
@@ -28,7 +28,11 @@ public static IServiceCollection AddWorkflow(this IServiceCollection services, I
         services.AddScoped<IUserRepository, UserRepository>();
 
         services.AddScoped<WorkflowInstanceService>();
-        services.AddScoped<IUserService, UserService>();
+
+        // TODO: restore actual user service when UI has SurfContext support
+        services.AddScoped<IUserService, MockUserService>();
+        //services.AddScoped<IUserService, MockUserService>();
+
         services.AddScoped<ModelService>(sp => sp.GetRequiredService<ModelServiceResolver>().Get());
 
         services.AddScoped<IArtifactService, ArtifactService>();
diff --git a/UvA.Workflow/Users/MockUserService.cs b/UvA.Workflow/Users/MockUserService.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3207ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/UvA.Workflow/Users/MockUserService.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+namespace UvA.Workflow.Users;
+
+public class MockUserService : IUserService
+{
+    private static readonly IEnumerable<User> DummyUsers =
+    [
+        new() { Id = "1", DisplayName = "User 1", Email = "1@invalid.invalid" },
+        new() { Id = "2", DisplayName = "User 2", Email = "2@invalid.invalid" },
+        new() { Id = "3", DisplayName = "User 3", Email = "3@invalid.invalid" }
+    ];
+
+    private static readonly IEnumerable<string> Roles = ["Coordinator", "SuperAdmin", "Admin"];
+
+    public Task<IEnumerable<string>> GetRoles(User user, CancellationToken ct = default) => Task.FromResult(Roles);
+
+    public Task<IEnumerable<UserSearchResult>> FindUsers(string query, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+        => Task.FromResult(DummyUsers
+            .Where(u => u.DisplayName.Contains(query, StringComparison.CurrentCultureIgnoreCase))
+            .Select(r => new UserSearchResult(r.Id, r.DisplayName, r.Email)));
+
+    public Task<User?> GetCurrentUser(CancellationToken ct = default) => Task.FromResult(DummyUsers.FirstOrDefault());
+
+    public Task<IEnumerable<string>> GetRolesOfCurrentUser(CancellationToken ct = default) => Task.FromResult(Roles);
+
+    public Task<User>
+        AddOrUpdateUser(string username, string displayName, string email, CancellationToken ct = default) =>
+        GetCurrentUser(ct)!;
+
+    public Task<User?> GetUser(string username, CancellationToken ct) =>
+        Task.FromResult(DummyUsers.FirstOrDefault(u => u.Id == username));
+}
\ No newline at end of file