Faculty

Dr. Eleni A. Kyza is Professor in Information Society in the Department of Communication and Internet Studies, where she also served as the Program Director of the Master’s in New Technologies for Communication and Learning between the years 2010-2021.   She coordinates the Media, Cognition and Learning research group at the Cyprus University of Technology. She has a Ph.D. degree in the Learning Sciences, with a specialization in Cognitive Science, from Northwestern University, USA, a master’s degree in Technology in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA, a B.Sc. in Education Summa Cum Laude, with a concentration in Educational Media and Technology, from Boston University, USA, and a Teacher’s Diploma from the Cyprus Pedagogical Academy. Her undergraduate and graduate studies were funded through CASP/Fulbright scholarships. Her post-doctoral studies with the Learning in Science Group at the University of Cyprus were funded through a European Commission IRG Marie Curie Fellowship and by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation.

Her work focuses on the design and research of new technologies to support teaching and learning. Her work is guided by a desire to have real-world impact, through engagement with practitioners and the civil society and by bridging research and practice.  Her research focuses on understanding how we can design new technologies to foster critical engagement with scientific inquiry and digital and scientific literacy.

Her current research interests include augmented reality technologies to support learning in situ, the design and investigation of web-based learning environments to support reflective inquiry learning, and participatory and collaborative design. Her work has been supported through competitive grants from the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation, the European Commission, and the U.S. Department of State.

In the last few years, she has been actively investigating the topic of misinformation on online social media in the context of the Co-Inform project, to strengthen a reflective approach to the evaluation of information on the internet through working with journalist, policymakers, and citizens. In 2017 she co-organized a conference on “Combating Misinformation on Social Media”, which led to funding two local programs to take action on addressing disinformation by capacity building among youth.

She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Instructional Science peer-reviewed journal (Springer) and a member of several editorial boards, such as the Journal of the Learning Sciences, Educational Reviewer, and Frontline Learning Research. She is a member of several professional associations, most notably of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS), the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA), and the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR).

She is currently the President of the EARLI association (2021-2023).  She has also served as President of the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS, 2014-2015), and is an Inaugural Fellow.  She is appointed to the Digital Education Expert Committee, which is supporting the digital education transformation of the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth.  Since September 2021 she is appointed to the European Commission Expert Group on tackling disinformation and promoting digital literacy through education and training.

Dr. Markos Souropetsis is Special Teaching Staff in Digital Audiovisual Production at the Department of Communication and Internet Studies of the Cyprus University of Technology. He holds a PhD in Internet Studies [Dissertation title: Investigating the impact of gamified learning at cultural heritage sites through the use of extended reality environments] from the Department of Communication and Internet Studies of the Cyprus University of Technology, a M.Sc. in Cultural Informatics and Communication and a B.Sc in Cultural Technology and Communication from the University of the Aegean. His research focuses on the implementation of new technologies in non-formal learning settings, like museums and archaeological sites.

PhD Candidates

Andria Agesilaou has a Master’s degree in “New Technologies for Communication and Learning” from the Department of Communication and Internet Studies of the Cyprus University of Technology. She has a BA in Primary Education from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She is working as a Research Associate at the Department of Communication and Internet Studies of the Cyprus University of Technology. Her current research interests focus on the design and implementation of innovative learning environments grounded on cutting-edge technologies in formal and informal STEAM education, through design-based research. In particular, her research agenda focuses on the design and development of innovative technology-enhanced learning environments using co-design practices with students. She is also interested in investigating the development and assessment of primary and secondary school students’ design thinking.

Christiana Varda is a PhD candidate at the Department of Communication and Internet Studies. Her research focuses on understanding the role of emotions during the evaluation of online information on social media, and her research interests include emotions, epistemic cognition, informal learning, misinformation and media literacy. She graduated as a Schreyer Honors Scholar from the Pennsylvania State University, where she studied on a full CASP / Fulbright scholarship. She holds a BA in Communications (Journalism) and a BA in English; she also has an MA in Interactive Multimedia from the Cyprus University of Technology. Christiana taught Media Studies in secondary education for a decade before making the jump to academia. She is also the founder and CEO of the non-profit organization Media What, which is focused on cultivating media literacy skills through participatory multimedia activities.

Effie Dariou (MSc.) studied Pedagogy at the Department of Primary Education of Democritus University of Greece, as well as Civil Engineer and Environmental Engineer at the University of Cyprus. She obtained her master’s degree on Education for Sustainable Development. She is a member of the Unit of Education for Environment and Sustainable Development. Her role is to support teachers to integrate Sustainable Development in Cypriot schools. She is coordinating various workshops including STEM, Robotics, Programming, New Technologies, and Innovative teaching approaches on ESD. Her work is presented in local, European, and international conferences and competitions with a lot of distinctions and awards.

Master's Graduates

Antonia Agorou is a master’s student of the “New Technologies for Communication and Learning” program at the Department of Communication and Internet Studies of the Cyprus University of Technology. She holds a BA degree in Greek Philology, with a specialization in Linguistics, from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She has been working as a Greek Tutor for native and foreign students – children and adults – and as a translator for the last decade, and has also worked as a teaching assistant and research associate at the Cyprus University of Technology, and other organizations like Cardet. Her current research interests focus on information literacy. She is particularly interested in investigating the effect of source evaluation on students’ online search behavior.

Maria Papageorgiou has a degree in “History and Archeology” from the University of Ioannina-Greece and a Μaster’s degree in “Theory, Practice and Teaching Assessment” from the University of Nicosia. Currently, she is doing a second Master’s degree in “New Technologies for Communication and Learning” at the Cyprus University of Technology. Now she is working on her thesis which focuses on misinformation and fake news in Social Media. Maria has long experience in teaching Modern Greek, Ancient Greek, History and Latin at schools in Cyprus and in England. Presently she is teaching at a Private Institute.

Panayiotis Stylianou has a BA in Chemistry from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He is teaching Chemistry in the Public Secondary Education. He is a “Qualified Person” for Pharmaceuticals according to the European Law. In the past he worked as Head of Quality Control for the Pharmaceutical company “Medochemie”. He is now studying for Master’s degree in “New Technologies for Communication and Learning” and his thesis focus on the investigation of students’ motivation level in technology enhanced learning environments for inquiry-based science learning.

Nicoletta Pantela has a Master’s degree in “New technologies for Communication and Learning” from the Department of Communication and Internet Studies of the Cyprus University of Technology. She has a BA in Primary Education from the University of Cyprus.Her research interests focus on how scaffolding tools in technologically mediated environments can promote better academic outcomes in students.

Irene Efstathiou has a Master’s degree in “New Technologies for Communication and Learning” from the Department of Communication and Internet Studies of the Cyprus University of Technology. She has a BA in “Educational Sciences” (Primary Education) from the University of Cyprus. She is a teacher with the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture. Her research interests focus on new technologies that support teaching and learning in history in non formal settings.

Past Members

Dr. Iolie Nicolaidou is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication and Internet Studies at the Cyprus University of Technology. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Educational Technology from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. She has a Master’s degree in Educational Media and Technology from Boston University (2002) and a BA in Primary Education with a specialization in Natural Sciences from the University of Cyprus (2000).

Her expertise is in the design, implementation and evaluation of new technologies for learning (e.g. web-based learning environments, serious games, apps, simulations) with a focus on applications designed for science, health, formal (K-12) and informal education.

She led the design and evaluation of a series of digital mini-games for overcoming troubled pasts in primary and secondary education in the Horizon2020 project RePAST (2018-2021) that was coordinated by the Department of Communication and Internet Studies (Dr Dimitra Milioni). She has participated in two EU-funded projects of the 7th framework, as project manager (in CoReflect, which focused on the design and empirical validation of web-based inquiry learning environments in science) and as a research associate (in meducator, which focused on medical education through e-learning). She also worked as a research associate abroad, in three international research projects funded by the Center of the Study of Learning and Performance (CSLP) at Concordia University in Canada that focused on the impact of technology on the learning and teaching process and on the design and evaluation of multimedia educational software and learning environments.

She has published more than 70 papers in international peer-reviewed journals (including the top journal of medical informatics) and in proceedings of international scientific conferences.

Dr. Christothea Herodotou is a Professor of Learning Technologies and Social Justice at the Open University UK and Associate Director of the Institute of Educational Technology, Quality Enhancement and Innovation.. She completed her PhD in Digital Games and Psychology, at the Institute of Education, University College London (UCL), UK. She holds an MSc in Education, Technology, and Society, University of Bristol, UK and a BA (Hons) in Primary Education, University of Cyprus. Her research interests focus on the use of innovative technologies, in particular digital games and mobile devices, in formal and informal learning and their relationship to human motivation and cognition. She is currently the Principal Investigator of a British Educational Research Association (BERA)-funded project, which aims to explore the uses of touch screen mobile applications for science learning and inclusion in early years education. In the past, she worked extensively for a number of international and national projects related to formal and informal science education (nQuire, PROFILES, CoReflect) and developed mobile and web-based technologies for science learning. More details about her work can be found here: https://iet.open.ac.uk/people/christothea.herodotou

External Collaborators

Dr Yiannis Georgiou has worked as Research Associate with the Media, Cognition Learning Research Group, at the Department of Communication and Internet Studies of the Cyprus University of Technology, from 2011 until 2017. He has a PhD from the Department of Communication and Internet Studies while he also holds a master’s degree in “Learning in Science Education” and a BA in Primary Education from the Department of Education of the University of Cyprus. His research interests focus on the investigation of immersive and interactive technologies for learning, with an emphasis on Augmented Reality (AR) learning environments. His research interests also focus the investigation of teachers’ professional development through participatory design models, for supporting teachers’ learning on innovative pedagogies and new technologies. He was named Co-chair of the JURE 2015 taking place in Limassol, Cyprus and hosted by the Cyprus University of Technology.

Dr. Andreas Hadjichambis has a Ph.D. degree in Biology from the University of Athens. His dissertation was related to the Ecology of threatened ecosystems of Cyprus. Andreas also has a degree in Biology from the University of Athens and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Conservation Management from the University of Glamorgan, United Kingdom. He currently works as Biology Advisor in the Ministry of Education and Culture and co-ordinator of the Cyprus Biology Curriculum. Andreas worked on the development and evaluation of learning materials for the enrichment of the Cyprus Science Curriculum in the framework of several European research projects such as CO-REFLECT, PROFILES, PARRISE, MASS, FLORA etc. He was a member of the Content expert team of the Ministry of Education and Culture regarding Biology, aiming to the development of Digital Educational Content for Biology with the use of Internet and innovative technologies. He also has the Scientific Direction of the design and development of learning material and evaluation tools for 16 Environmental Education Programs of the Cyprus Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CY.C.E.R.E.). He is a co‑author of the Biology Activity-books (4) for the Biology Lessons in the compulsory education of Cyprus (Grades 7 – 10). Actions he involved received National, Pan-Hellenic and European recognition and awards.

Dr. Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi is Biologist, having a Master of Science in Environmental Conservation and Management from the University of Glamorgan- UK and a PhD in Ecology and Environmental Education from the University of Athens. She worked at the University of Cyprus as a member of Special Educational Personnel in Science (2005-2013). Currently, she works as a biology teacher in secondary education. Her research interests include the design and evaluation of curriculum materials enhancing students’ conceptual understanding, values and attitudes on Ecology and Conservation of Biodiversity. Demetra had the coordination for the development and evaluation of learning materials for the enrichment of Primary Science Curriculum of Cyprus (2007-2010) under the research project FLORA: An integrated project for students’ and teachers’ education regarding ecology and environmental awareness. She also participated in several other research projects related to the development and evaluation of learning environments (e.g., Wetlands, Alyki, PROFILES). She worked as a Content Expert regarding Biology and Environmental Science for the Design and Development of Digital Educational Content (DEC) to be included in DIAS LMS E-content for Lyceum. Demetra also participated in the evaluation of pilot applications of ICT incorporation in learning and teaching in Secondary Education, Cyprus Pedagogical Institute. Since 2008 she has been a member of Biology Curriculum Committee in the framework of Cyprus Educational Reformation. She is a co‑author of the Biology Activity-books for the Biology Lessons in the compulsory education of Cyprus (Grades 8 – 10). She has been an Ambassador of Scientix Project in Cyprus since 2013.