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The Cyprus Interaction Lab was approached by the Youth Board of Cyprus to organise and facilitate an activity aiming to rethink the online counseling service it currently offers to young people. CIL, having implemented various adaptations of Google Ventures’ inspired Design Sprint in the past, adjusted the method to an one-day sprint that took 3 multidisciplinary teams of young creatives through understanding the problem to proposing solutions. The workshop took place at the Cyprus University of Technology on Friday 23rd of November 2018. The teams consisted of students and young professionals from multimedia and graphic arts, business, advertising, engineering and psychology/social work backgrounds. During the workshop, participants discussed, explored, proposed solutions and developed prototypes (applications, systems, etc.) with a goal of making sure help is provided to those that are looking to talk to a professional in the most user friendly and inclusive manner. The interactive workshop was hosted by …

The second meeting of the INTELed Teacher Professional Development (TPD) program was co-organized by the Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Cyprus University of Technology (CIL, https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com) and the Research center on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE, http://rise.org.cy). The meeting was delivered successfully by Dr Andri Ioannou, Dr Yiannis Georgiou, Mrs Nicoletta Pantela and Dr Panayiotis Kosmas, on November 3rd 2018, at the Cyprus University of Technology, and was attended by 28 in-service primary education teachers, working with SEN students in various settings (mainstream classroom, special unit, special school). The meeting began with a presentation by Dr Yiannis Georgiou (Postdoctoral researcher, Project manager) on embodied cognition theory, embodied learning pedagogical approach, and taxonomy of embodied learning technologies based on their affordances for sensorimotor activity, immersion, and gestural congruency with the learning content.           Next, the INTELed teachers had the opportunity to take the role …

The Cyprus Interaction Lab would like to invite interested candidates to apply for a PhD for January 2019 in the following research topics. Deadline for both positions is 26th of November.  Instructions on how to apply here: https://www.cut.ac.cy/news/article/?languageId=1&fbclid=IwAR3619wjvWjMGvMShoaaUck-YemiEubVJXpYrKrNwYvf6lkmATluPTOl5XY&contentId=140750 Nurturing and stimulating student’s creativity with Educational Robotics in school’s makerspace Description: This post involves multidisciplinary research in areas related to Education, Technology, Multimedia, Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, Design. Candidates should possess: Postgraduate Degree of Master’s level from accredited Universities in Computer Science, or Multimedia or Education or any related field. Ability to organize and carry out research work independently. Very good knowledge of English language. Prior experience in research activities (i.e. publication record, submitting research proposals, participating in research programs) will be considered as an additional qualification. The successful candidate will be assigned to the “Cyprus Interaction Lab” (http://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com). In parallel with his/her study the successful candidate may be employed in …

On Friday October 19, 2018, the 5th graders of Agia Napa Primary School – Antoni Tsokkou participated at the @CodeWeek EU with the activity “I learn the European capitals via robotics“. The educational activity was organized by Mrs. Stella Timotheou (Primary Education Teacher, Doctoral Student at the Cyprus Interaction Lab) and was supported by the Research center on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE, http://rise.org.cy). As part of the activity the children were introduced in simple programming concepts in a playful way via programming various educational robots. .     

The Cyprus Interaction Lab (CIL – https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com/)  of the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology is exploring the possibility of hiring Project Managers for full-time or part-time engagement, depending on qualifications and availability. Our current projects are related to: Learning technology Immersive and embodied learning Problem-based learning in STEAM The positions will be on a contract basis with a salary depending on the candidate’s qualifications and expertise with a salary in the scale of A9-A10 for an hourly rate of 20-24 euro/hour. For these positions we are looking for the employment of highly capable individuals who demonstrate the following attributes: Strong writing, communication, and organization skills Fluent in Greek and English Dynamic personality with strong teamwork skills Excellent computer skills Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines Willing to learn and take initiatives Strong problem-solving skills Excellent team skills Duties and Responsibilities: Conduct …

The kickoff meeting of the INTELed Teacher Professional Development (TPD) program was co-organized by the Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Cyprus University of Technology (CIL, https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com) and the Research center on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE, http://rise.org.cy). The meeting was delivered successfully by Dr Andri Ioannou, Dr Yiannis Georgiou and Mrs Nicoletta Pantela, on October 6th 2018, at the Cyprus University of Technology. The kickoff meeting was attended by 35 in-service primary education teachers working either in mainstream schools or in special schools. The main aim of the INTELed project (www.inteled.org) is to support Special Education (SEN) and general teachers in acquiring knowledge and skills about the use of embodied and interactive multi-sensory techniques for learning and assessment, for addressing the needs of SEN children. In turn, the overarching goal of the project is the integration of these techniques in the school classrooms, thus contributing in students’ …

The kickoff meeting of the ENGINITE Vocational Education and Training (VET) programme  was co-organized by the Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Cyprus University of Technology (CIL, https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com) and the Research center on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE, http://rise.org.cy). The meeting was delivered successfully by the ENGINITE CUT research team (Dr Andri Ioannou, Dr Yiannis Georgiou & Mrs Nicoletta Pantela), on October 2nd 2018, at the Cyprus University of Technology. The main aim of the ENGINITE project (https://www.enginite.eu/) is to design and promote a postgraduate Vocational Education and Training (VET) programme based on a Problem Based Learning (PBL) pedagogy and will combine advanced applied academic topics with hands-on aspects, in order to endorse the knowledge and skills of graduate engineers, preparing them for the industry of the 21st  century.   The meeting began with an introductory speech by Dr Andri Ioannou (Assistant Professor, Project coordinator), during which she presented the …

The Research center on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE, http://rise.org.cy) and the Cyprus Interaction Lab  (CIL, https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com) support the organization of the “Open coders fair”: A celebration day for programming & robotics for children 5-99 years old, in the context of the activities  “Learning to code with my child” of the European Code Week. Entrance is free and the event will take place on Sunday 21 October 2018, from 9:30 to 13:30, at Kiosk 1 of the Cyprus National Fair (North Entrance). Συμμετοχή στα εργαστήρια: https://docs.google.com/…/1EDjk1FVYpxIZPKPa8AE_Fh…/viewform…

A two-day design sprint workshop took at the Youth Makerspace Larnaka (https://www.facebook.com/makerspacelarnaka/) on Friday and Saturday, 12-13 October. During the workshop, participants discussed, explored, proposed solutions and developed prototypes (applications, systems, etc.) with a goal of providing useful information for responsible gaming, as well as information for the risks posed by non-responsible participation. The prototypes developed by the teams followed the theme of the Responsible Gaming campaign (http://responsiblegaming.gov.cy/en/) as part of the Responsible Gaming Awarness Week (http://responsiblegamingweek.gov.cy/) of the National Betting Authority: 1. Learn before you play 2. Set limits 3. Self-evaluation 4. Be brave when addressing the problem 5. It’s a game, do not forget it The interactive workshop was hosted by Prof. Panayiotis Zaphiris and Andreas Papallas from the Cyprus Interaction Lab. The event was supported by the Research center on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE, http://rise.org.cy).

INTERACT 2019 (http://www.interact2019.org/) is the latest of a series of conferences on Human-Computer Interaction organized under the aegis of the Technical Committee 13 of the UNESCO International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). The IFIP TC 13 aims at developing the science and technology of the interaction between humans and computing devices. The first INTERACT conference was organized in London, UK in 1984 and the most recent conferences took place in India (2017), Germany (2015), South Africa (2013) and Portugal (2011). INTERACT 2019 runs in-cooperation with the ACM Special Interest Group on Human-Computer Interaction (SIGCHI). The 2019 conference will be hosted by the Cyprus University of Technology and supported by Tallinn University. The Cyprus Interaction Lab is the main host of the event. Call for papers: INTERACT 2019 welcome contributions covering all aspects of Human-Computer Interaction. The areas of interest include but are not limited to, one or multiple the topics …

The Research Centre on Interactive Media, Smart System and Emerging Technologies [ RISE ] (http://RISE.org.cy) with additional support from members of the Cyprus Interaction Lab had a strong presence at Βραδιά του Ερευνητή / Researchers’ Night with the participation of more than 15 academics, researchers and administration officers affiliated with RISE and collaborating research labs. As per annual tradition, the Research Promotion Foundation (http://www.research.org.cy/) has organized successfully the Researchers’ Night, which took place on September 28th and 29th 2018, at the Carob mills, at Limassol. The Researchers’ Night is a Europe-wide celebration for research and takes place in more than 300 European cities in 36 countries. The aim of the event is to promote research and technological achievements to the general public as well as to attract young people, via a variety of hands-on activities, live experiments, interactive games, art installations, exhibitions, theatre, talks, demonstrations etc. Under the theme “The Technology meets cultural heritage” the RISE …

On August 31st 2018, the Cyprus Interaction Lab (https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com) of the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology, in collaboration with the Research centre on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging Technologies (http://www.rise.org.cy) and the MakerSpace Larnaka of the Youth Board of Cyprus (https://www.facebook.com/makerspacelarnaka/), have organized and delivered an innovative workshop for childrenentitled: “Exploring Gender Identity and Micro:bit using E-textiles”. The workshop took place at the MakerSpace Larnaka of the Youth Board of Cyprus and hosted 24 children. The workshop was successfully delivered by Dr. Jennifer Rode (Senior Lecturer, UCL Institute of Education, UCL Knowledge Lab), Dr. Andri Ioannou (Assistant Professor, CIL Director, Cyprus University of Technology), Dr. Yiannis Georgiou (Post-doctoral researcher at CIL and RISE), Mrs. Stella Timotheou (PhD Candidate at CIL) and Mr Michalis Hadjitofas (4-year student from the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts). During the workshop, the children had the opportunity to study …

 From 9th-18th July 2018,  the Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Cyprus University of Technology  (CIL, https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com) and the Research center on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE, http://rise.org.cy) delivered two innovative educational workshops in the context of the annual summer school of the Cyprus University of Technology for 5-15 years-old children. The educational activities were developed and implemented by researchers of the CIL and RISE, under the supervision of Dr. Andri Ioannou, Assistant Professor: Yiannis Georgiou (Post-doctoral Researcher, RISE, CIL), Panayiotis Kosmas (PhD Candidate, CIL), Anna Magidou (Master Student, CIL). The workshop aimed at providing young children the opportunity to use two cutting-edge learning applications, grounded on the theory of embodied cognition and adopting a set of interactive technologies and motion trackers. In particular, the digital application “The angle-makers” was addressed to 7-10 years-old children and aimed at promoting their conceptual understanding in Mathematics education about topics related to the angle …

Το Cyprus Interaction Lab (https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com/), το Youth Makerspace Larnaka (https://www.facebook.com/makerspacelarnaka/) και το Research Centre on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging Technologies of Nicosia συνδιοργάνωνουν το βιωματικό εργαστήριο “Κατασκευές με τεχνολογία Micro:bit και ηλεκτρονικά υφάσματα” για παιδιά ηλικίας 11-14 ετών. Το βιωματικό εργαστήριο θα πραγματοποιηθεί την Παρασκευή, 31 Αυγούστου 2018, στους χώρους του Youth Makerspace Larnaka, από τις 09:00-14:00. Το βιωματικό εργαστήριο είναι συνδεδεμένο με ερευνητικό πρόγραμμα, το οποίο διεξάγεται από τις Δρ Άντρη Ιωάννου (Cyprus Interaction Lab, ΤΕΠΑΚ), Δρ Jennifer Rode (Ινστιτούτο Εκπαίδευσης του UCL) και Δρ Louise Barkhuus (Πανεπιστήμιο της Κοπεγχάγης). Κατά τη διάρκεια του συγκεκριμένου βιωματικού εργαστηρίου, τα παιδιά που θα συμμετέχουν, θα έχουν την ευκαιρία να μελετήσουν και να προγραμματίσουν το Micro:bit, δημιουργώντας κατασκευές από ηλεκτρονικά υφάσματα. Το Micro:bit είναι ένας μικρός φορητός προγραμματιζόμενος υπολογιστής. Για παράδειγμα, τα παιδιά θα μάθουν πώς να προγραμματίζουν το Micro: bit, ώστε να ανάψει, όταν έρθει σε επαφή με το ηλιακό …

In July 2018, the MAKERSPACE project managed by the Cyprus Interaction Lab for the Youth Board of Cyprus, hosted the Annual Summer School of the Cyprus Architects Association. The Summer School involved the design, prototyping and construction of a 1:1 pavilion that was installed in the yard of the building. The participants utilised most of the equipment and facilities at MAKERSPACE including visualising their design in VR, prototyping and brainstorming. The outcome of their two- week workshop was presented to the municipality and the youth board in an event in August and will remain on site open to the public. The workshop was supported by the Research center on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE, http://rise.org.cy).