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The Cyprus Interaction Lab is the only research facility in Cyprus specialising in Educational Technology and Human Computer Interaction. We are proud to engage in research that helps unpack the potential of emerging technologies to positively influence our society. We hope you will enjoy reading our newsletter which highlights our major achievements of the previous year.  Cyprus Interaction Lab Annual Review-Newsletter 2019

The INTELed multiplier event took place at the Cyprus University of Technology in Limassol, Cyprus, aiming to disseminate the theoretical and pedagogical framework of INTELed, the philosophy and goals as well as the main outcomes of the INTELed European project. The event was entitled “Promoting inclusive education via embodied learning technologies: The INTELed  Teacher Professional Development programme” and was was co-organized by the Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Cyprus University of Technology, the Research center on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE) and the Cyprus Association of Teachers for the use of Information and Communications Technologies. The event was attended by pre-service and in-service teachers, special education therapists, academics, policy-makers, parents, and representatives of teacher associations, who were interested in finding out more about the project and its main outcomes.

The ENGINITE multiplier event took place at the Cyprus University Cyprus, in Limassol, Cyprus. The multiplier event aimed at disseminating the ENGINITE european project and its goals, as well as the ENGINITE postgraduate Vocational Education and Training (VET) programme which was based on Problem Based Learning (PBL) pedagogy. The event was entitled “Bridging academia and industry by integrating ‘theory’ with ‘practice’ using the PBL approach in Engineering Education”. It was co-organized by the Social Computing Research Centre (SCRC) via the Cyprus Interaction Lab (CIL) of the Cyprus University of Technology, CUBEiE LLC and GrantXpert consulting, and was supported by the Research center on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE). The event was attended by graduate and undergraduate young engineers, VET educators, members of industrial and VET associations, representatives from companies and academics.

The SUGAR team, in collaboration with NGO Oxygono and the Youth Council of Cyprus, have organised a two-part discussion panel series under the theme of “Limassol 2040”, which aim to discuss how a long-term plan for a city can come to fruition through the participation of citizens, the community and the authorities. The second part of the discussion took place on the 5th of December 2019 at the Cyprus University of Technology in Limassol. The invited speakers were Nicos Nicolaides (Mayor of Limassol), Pantelis Eutixiou Georgiou (Mayor of Ypsonas) and Charalampos Theopemptou (MP of the Ecologists – Citizens’ Coalition Movement). The discussion revolved around five main themes, including local government reform, tall buildings, sustainable strategic planning, future challenges and the long-term plan for Limassol. At the end of the discussion, the audience had the opportunity to ask the invited speakers a series of questions in relation to the topics discussed …

The Cyprus Interaction Lab (https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com/) of the Social Computing Research Center (http://www.socialcomputing.eu) at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) has secured funding under the Erasmus+ program (Strategic Partnerships in Higher Education) with the project “Enhancing Research Understanding through Media” (ERUM). The Cyprus Interaction Lab is a  partner in the two-year project, which is coordinated by the University of Vienna and has received a total funding of 350,000 euros. The ERUM project includes also five additional leading universities with distinguished research activity in the field of Media education, as follows: University of Alcalá (Spain), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), University of Versailles (France), Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), and the European University Foundation (Luxembourg). The main objective of the ERUM project is to develop a relevant transversal educational offer on the topic of “quality of information between mis and disinformation today” for higher education students who are partaking in the shaping of …

Με ιδιαίτερη επιτυχία ολοκληρώθηκε το διετές ευρωπαϊκό έργο INTELed [INnovative Training via Embodied Learning and multi-sensory techniques for inclusive education] (https://www.inteled.org/), το οποίο χρηματοδοτήθηκε από την Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή, στο πλαίσιο της δέσμης προγραμμάτων Erasmus+. Στο πλαίσιο του ευρωπαϊκού έργου συμμετείχαν 4 εταίροι από 4 χώρες, ως εξής: Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου (Κύπρος), Πανεπιστήμιο Πειραιώς (Ελλάδα), Πανεπιστήμιο Βαγιαδολίδ (Ισπανία), και CESIE (Ιταλία). Ο συντονιστής του έργου ήταν το Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου – Κέντρο Κοινωνικής Πληροφορικής (http://www.socialcomputing.eu). Επιστημονική υπεύθυνη και συντονίστρια του έργου ήταν η Δρ. Άντρη Ιωάννου, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια στο Τμήμα Πολυμέσων και Γραφικών Τεχνών, και συντονίστρια του Ερευνητικού Εργαστηρίου Αλληλεπίδρασης Cyprus Interaction Lab (https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com/). Στην τοπική ομάδα, εκ μέρους του Τεχνολογικού Πανεπιστημίου Κύπρου, συμμετείχαν επίσης οι Δρ. Γιάννης Γεωργίου ως διαχειριστής του έργου (Project manager), Καθ. Παναγιώτης Ζαφείρης, Δρ. Παναγιώτης Κοσμά, κ. Νικολέττα Παντέλα και κ. Αντρέας Κίτσης καθώς και η Δρ. Αγνή Στυλιανού-Γεωργίου από το Πανεπιστήμιο Λευκωσίας, με συμβουλευτικό ρόλο …

Με ιδιαίτερη επιτυχία ολοκληρώθηκε το διετές ευρωπαϊκό έργο ENGINITE [ENGineering and INdustry Innovative Training for Engineers via PBL] (https://www.enginite.eu/), το οποίο χρηματοδοτήθηκε από την Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή, στο πλαίσιο της δέσμης προγραμμάτων Erasmus+ Στρατηγικές Συμπράξεις για την Επαγγελματική Εκπαίδευση και Κατάρτιση. Η κοινοπραξία του έργου αποτελείτο από 6 εταίρους από 4 διαφορετικές ευρωπαϊκές χώρες, ως εξής: Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου (Κύπρος), Aalborg Universitet (Δανία), CUBEIE LLC (Κύπρος), Πολυτεχνείο Κρήτης (Ελλάδα), GrantXpert Consulting (Κύπρος), και Useful Simple Projects Limited (Αγγλία) Ο συντονιστής του έργου ήταν το Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου – Κέντρο Κοινωνικής Πληροφορικής (http://www.socialcomputing.eu). Επιστημονική υπεύθυνη και συντονίστρια του έργου ήταν η Δρ. Άντρη Ιωάννου, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια στο Τμήμα Πολυμέσων και Γραφικών Τεχνών, και συντονίστρια του Ερευνητικού Εργαστηρίου Αλληλεπίδρασης Cyprus Interaction Lab (https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com/). Στην τοπική ομάδα, εκ μέρους του Τεχνολογικού Πανεπιστημίου Κύπρου, συμμετείχαν επίσης οι Δρ. Γιάννης Γεωργίου ως διαχειριστής του έργου (Project manager), Καθ. Παναγιώτης Ζαφείρης, Δρ. Ιωάννης Βυρίδης, Δρ. Στέλιος Γιατρός, …

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” (https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com). In parallel with his/her study the successful candidate may be employed in currently active research programs and will be assigned teaching-related duties at the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts with appropriate reimbursement. Research Advisor: Panayiotis Zaphiris, Professor, panayiotis.zaphiris@cut.ac.cy

On Monday, October 14th, the 5th ENGINITE Transnational Project meeting took place at the Youth MakerSpace, in Larnaka (Cyprus). This final meeting, which was organized by GrantXpert, had a three-fold goal: (a) to reflect on the ENGINITE main outcomes and achievements, (b) to discuss the project’s next steps in relation to the final reporting, and (c) to plan the actions to be undertaken for the exploitation and sustainability of the projects’ outcomes.  During the first part of the project Dr Andri Ioannou (Project coordinator, Cyprus University of Technology) provided a thorough overview of the project and the successful milestones achieved to date. In continuation, Mrs Christina Achilleos (EU Funding Consultant, GrantXpert Consulting) as the project’s Dissemination and Quality Assurance Leader, provided an overview of the Dissemination and the Quality & Assurance reports of the project. Subsequently, the partners discussed about the final reporting, setting a timeline for the successful accomplishment of …

The 4th transnational project meeting of the ERASMUS+ project INTELed – INnovative Training via Embodied Learning and multi-sensory techniques for inclusive education – took place with great success on Wednesday 26th at UVa (Valladolid, Spain). The meeting was attended by the project partners: Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Cyprus University of Technology (Cyprus), CESIE (Italy), University of Piraeus (Greece), and University of Valladolid (Spain). The meeting was coordinated by Dr. Andri Ioannou (Assistant Professor at the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology, as the Scientific Coordinator of the Project). Other participants were Dr. Yiannis Georgiou (CUT, project manager), Symeon Retalis (UPRC), Laura La Scala (CESIE), Dr. Alejandra Martínez Monés (UVa), Dr. Yannis Dimitriadis (UVa), Dr. Sara Villagrá Sobrino (UVa), Dr. Eva Mª Fernández Faúndez (UVa) and Dr. María Jiménez Ruiz (UVa).  During the last months, the participant teachers in each country have been carrying out the pilots to test …

The EdMedia Multidisciplinary Research Group (MRG) and the Cyprus Interaction Lab (CIL) had a strong presence during the EC-TEL conference at the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands held between 16th-19th September 2019.  The conference was attended by the Associate Professor Andri Ioannou (Coordinator of the EdMedia MRG & Director of the Cyprus Interaction Lab) who delivered three presentations, as follows:  Georgiou, Y., & Ioannou, A. (2019, September). Investigating In-Service Teachers’ Concerns About Adopting Technology-Enhanced Embodied Learning. In European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (pp. 595-599). Springer, Cham. Ioannou, M, Ioannou, A., Georgiou, Y. & Retalis, S. (2019, September). Designing the classroom experience for embodied learning. Paper presented at the Hybrid Learning Spaces – Design, Data, Didactics (HLS: D3) workshop of the 14th European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (ECTEL). Deft, The Netherlands Tsivitanidou, O., & Ioannou, A. (2019, September). What Do Educational Data, Generated by an Online Platform, Tell …

Members of the EdMedia Multidisciplinary Research Group (MRG) and the Cyprus Interaction Lab (CIL) had a strong presence during the INTERACT 2019 conference at Paphos, Cyprus held between 2nd-6th September 2019, with three paper presentations, as follows: Ioannou, A., & Andreva, A. (2019, September). Play and Learn with an Intelligent Robot: Enhancing the Therapy of Hearing-Impaired Children. In IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 436-452). Springer, Cham. Mavri, A., Ioannou, A., & Loizides, F. (2019, September). On the Reliability and Factorial Validity of the Assessment Scale for Creative Collaboration. In IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 783-792). Springer, Cham. Timotheou, S., & Ioannou, A. (2019, September). On Making, Tinkering, Coding and Play for Learning: A Review of Current Research. In IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 217-232). Springer, Cham. More information about the INTERACT 2019 conference can be found at the official conference website: http://interact2019.org/

CYPRUS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY FACULTY OF FINE AND APPLIED ARTS The Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts and the Cyprus Interaction Lab invites you to a public presentation by Assistant Professor, Dr. Andri Ioannou, which is a part of her evaluation for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor. TITLE:  From 4E cognition to embodied design and learning: Findings from interventions in educational contexts    Venue: Pavlou Mela, Lemesos Roussos Building, Room EAT Date: Tuesday, 10 September 2019 Time: 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Language: English ABSTRACT Technology-enhanced embodied learning, as a contemporary pedagogy, is gaining traction in the field of education, deeply rooted in theories of Embodied, Enactive, Extended, and Embedded Cognition (4E Cognition). Emerging learning environments, grounded in motion-based technologies and immersive interfaces, create new conditions for gestural and embodied interactions between students and their environment, other students and themselves. In this presentation, I will discuss my previous and ongoing research in the era of …

Members of the EdMedia Multidisciplinary Research Group (MRG) and the Cyprus Interaction Lab (CIL)  took part at the EARLI 2019 conference at Aachen, Germany held between 12th-16th August 2019, with the following paper presentation: Georgiou, Y., Ioannou, A., & Kosmas, P. (2019, August). Learning about angles via embodied-based learning: Investigating the impact of a digital versus a non-digital intervention. In European Association of Research in Learning & Instruction. Aachen, Germany: EARLI. More information about the EARLI 2019 conference can be found at the official conference website: https://www.earli.org/EARLI2019

The EdMedia Multidisciplinary Research Group (MRG) and the Cyprus Interaction Lab (CIL) took part at the 20th International Conference on Human Computer Interaction (Interacción 2019), which took place at the Miramar Palace in Donostia-San Sebastián (Basque Country, Spain), between 25th-28th June 2019. Members of the EdMedia MRG and CIL contributed to the following conference paper:  Martínez-Monés, A., Villagrá-Sobrino, S., Georgiou, Y., Ioannou, A., & Ruiz, M. J. (2019, June). The INTELed pedagogical framework: Applying embodied digital apps to support special education children in inclusive educational contexts. In Proceedings of the XX International Conference on Human Computer Interaction (p. 35). ACM. More information about the Interacción 2019 conference can be found at the official conference website: http://interaccion2019.ehu.eus/