CYPRUS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

The Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) is a new, public university founded in 2003. The University aspires to become a pioneering university, offering high level training and research in popular fields, which today offer great economic, technical, and scientific output. With an applied research orientation, the Cyprus University of Technology aims in providing important aid to the local society to help it cope with problems that it faces in all the fields of science, technology and knowledge while contributing to the international research community. CUT currently has six faculties (Geotechnical Sciences and Environmental Management, Management and Economics, Communication and Media Studies, Fine and Applied Arts, Engineering and Technology, and Health Sciences) with plans to expand its faculties to ten in the next few years. The Department of Communication and Internet Studies aims in the education of high level scientists and the promotion of research and relative applications in the scientific fields of Education, Communications, New Media and the Internet. The focus of the undergraduate degree is on the effect of new technologies on communication, the economy, politics, culture and society. The focus of the Master’s degree in New Technologies for Communication and Learning is on innovative methods in support of learning, with an emphasis on technology-enhanced learning.

The Cyprus University of Technology is actively engaged in research at local and European level and is participating in numerous local and European research projects. The Department of Communication and Internet Studies has participated in two FP7 Science-in-Society projects: Project Digital support for Inquiry, Collaboration, and Reflection on Socio-Scientific Debates” (“CoReflect”, Grant No:277792, http://www.coreflect.org, 2008-2011) and Project Professional Reflection Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science (“PROFILES”, Grant No: 266589, http://www.profiles-project.eu, 2010-2014). The CUT team has extensive expertise in science education, with a specific focus on the use of technology-enhanced learning to foster rich reasoning on socio-scientific issues. Existing networks with teachers will contribute to achieving the goals of the project.

Dissemination (WP6, leader)

Teacher Professional Development -Lower Secondary Education (WP3)

CUT local webpage [el]

CUT PARRISE brochure [el]

Dr. Eleni A. Kyza leads the PARRISE CUT team. She has a PhD in the Learning Sciences from Northwestern University (USA), with a specialization in Cognitive Science and a science education emphasis. She also holds a Master’s degree in Technology in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (USA), a B.Sc. in Education, with a concentration in Educational Media and Technology from Boston University (USA), and a Teacher’s Diploma from the Cyprus Pedagogical Academy.  Her work focuses on design-based research and the development of authentic, web-based, inquiry environments to promote the scaffolding of reflective learning in science. She has extensive expertise in the management and scientific supervision of European projects.  She was the coordinator of the FP7 project “CoReflect” and also leads the Cyprus team for the FP7 Science in Society project “PROFILES“.

Dr. Andreas Hadjichambis has Ph.D. and BSc. degrees in Biology from the University of Athens, and an MSc in Environmental Conservation Management from the University of Glamorgan, United Kingdom. He is a member of the curriculum reform team of the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture regarding Biology. He is also the Scientific Director of the Cyprus Centre for Environmental Research and Education Center. His interests include curriculum design and sustainable development.

Dr. Yiannis Georgiou has a PhD from the Department of Communication and Internet Studies, a Master’s degree in “Learning in Natural Sciences” and a BA in Elementary Education from the University of Cyprus. His interests include the design, development and evaluation of technology-enhanced curriculum materials within the field of natural sciences.

Markos Souropetsis is a PhD student at the Department of Communication and Internet Studies of the Cyprus University of Technology. He holds a M.Sc. in Cultural Informatics and Communication from the Department of Cultural Technology and Communication of the University of the Aegean. His research interests focus on the implementation of new technologies in non-formal learning settings, like museums and archaeological sites.

Andria Agesilaou is a PhD student at the Department of Communication and Internet Studies of the Cyprus University of Technology. Her research interests are: Gamification in Education, Game-based Learning, Augmented Reality Applications in Education and Mobile Learning. She holds a Master’s degree in “New Technologies for Communication and Learning” from the Dept. of Communication and Internet Studies of the Cyprus University of Technology and a BA in Primary Education from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.