Category: News

The SEIT Lab of the University of Cyprus participates in the D-Collab. Erasmus+ Key Action 2 Cooperation for Innovation and the exchange of good practices, Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness.

The project will focus on training the teaching staff as well as the students at all three levels of higher education to equip them with the knowledge and competencies needed for effective teaching and learning in the digital environment. The project will also develop digital competencies of students with special needs, who are in an even more challenging situation due to the shift towards online learning.

The project aims to:

1. Train teaching staff of the University of Economics in Bratislava in methodologies and technologies of digital teaching, including the teaching of students with special needs
2. Train doctoral students at the University of Economics in Bratislava in methodologies and technologies of digital teaching and including the teaching of students with special needs
3. Train students at all three-degree levels in digital competencies needed for effective learning (including students with special needs)
4. Improve digital competencies of students relevant for the labor market
5. Improve the quality of digital instruction at the University of Economics in Bratislava
6. Train the trainers in digital competencies
7. Create the preconditions for the introduction of new digital study programs
8. Produce Intellectual outcomes (Report on the needs of target groups, E-learning platform, Guidebooks)

The EKONOMICKA UNIVERZITA V BRATISLAVE in Slovakia coordinates the research project, which the European Union finances through the Erasmus+ program.

The 24-month research project is implemented within a consortium of 4 internationally recognized organizations from 4 countries: EKONOMICKA UNIVERZITA V BRATISLAVE  (Slovakia), UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS (Cyprus), FOR SRL (Italy), M&M Profuture Training, S.L (Spain)
The team leader of the University of Cyprus in the SEIT laboratory is Professor George A. Papadopoulos.

This important contribution of the SEIT Laboratory will help the University of Cyprus to enrich its knowledge and experience in this field of specialization and, at the same time, will open new perspectives for future collaborations.

More information about this research project can be found on the website: http://d-collab.cs.ucy.ac.cy/

The SEIT Lab of the University of Cyprus participates in the DigiWater project (“Digitalisation of water industry by innovative graduate water education”), an Erasmus+ Key Action 2 Cooperation and Innovation for Good Practices, Knowledge Alliances for a higher education project.

The project aims (1) to develop new, innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning by using multidisciplinary curricula integrated with digital learning tools and virtual facilities like sharing of labs/software with access in cloud systems and Problem Based Learning; (2) to stimulate entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills of higher education teaching staff and company staff using Innovation Camps and (3) to facilitate the exchange, flow and co-creation of knowledge by creating inter stakeholder courses integrating academic, corporate learning and professional development for external specialists. The ambitions of the project are to foster digital innovation in the water sector by showcasing in water and parallel sectors (e.g. energy), building IT skillsets to water professionals, mainstreaming technology entrepreneurs into the water sector, connecting the water sector with related industries and resource issues, such as energy, health and agricultural production and ecosystems and changing conservative, cautious perceptions and shift future water leaders from late to early adopters of innovations and ideas.

Specifically, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) organization in Norway coordinates the research project DIGIWATER, which the European Union finances through the Erasmus+ program. The 36-month research project is implemented within a consortium of 13 internationally recognized organizations from 7 countries: NORGES MILJO-OG BIOVITENSKAPLIGE UNIVERSITET (Norway), TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE OSTWESTFALEN-LIPPE (Germany), ISTANBUL TEKNIK UNIVERSITESI (Turkey), Sumaqua (Belgium), KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN (Belgium), DOSCON (Norway), UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS (Cyprus), UNIVERSITATEA DUNAREA DE JOS DIN GALATI (Romania), SMARTECH AUTOMATION SRL (Romania), MEMSIS ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CO.LT (Turkey), I.A.CO Environmental & Water Consultants Ltd (Cyprus), STEB (Germany), EWA (Germany)

The team leader of the University of Cyprus in the SEIT laboratory is Professor George A. Papadopoulos.

This important contribution of the SEIT Laboratory will help the University of Cyprus to enrich its knowledge and experience in this field of specialization and, at the same time, will open new perspectives for future collaborations.

More information about this research project can be found on the website: https://waterharmony.net/digiwater/

The SEIT Lab participates at the #Erasmusdays2021 by hosting a Multiplier Event for the Erasmus+ project Digi-Ageing! Organizer is our collaborators the Materia Group.
The event will take place on Thursday, 14th of October, 11:00-15:00 at the University of Cyprus Library, room LRC 012.
More information can be found here.
To register, please fill in this form.

The project’s second meeting was organized in Brno, Czech Republic, on September 27&28, 2021. It was a hybric meeting, with some partners attending it physically and others online.

Starting with a welcoming presentation the leading partners of the project, the partners introduced themselves, proceeded to discuss curriculum and innovative learning scenarios and decided on their next steps.

The SEIT Lab’s team (UCY) attended the meeting physically and included Constantinos Xenofontos and Marios Kyprianou.

What are we without memory? It is possible to face daily challenges by forgetting who we are or the name of the objects that surround us.

Memory is a territory still to be explored for science, but research is well underway. 

The term memory indicates cognitive capacity thanks to which we are able to store data and carry out actions. 

The valuable activity carried out by the faculty of remembering and is divided into

• long-term memory (indefinite duration)
• short-term memory (small amount of information for 20/30 seconds)

Daily activities are characterized by recurring gestures. If we wanted to present an example, we could resort to the procedural memory that we activate when we are driving: we learn a series of actions that, repeated frequently, do not come to consciousness and are performed automatically. It emerges by itself that memory is the control center of our activities, and must be preserved. However, with advancing age it is possible to encounter some problems with the ability to remember, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. 

These disorders are characterized by the inability to perform simple functions, also compromising the autobiographical memory and the relationship with loved ones.

The difficulties do not only involve the person affected by the disorder, but also extend to the family, which will have to constantly monitor the elderly. 

Memory-related functions don’t just affect the older.

Implementing tools to support “weak” people pursues a double objective: to protect the health of those affected by these diseases and to alleviate the concerns of families.

ESticky acts as a technological link between individuals and families, ensuring the transmission of information on the activities undertaken during the day.

Now that our ELSE project is approaching completion, we would like to disseminate our results and present our Intellectual Outputs to Universities and Schools! Due to the COVID19 pandemic, the ELSE Multiplier Event must necessarily be organized as an online event (on ZOOM). Yet, we will show how one can exploit the technologies we have developed in the past two years and we will present our method. We will also offer a hands on experience regarding our tools!

More information and the agenda can be found here.

Our paper CompLicy: Evaluating the GDPR Alignment of Privacy Policies – A Study on Web Platforms, was accepted for publication at the 15th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science (RCIS 2021) and was presented by Evangelia Vanezi on May 11–14, 2021. The conference was, initially to be held in Limassol (Cyprus) was organised online due to COVID-19.

Full Citation: Vanezi, Evangelia, Zampa, George, Mettouris, Christos, Yeratziotis, Alexandros, and Papadopoulos, George A. “CompLicy: Evaluating the GDPR Alignment of Privacy Policies-A Study on Web Platforms.” Research Challenges in Information Science: 15th International Conference, RCIS 2021, Limassol, Cyprus, May 11–14, 2021, Proceedings. Springer Nature.

Our paper DIG-IT: Digital Education Initiatives and Timely Solutions, was accepted for publication at the 15th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science (RCIS 2021) and was presented by Evangelia Vanezi on May 11–14, 2021. The conference, initially to be held in Limassol (Cyprus), was organised online due to COVID-19.

Full Citation: Vanezi, Evangelia, Yeratziotis, Alexandros, Mettouris, Christos, Papadopoulos, George A., and Colla J. MacDonald, “DIG-IT: Digital Education Initiatives and Timely Solutions.” Research Challenges in Information Science: 15th International Conference, RCIS 2021, Limassol, Cyprus, May 11–14, 2021, Proceedings. Springer Nature.

Our paper CHATBOT Technologies for Digital Entrepreneurship Education of Adult Learners-CHAT2LEARN, was accepted for publication at the 15th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science (RCIS 2021) and was presented by Dr. Thomas Fotiades on May 11–14, 2021. The conference, initially to be held in Limassol (Cyprus) was organised online due to COVID-19.

Full Citation: Fotiades, Thomas, Vanezi, Evangelia, Petrova, Mariana, Vasileva, Vitlena, Papadopoulos, George A., “Technologies for Digital Entrepreneurship Education of Adult Learners–CHAT2LEARN.” Research Challenges in Information Science: 15th International Conference, RCIS 2021, Limassol, Cyprus, May 11–14, 2021, Proceedings. Springer Nature.

Communications and technology influence each other. When health problems arise, devices equipped with artificial intelligence can help the psychophysical improvement of subjects.

Many studies are oriented towards the development of user friendly devices that can safeguard human autonomy and well-being.

A word that cannot be missing in the vocabulary of a good device – particularly if it has to support people suffering from complex diseases – is accessibility.

The eSticky project takes shape from the encounter between care and technological development

participates in the Suitceyes symposium, thanks to the contribution of @Harpo Sp. z o.o, with a speech aimed at emphasizing the importance of the display, as the main support tool for the elderly.

The Symposium promoted by SUITCEYES promotes discussion on life through the event – Living Through Touch – Smart, Haptic Communication for Inclusion, Accessibility, and Participation.

The event page is available at the following link https://suitceyes.eu/program/

The chromatic agreement or disagreement helps to define the device in terms of usability.

Furthermore, the choice of colors predominantly affects the emotions and predisposition of the subjects. The display is the interface with which we interact most and enhancing its appearance facilitates its usability.

People with senile dementia or Alzheimer’s cannot deal with complex or confusingly colored devices. Another aspect on which eSticky has focused with particular attention is the font of the texts, which participate in the effectiveness of the device.

Colors are an expression of our state of mind and what we want to convey: psychology is influenced by colors, and this internal dynamic is widely demonstrated by numerous scientific researches. In this context, the need emerges to develop a system aimed at enhancing the user through the digital experiential dimension, building a responsive display with a simplified interface. This is one of the topics covered in the eSticky meeting held in February and April.

The “eDash” tool is now up and running and as such we are currently evaluating our tool.

Would you like to participate in this evaluation?

If yes, please see the video(click here) and then fill in this questionnaire(click here).