Dr Lucy Avraamidou is currently the Director of the Institute for Science Education and Communication and a Professor of Science Education and Communication and a Rosalind Franklin Fellow. Dr Avraamidou ’s research is associated with theoretical and empirical explorations of what it means to widen and diversify STEM participation in school and out-of-school settings through the lens of intersectionality. At the heart of the account of her work is an exploration of underrepresented groups’ identity trajectories and negotiations with the use of narrative and life-history methods.
Dr. Charalambos Vrasidas is co-founder and Executive Director at CARDET, an international non-profit designing innovative digital learning that aim to empower people and organizations to thrive. He is Professor of Learning Innovations and Associate Dean for e-learning at the University of Nicosia. An innovator, designer, educator, lifelong learner and social entrepreneur, he has designed and implemented a large number of impactful initiatives in 40+ countries. A big part of his work at CARDET and UNIC is focused on designing and implementing award winning initiatives integrating digital tools, mobile learning, gamification, XR, and AI for digital transformation. For more information visit www.cardet.org.
Dr Michalinos Zembylas is a Professor of Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies at the Open University of Cyprus, an Honorary Professor at Nelson Mandela University, South Africa, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Australia. He holds a Commonwealth of Learning (COL) Chair for 2023-2026. He has written extensively on emotion and affect in relation to social justice pedagogies, intercultural and peace education, human rights education and citizenship education. His recent books include Privileged Irresponsibility, Responsibility and Response-ability in Contemporary Times: Higher Education, Coloniality and Ecological Damage (co-authored with Vivienne Bozalek) and Working with Theories of Refusal and Decolonization in Higher Education (co-edited with Petra Mikulan). In 2016, he received the Distinguished Researcher Award in “Social Sciences and Humanities” from the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation.
Dr Jahna Otterbacher is an Associate Professor and the Dean of the School of Pure and Applied Sciences at the Open University of Cyprus (OUC). She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA. Jahna also heads the Cyprus Center for Algorithmic Transparency (CyCAT) at OUC, where she oversees interdisciplinary research focused on developing technical and educational solutions to enhance algorithmic transparency and literacy. In addition to her role at OUC, Dr. Otterbacher co-leads the Fairness and Ethics in AI-Human Interaction (fAIre) group at CYENS. This group collaborates with two prestigious international partners, University College London (UCL) and the Max Planck Institute (MPI), to develop tools and techniques to promote algorithmic fairness, transparency and positive symbiosis in Human – AI interaction.
Panayiotis Thrasyvoulou is the Partner in charge of People Consulting, Immigration and the Academy of Learning and Development at EY Cyprus. He joined EY after having worked for 15 years as Human Resources Manager in diverse groups of companies. He founded his own consulting firm which he successfully ran for 3 years, before taking on his current position. Panayiotis’ work concentrates on organizational (re) design, performance management, HR transformation, leadership development and culture. His project portfolio includes clients from government and semi-governmental organizations, as well as clients from the private sector. He holds a BSc in Business Management from Essex University, an MSc (Distinction) in International Employment Relations & Human Resources Management from LSE, and a PhD (cand.) in Management from the University of Cyprus. At LSE he received the “Foundation of Automation and Human Development School Prize for the Best Overall Performance”. His academic research revolves around the issues of work and organisational (re)design. Panayiotis served two terms as the President of the Cyprus Human Resources Management Association (CyHRMA).
*Please note that the list of the list of keynote speakers will be regularly updated. The Organising Committee of the LIS is currently in contact with esteemed academics and high-caliber experts to join and present at the Summit. More information will be shared soon.