Anthony Steed is Head of the Virtual Environments and Computer Graphics group and Deputy Head of Department in the Department of Computer Science at University College London. He has over 25 years experience in developing virtual reality and other forms of novel user interface system. He has long been interested in creating effective immersive experiences, and while originally most of his work considered the engineering of displays and software, more recently it has focussed on user engagement in virtual reality, embodied cognition, collaborative mixed reality and how to create more effective experiences through careful design of the immersive interface. He received the IEEE VGTC’s 2016 Virtual Reality Technical Achievement Award

He is a Member of Gray’s Inn, of the Cyprus Bar Association and of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA). He is a licensed insolvency practitioner and he participated until recently in the Cyprus Bar Association Committee for Corporate and Tax matters as well as in bilateral business initiatives like the Cyprus – Canada Business Association.

He is a lawyer and Managing Partner of Prountzos & Prountzos LLC which he founded and is managing since 2010. From 2019 until 2023 he led the legal services of a Big4 firm for the Central, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe and Central Asia Region where he was in charge of teams in 32 different countries exceeding 500 people.

He has large experience in legal matters concerning regulated markets. He has handled important cases of competition law, mergers and acquisitions and personal data protection.

He has dealt with legislative and regulatory matters related to energy, both renewables and natural gas. He has consulted on many large infrastructure projects and is considered a leading figure in renewable energy and waste management projects.

Charalambos has successfully handled landmark Constitutional, employment and public procurement cases.

From 2011 until 2018 he has served as a Member and Vice Chairman for Administrative and Finance of the Governing Committee of the Open University of Cyprus. In 2018 he was elected as the first Chairman of the Council of the Open University of Cyprus. The Open University of Cyprus is one of the three public universities of the Republic of Cyprus.

He has also served as a Member of the Board of CYENS a, Research and Innovation Centre. CYENS is a Centre of Excellence which is a joint venture between the three public universities of the Republic of Cyprus, Max Planck Institute of Germany, University College London (UCL) and the Municipality of Nicosia.

He participated as a member of the Working Group on Governance and Power Sharing during the last negotiating process for the Cyprus problem between 2015 – 2017.

He is an active citizen with a rich social and cultural activity, numerous public interventions and articles in paper and digital media.

On July 1st, he took the helm as the first Mayor of the new Metropolitan Municipality of Nicosia, which was formed after the merger of the four municipalities of Nicosia, Aglantzia, Engomi, and Agios Dometios.

from the University of Leeds (2009).

His main research and teaching interests focus on sustainability marketing, corporate sustainability and responsibility, international marketing, and tourism/hospitality marketing. He has published widely and his articles appeared in Industrial Marketing Management, International Business Review, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of World Business, and Tourism Management, and other Journals.

He serves as Associate Editor of Journal of Business Research and is a member of the Editorial Review Board of Journal of International Marketing. He also reviews on an ad-hoc basis for many other academic journals and regularly presents his work in leading international academic conferences across the globe. He is an active member of the American Marketing Association, Academy of Marketing Science, British Academy of Management, and European Marketing Academy. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of CYENS Centre of Excellence and the American Marketing Association’s Global Marketing Special Interest Group.

He is currently the Academic Coordinator of the MBA programme at Open University of Cyprus and elected member at the University’s Council and Senate. He has taught on many undergraduate and postgraduate programs and served as an external examiner for the University of Glasgow and King’s College London. He has a successful track record in doctoral supervision, and currently oversees a number of students at different stages in the areas of sustainability, international marketing, and strategy. He has also supervised a plethora of undergraduate and postgraduate student projects and dissertations in these areas.

Marianna Hadjiandoniou holds a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Surrey, UK, and is an esteemed member of the CIPD. With over two decades of extensive experience, Marianna has successfully formulated and implemented HR strategies for various local and international companies. Marianna is dedicated to combating workplace discrimination and promoting women’s rights through comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. She is the General Secretary of the Cyprus National Paralympic Committee. Marianna is also an active member of the BPW Cyprus Federation of Business and Professional Women and an accredited trainer by Cyprus’s Human Resource Development Authority. She has been a Certified Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Professional since January 2021. From 2020 to 2023, she served as the Secretary of the CSR Cyprus Board. She is also a board member of the Limassol Red Cross branch and supports the association “One Dream One Wish,” contributing to significant community welfare projects. Marianna is also an Executive Committee Member of the Cyprus International Businesses Association (CIBA), a Member of the Committee and Vice Presidency for Technology and Innovation within the Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a non-executive Director of the Board of Directors of CYENS Centre of Excellence. Her outstanding leadership in HR was recognized in 2023 at the international ‘The Leadership Awards’, in London. She also received the title ‘Woman of the Year’ at the prestigious international awards, Rewards 2024. 

He is currently serving as chairman for the University of Cyprus’ Entrepreneurship Council (2023) and has served as founding director of the University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship (2015-2021) and chairperson of the Computer Science Department (2010-2014). He is also the director of the Laboratory for Internet Computing, which he established at the University of Cyprus in 2001, attracting numerous research projects (2001-2023) with a total budget over 7 million Euros, mentoring over 80 research scientists and students, publishing more than 200 papers in scientific conferences and journals and several software artifacts released as open source. Prof. Dikaiakos has also worked at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA, and held short-term visiting positions at Rutgers University, USA; the National Technical University of Athens, Greece; Université de Paris – Cité, France; the Foundation of Research and Technology-Hellas, Greece, and Digital Equipment Corporation, USA/France. He has served as chair in several international scientific conferences, including EuroPar 2023, IEEE/ACM CCGrid 2019, the 2012 Annual Privacy Forum, and AxGrids 2004; Associate Editor of the ACM Computing Surveys and Springer’s Computing journals; an independent evaluator of European and Asian academic and research institutions, a reviewer and evaluator for research proposals submitted to the E.U. and to several national European science foundations, and an independent observer of proposal evaluation at the E.U. During his term as director of the University of Cyprus’ Centre for Entrepreneurship, he led the design and implementation of the Centre’s training and innovation programs, international relations, publishing and outreach activities, including the annual Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (IEF), the University’s Certificate in Entrepreneurship program, the acceleration program of the Cyprus Entrepreneurship Competition, and the yearly nationwide Global Entrepreneurship Monitor study (GEM). Prof. Dikaiakos is a Senior Member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and has been a member of ACM’s Distinguished Speakers Program (2012-2015). More information: http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/mdd/

IEEE INFOCOM, IEEE ICDCS, IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, and ACM Transactions on the Web.

He has extensive experience leading EU-funded projects. Specifically, he was the technical manager of the ReCRED project (Horizon 2020 Innovation Action – 2014) and the coordinator of the ENCASE project (Horizon 2020 Marie Curie RISE – 2015).

His work on fringe web communities, hate speech, disinformation and disturbing content on YouTube had extensive coverage in major news outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, New Scientist, Business Insider, Quartz, Wired, and El Pais.

He is also the co-director of the Network Systems and Science Research Laboratory and a member of the Board of Directors of the Research Centre of Excellence on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE).

Ugne Buraciene is Group CEO of payabl., a European financial technology company helping businesses take control of their money flow. Since joining in 2021, Ugne has led the company through a period of rapid growth, expanding its reach across Europe and broadening its product suite with payabl.one, the unified financial platform that brings acquiring, business accounts, and card issuing together in one connected view.

With almost 20 years of leadership experience in fintech and banking, Ugnė has built her career on navigating complex regulatory environments and scaling cross-border operations.

Beyond payabl., Ugne actively champions the growth and innovation of the payments industry. She serves as a board member of TechIsland and CYENS Centre of Excellence, an advisor to Bivial AG, the Cyprus Country Ambassador for the European Women Payments Network, and a Money20/20 Europe RiseUp mentor.

Anthony Cohn is Editor-in-Chief Spatial Cognition and Computation. He is the Chairman/ President of the UK AI Society SSAISB, the European Association for Artificial Intelligence (EurAI), KR inc, the IJCAI Board of Trustees. He currently chairs the Steering Committee of the Spatial Cognition conference. He remains a Director of KR Inc. He is the recipient of the 2015 IJCAI Donald E Walker Distinguished Service Award which honours senior scientists in AI for contributions and service to the field during their careers, as well as the 2012 AAAI Distinguished Service Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of AAAI, AISB, EurAI (Founding Fellow), the BCS, and the IET.

Over the years he has been involved in numerous licenses and spin outs including PolyMASC Pharmaceuticals PLC, one of the first university spin outs to float on the London AIM in 1995. Medic to Medic Ltd (creators of the Map of Medicine) founded in 2000 which was sold to Informa PLC in 2005 and Stanmore Implants Worldwide Limited which was acquired by Abingworth and MDY Healthcare in February 2008. In 2016, Cengiz led the creation of two unique university investment funds to operate alongside UCLB – the £50m UCL Technology Fund and the £40m Apollo Therapeutics collaboration.

Under his leadership UCLB grew to become one of the most successful and prolific university technology commercialisation companies in the UK. In the year he retired UCLB employed a team of 50 people, recorded a turnover of £25m, and three of its spin outs secured NASDAQ listings.

After retirement from UCLB, Cengiz established Tarhan Associates Limited (https://www.tarhanassociates.com/) to provide technology transfer and commercialisation advice to universities in the UK and internationally, He also set up AT8 Capital Partners LLP through which he and his partners provide support, advice and invest in new Start-up companies.

He has served as international mentor for WIPO for three years and carried out various projects including consulting for the Wellcome Trust and LifeArc and numerous universities.

He is currently on the investment advisory boards of O2h Ventures, University of Tartu Ventures and a board director of Conception X

Dieter W. Fellner is Professor of Computer Science at TU Darmstadt, Germany, and Director of Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD, also in Darmstadt. He is CEO of Fraunhofer Austria Research GmbH and holds a professorship at Graz University of Technology (Austria). Since 2016, he has been chairman of Fraunhofer Information and Communication Technology Group (IUK-Verbund) and a member of the Fraunhofer Presidential Council. Since 2017, he has been a member of the board of Fraunhofer Singapore.

Mel Slater is Distinguished Investigator at the University of Barcelona, Spain, where he leads the Event Lab. He was formerly full Professor in the Computer Science Department at University College London. He has a particular interest in virtual reality for the creation of social scenarios, and also in using the power of virtual reality for changing the self, research that is focused on the interface between computer science and neuroscience.

Visiting Professor, School of Computer Science and Engineering at NTU Singapore Nadia Magnenat Thalmann has pioneered research into virtual humans over the last 30 years. She founded the interdisciplinary research group MIRALab at the University of Geneva. Her global domain of research is Virtual Humans and Social Robots. Besides directing her research group MIRALab in Switzerland, she is presently Visiting Professor and Director of the Institute for Media Innovation (IMI) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Nicolai Petkov is professor of Intelligent Systems and Computer Science at the University of Groningen, with contributions in the fields of brain-inspired computing, pattern recognition, applied machine learning and parallel computing. His recent research interests are in applying machine learning to predictive analytics for financial time series.

Oded Cohn served as IBM Vice President and as the Director of the IBM Research Lab in Haifa, Israel for over 16 years. Oded is responsible for a highly accomplished IT research lab that employs many talented individuals. His responsibilities cover the strategy, research directions, focus, and advancement of the research carried out by the lab workforce.

Yvonne Rogers is a Professor of Interaction Design, the director of UCLIC and a deputy head of the Computer Science department at UCL. Her research interests are in the areas of ubiquitous computing, interaction design and human- computer interaction.

Yiorgos L. Chrysanthou is the Research Director of the Centre on Interactive Media, Smart Systems and emerging Technologies – CYENS Centre of Excellence. He is also a Professor at the Computer Science Department of the University of Cyprus. Yiorgos was educated in the UK (BSc and PhD from Queen Mary College, University of London) and worked for several years as a research fellow and a lecturer at University College London. He has published over 80 papers in journals and international conferences on computer graphics and virtual reality and is a co-author of the book “Computer Graphics and Virtual Environments: From Realism to Real-Time”, (Addison-Wesley 2001+ China Machine Press 2004). Yiorgos serves as an associate editor for the Journals Computer Graphics Forum

and Computers and Graphics, and review editor for Frontiers in Robotics and AI (Specialty Section Virtual Environments).

He served as the local or overall coordinator of over 25 research projects, related his research interests, that lie in the general area of 3D Computer Graphics, recently focusing more on the development of algorithms for real-time AR and VR rendering, reconstruction of urban environments and computer animation.

In 2021 Dr. Ioannou received a “2nd Opportunity” grant from the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation and a year later has been awarded a Marie S. Curie funding (Individual Fellowship) by the European Executive Agency. Since May 2022 Dr. Ioannou continues at CYENS as a group leader of the “Neurocognitive Management of Occupational Movement Disorders” (Neo-Move) research group. His research areas focus on cognitive neuroscience, neurophysiology, motor control, chronic pain, work-related musculoskeletal disorders/diseases, motor rehabilitation, biofeedback systems and interactive technologies. Findings of his research have been published in several international scientific journals and presented at various universities and international conferences in the USA, Germany, Japan, Israel, Slovenia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, and Azerbaijan.

Dr. Fotis Liarokapis has received the D.Phil. degree from the University of Sussex, U.K., and has worked as a Research Fellow with City University, London, U.K., Coventry University, U.K., and most recently at Masaryk University, Czech Republic, where he was an Associate Professor and Director of the HCI Lab. His research interests include virtual reality, augmented reality, brain computer interfaces and serious games. He has organised multiple conferences and workshops and he is the co-founder of the International Conference on Virtual Worlds and Games for Serious Applications (VS-Games). Currently, he is the co-chair of IEEE CoG 2020 and he is a member of IEEE.

Anastasia Georgiade is a Cyprus-born researcher and educator working as a Research Assistant at the CYENS Centre of Excellence, where she contributes to the ViWAS (Virtual Worlds of AcademySkills ) project. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Primary Education (specialising in Mathematics and Art Education) from the University of Cyprus and completed an Erasmus+ Exchange Program focused on global sustainability and immersive technologies at VIVES University of Applied Sciences in Belgium. She further pursued an MA in Artificial Intelligence and Technology-Enhanced Learning at the University of York, where her postgraduate research investigated AI Literacy in Primary STEAM Education, comparing teacher perspectives in the UK and Cyprus. Her research interests lie at the intersection of virtual learning environments, AI competence frameworks, and cross-cultural educational policy.

Ioannis Koureas is a Marketing & Communications Officer at CYENS Centre of Excellence, where he supports the Centre’s communication, branding, and outreach activities across research, innovation, and education. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Information from the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB).

In his role, Ioannis contributes to the development and execution of digital communication strategies, social-media content, event promotion, and marketing materials, helping translate complex research and innovation into clear, engaging messages for diverse audiences. He works closely with multidisciplinary research groups, project teams, and external partners to strengthen CYENS’ visibility.

Dr. Marios Kyriakou is a technology and innovation professional with more than 20 years of experience spanning academic research, European research projects, project management, entrepreneurship, and technology commercialisation.

Originally from Paphos, Cyprus, he holds a BSc in Computer Engineering and Informatics from the University of Patras. He subsequently received an MSc in Advanced Information Technologies from the University of Cyprus in 2005 and a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cyprus in 2014, with research focused on Computer Graphics, Virtual Reality and interactive technologies.

During his academic and research career, he participated in European research initiatives, including the FP6 INTUITION Network of Excellence, and later joined CYENS Centre of Excellence, where he worked for approximately five years in research project management, contributing to the coordination and implementation of European and nationally funded research and innovation projects.

Dr. Kyriakou is also the founder of Mirror 3D Lab Ltd, a Cyprus-certified innovative company developing Darefore, a wearable sensing and sports technology platform. Through his entrepreneurial work, he has gained hands-on experience across the full innovation lifecycle, including technology and product development, intellectual property, fundraising, investor relations, business development, international partnerships, market validation and commercialisation.

His academic and entrepreneurial achievements include receiving full scholarships for his undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral studies, as well as second prize at the Cyprus Entrepreneurship Competition (CyEC) in 2006. He has also served as a visiting lecturer and educator in Computer Science and technology-related subjects.

His professional interests focus on research commercialisation, technology transfer, innovation strategy, entrepreneurship, emerging technologies, and translating research and technological capabilities into real-world economic and societal impact.

Dr. Ourania Miliou is the Education & Training Manager at CYENS Centre of Excellence, where she leads the development and implementation of innovative, learner-centered programmes that integrate emerging technologies into education.  With a PhD in Instructional Technology and over 15 years of experience, she has led and contributed to more than 30 European and national projects, funded by ERASMUS+, AMIF, JRC, and Digital Europe where she has designed training frameworks, developed educational content, and evaluated learning outcomes across diverse sectors.

She specializes in digital education and skills development programmes that merge pedagogy with technology, using game-based learning and interactive media. Her research and practice extend across schools, universities, and professional training environments, with a strong focus on designing learning experiences that deliver measurable impact.

She also coordinates the training and upskilling activities of the Cyprus European Digital Innovation Hub (DiGiNN), supporting professionals from the public and private sectors in adapting to digital transformation.

Ms. Mehmet earned her BSc in International Relations and European Studies, where she actively volunteered with the IREA Society, representing her university in networking and partnership-building events through diplomacy across Europe.

 She later completed an MBA with a dual focus on Human Resources Management and Oil & Gas Management. Her MBA thesis involved designing a performance appraisal system for the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (TCCC), a framework that was successfully implemented by the organization.

She began her career as a Business Development Specialist and Quality Management Expert, contributing to the TCCC and taking an active part in the Board of Directors in human resources initiatives. She is actively taking part in Rotary Club projects dedicated to social responsibility.

At CYENS, Ms. Mehmet serves as the Innovation & Community Engagement Manager. She plays a pivotal role in engaging the communities across the divide, facilitating project collaborations, and bridging innovation and entrepreneurship through initiatives such as the innovation vouchers, youth engagement, cultural heritage.

In 2021 Dr. Ioannou received a “2nd Opportunity” grant from the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation and a year later has been awarded a Marie S. Curie funding (Individual Fellowship) by the European Executive Agency. Since May 2022 Dr. Ioannou continues at CYENS as a group leader of the “Neurocognitive Management of Occupational Movement Disorders” (Neo-Move) research group. His research areas focus on cognitive neuroscience, neurophysiology, motor control, chronic pain, work-related musculoskeletal disorders/diseases, motor rehabilitation, biofeedback systems and interactive technologies. Findings of his research have been published in several international scientific journals and presented at various universities and international conferences in the USA, Germany, Japan, Israel, Slovenia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, and Azerbaijan.

Argyro Zachou was born and raised in Kozani, Greece. She graduated from the Polykladik Lyceum of Kozani, specializing as a “Welfare Supervisor.” She continued her studies in “Early Childhood Education Activities of Creation and Expression” at IEK PASTER Thessaloniki. Argyro is certified in the Teacher Assistant Course “Introduction to the Theory and Practice of the Montessori Method of Education for Children 2½ – 6 Years” from MMI London and is currently pursuing studies in “Hellenic Culture” at the Open University of Cyprus.

In her professional career, Argyro has worked in Greece, the UK, and Cyprus in the fields of education and creative activities. She has served as a nursery teacher and has created, supervised, and presented educational programs in organizations, museums, and schools. Argyro is particularly passionate about developing and implementing educational programs, finding deep fulfillment in creating engaging and impactful learning experiences.

Athena Zannetti holds a BA in Classical Studies and Philosophy from the University of Cyprus and a MA in Educational Leadership and School Improvement from the University of Manchester. She joined CYENS in July 2022 after a rewarding career in the sectors of Education, Research and Innovation and having worked closely with both management, academic and research staff. In her current role at CYENS as Executive Assistant for the Research Director and the Research Department (RD), Athena aims to positively interact in a dynamic environment, achieving effective results.

Eleni Papanikolaou is the Senior HR Manager at CYENS, bringing 17 years of experience in Human Resources Management. Her expertise includes Talent Management, Learning and Development, Talent Acquisition, and Change Management, with a focus on building effective and supportive workplaces.

Recognized for her high emotional intelligence and collaborative approach, Eleni is dedicated to fostering a culture of fairness, professionalism, and continuous learning. With a strong interest in advancing HR practices within the Research and Innovation sector, she works to ensure that people feel valued and empowered to reach their full potential.

Born and raised in London. Studied Business and Administration at Enfield College. 30 years’ experience in Administration.

in order to support citizen’s initiatives and CSOs throughout Cyprus in her professional fields. Currently, she continues to Professional development by learning programme languages and datascience.

In her current role at CYENS, Hidayet aims to be a teamplayer and contribute to the developments and effectiveness of the Accounting Department towards the objectives of the Centre.

Louiza holds a BA in Business Administration degree from the University of Central Lancashire Cyprus, where she graduated with Upper Second-Class Honors and earned recognition as a high-achieving student. As part of her undergraduate journey, she also completed an Erasmus+ exchange at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. Louiza is currently pursuing her ACCA qualification, further deepening her expertise in accounting and finance, alongside having completed a TQUK Level 6 Diploma in the same field. She has 5 years experience as an auditor, where she has gained extensive experience in audit procedures, financial reporting, risk assessments, and team coordination. Her background also includes internships at the Central Bank of Cyprus and CEDAR (Center of Entrepreneurship in UCLan Cyprus), as well as active participation in several EU- funded and intercultural training initiatives across Europe. In her current role at CYENS, Louiza seeks to continue developing her accounting skills and contribute to the effectiveness of the Accounting Department towards the objectives of the Centre.

With over 30 years of experience, Loulla serves as our Senior Administration Officer, providing expert support to both Operations and HR.  

She is highly skilled in coordinating administrative processes, managing communications, and ensuring smooth day-to-day operations.

His research interests are in adaptive video processing and delivery for real time applications, including 360o video coding, computer vision for healthcare applications using deep learning methods, interactive and distributed analytics of large-scale image and video databases, and mHealth and eHealth systems and services. He has published more than 80 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, and book chapters, in these areas, including 1 patent. He was the lead Guest Editor of IET Healthcare Technology Letters, Special Issue on mHealth-Emerging Mobile Health Systems and Services (10 papers), published in 2016 and the Guest Editor of the research topic on Connected Health: Status and Trends (11 papers) published by Frontiers in Digital Health in 2020. Since 2021, Dr. Panayides has been an Associate Editor of the IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics (J-BHI) (Impact Factor: 7.021).

Dr. Panayides is actively involved in national and international research projects, funded by the European Commission, the Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus, and the National Science Foundation, USA. He is also serving as an expert reviewer for H2020 proposals. Dr. Panayides has managed funding as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI of more than €1.7 million with €0.5 million awarded for personal fellowships. In 2016, he co founded 3AHealth (3ahealth.com), a start-up company based in Cyprus that provides innovative and citizen-centric solutions throughout the healthcare pathway. Dr. Panayides was the deputy national architect of Cyprus’ EU Digital Covid Certificate (https://www.eudcc.gov.cy/) portal.

In 2021, she obtained an MSc in Applied Statistical Modelling and Health Informatics with a Distinction award from King’s College London. Her research interests include the application of data science and machine/deep learning on patient data for enhanced diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutics. 

AI Research Engineer with a background in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a strong focus on medical imaging and deep learning. Currently working on the development of end-toend AI pipelines for cardiac ultrasound analysis, specializing in right ventricle segmentation and automated extraction of clinical functional indices. Experienced in medical image and video processing, dataset curation, quality control workflows and close collaboration with clinicians. Highly motivated to develop reliable, clinically applicable AI systems for real-world healthcare applications.

Ioanna Valiandi received her B.Sc. degree in Computer Science with a specialization in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Cyprus (UCY) in 2020 and her M.Sc. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) in 2025. She is currently a PhD candidate at CUT, Limassol, Cyprus.

From 2020 to 2021, she worked as a Special Scientist at the UCY. Since 2022, she has been a Research Associate at the CYENS Centre of Excellence, in the VIDEOMICS group, which focuses on Adaptive Video Processing and Delivery for Real-Time Applications. Her research focuses on video coding and processing, adaptive video delivery for real-time applications and 360o video coding. She aims to further advance her research in AI-based coding techniques and neural video encoding. Her research interests encompass video codec comparison, adaptive video streaming, video quality assessment and user Quality of Experience, leveraging extensive medical and general-purpose databases, including 360o video.

graduating top of the class of 2002, and receiving the Republic of Cyprus Presidential Award. He continued his education at Harvard University, where he received an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) in 2008, under the supervision of Leslie Valiant. Before joining Open University of Cyprus in 2009, he held a visiting faculty appointment at University of Cyprus. He was a keynote speaker at ISD 2017 and AmI 2018, and he has served, among others, as the PC chair of the 15th European Conference on Logics in Artificial Intelligence in 2016, and as the organizer of a workshop series on Cognitive Knowledge Acquisition since 2015.

Research Areas
computational cognition, knowledge representation, commonsense reasoning, reasoning about actions and change, default and non‐monotonic reasoning, formal argumentation, computational learning theory, preference elicitation, textual entailment, narrative comprehension.

Dr Vassilis Vassiliades is a Research Assistant Professor at the CYENS CoE in Cyprus where he directs the “Cognitive Artificial Intelligence and Robotics” research team. His research explores how software agents and robots efficiently learn, plan and acquire diverse skills in complex environments, often by integrating multimodal sensory data. He received an MSc in Intelligent Systems Engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK (2008), and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence (AI) from the University of Cyprus (2015). He has done post-doctoral work at Inria, France (2015-2018) working on algorithms for efficient damage recovery in robotics. Vassilis has secured more than 2M euros in funding through national, European and industrial projects, and has contributed as a reviewer and author in top-tier conferences and journals on topics related to AI, robotics, machine learning, neural networks, and evolutionary algorithms.

Chara Theocharous received a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Cyprus in 2022 and an MSc in Artificial Intelligence from the same university in 2024. Her research interests center on generative AI, particularly its applications in creative fields and its role in enhancing human-AI interaction. She is currently a Research Associate in the Cognitive Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) group at the CYENS CoE, where she works on two projects: AI Interactive Storyteller and VILMA. AI Interactive Storyteller is a user-friendly platform for creating personalized, AI-driven interactive stories, combining large language models with text-to-image and text-to-speech technologies. VILMA is developing an open-source handheld gripper to capture multimodal data from human task demonstrations, including video, instructions, and 3D trajectories. 

Constantinos Odysseos is a Cypriot engineer with a strong background in mechanical engineering, artificial intelligence, and biomedical research. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from the Cyprus University of Technology and a Master’s in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Cyprus. He has served as CTO of EFEVRE TECH LTD, where he led the development of AI-powered biomedical platforms and autonomous lab robotics. He has also worked as a Production Manager in the medical device industry and as a Project Engineer in industrial automation. His expertise spans data science, natural language processing (NLP), computer-aided design (CAD), and regulatory compliance. He also has experience in business development within a startup environment, including strategy, investor relations, proposal writing, and fundraising. He has participated in several international conferences such as MWC, GITEX, and SLUSH.

He is the co-author of the CRC Press reference book on High Dynamic Range Technology ‘Advanced High Dynamic Range Technology: Theory and Practice’ 1st and 2nd edition and the author of CRC Press book ‘Image Content Retargeting: Maintaining Tone, Color and Spatial Consistency’

He has recently received multiple Associate Professor habilitations from various national agencies, and he is regularly acting as IPC member and reviewer for major international conferences and journals, and he is the Associate editor of three peer-review international journals.

More info can be found through the following links:

Researchgate: researchgate.net
Academia: girona.academia.edu
CRC: crcpress.com
Amazon: amazon.com

She is a Research Associate at the DeepCamera MRG and an Honorary Research Fellow at King’s College London. She brings over thirteen years of research experience in quantitative MRI, medical image computing, and computational modelling. She held research positions at University College London, University of Cyprus and San Rafaelle Hospital in Milan, contributing to interdisciplinary projects across image analysis, machine learning and biomarker development. Dimitra received a Marie Skłodowska‑Curie Fellowship in 2023, which she carried out at the University of Cyprus through the European InSilicoPlacenta project, collaborating with the University of Adelaide on advanced placental MRI, maternal–fetal physiology, and the development of imaging‑derived biomarkers in preclinical and translational pregnancy research. 

Xenios Milidonis is a Senior Research Associate in the DeepCamera MRG at CYENS Centre of Excellence. He received a BSc in Physics from the University of Cyprus (2011), an MSc in Physics and Computing in Medicine and Biology (Medical Physics) from the University of Manchester (2012), and a PhD in Molecular and Clinical Medicine (Neuroimaging) from the University of Edinburgh (2017). Since then, he worked as a post-doctoral Research Associate at the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King’s College London, focusing on the fabrication of multimodality physical standards for the assessment and validation of dynamic cardiac first-pass perfusion imaging, as well as the development of algorithms for the automated quantitative analysis of magnetic resonance imaging data. He has established collaborations with multinational industrial companies towards the worldwide deployment and utilization of developed technologies (including General Electric and Siemens). He is also a registered Medical Physicist in Cyprus, a Consultant Scientist for General Electric Healthcare, UK, and a Visiting Research Associate at King’s College London.

Dr. Fotis Liarokapis has received the D.Phil. degree from the University of Sussex, U.K., and has worked as a Research Fellow with City University, London, U.K., Coventry University, U.K., and most recently at Masaryk University, Czech Republic, where he was an Associate Professor and Director of the HCI Lab. His research interests include virtual reality, augmented reality, brain computer interfaces and serious games. He has organised multiple conferences and workshops and he is the co-founder of the International Conference on Virtual Worlds and Games for Serious Applications (VS-Games). Currently, he is the co-chair of IEEE CoG 2020 and he is a member of IEEE.

Andreas Andreou is an XR System Engineer at CYENS Centre of Excellence in Nicosia, Cyprus, specializing in the development of cutting-edge VR/AR technologies. With nearly a decade of experience in immersive technology and interactive multimedia, Andreas is dedicated to pioneering advancements in the VR/AR/XR field. At CYENS, he enhances the sense of presence through advanced AR/VR rendering technologies, creates ultra-low latency and power-efficient systems, and innovates Metaverse workflows. His work integrates these technologies into XR prototype systems, demonstrating their applications using game engines.

In addition to his role at CYENS, Andreas is the co-founder of Hellmade Games, where he contributes his expertise to deliver immersive gaming experiences. He also teaches laboratory courses in graphics programming and game development at the University of Cyprus. Previously, he led research and development projects at Qiiwi Games, focusing on new technologies and optimizing solutions for various platforms. Andreas holds a Master’s Degree in Design and Development of Computer Games and Interactive Technologies and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Cyprus. His commitment to advancing VR/AR/XR technologies continues to push the boundaries of interactive entertainment.

Haris Psallidopoulos is a Research Assistant at CYENS CoE, focusing on Virtual Reality Environments. He holds a BA in Applied Multimedia and an MBA in Management Information Systems from the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. Currently, he is pursuing an MSc in Electrical Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Haris possesses expertise in coding, academic research, Unity development, and UI/UX design. Additionally, he has practical experience with 3D printing, CNC machining, and the testing of aerospace, defense and tactical equipment manufacturing.

Hongyu Yang is a Research Assistant at CYENS Centre of Excellence. Her research interests span human–computer interaction, virtual and augmented reality, user experience, human-centred design, and AI-supported interaction. She explores how people perceive, experience, and interact with digital environments, with particular interests in human behaviour, cognition, and social interaction in immersive settings. Her work considers how interactive technologies can support users’ cognitive and social needs, and how insights from user research can inform their design and evaluation. She aims to contribute to more intuitive, comfortable, and engaging digital experiences that respond to diverse user needs.

Ioanna Hadjiandrou is a researcher in the Extended Experiences group at CYENS Centre of Excellence. Her work focuses on virtual avatars and animation for augmented reality experiences of urban cultural heritage.

She holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Cyprus. For her diploma thesis she developed a real-time interactive sailing simulation for sea scout training. Her interests include real-time simulation, extended reality, human-computer interaction, and digital cultural heritage.”

Marios Constantinides is a Senior Research Scientist at the CYENS Centre of Excellence, Cyprus, and an honorary lecturer at University College London (UCL), UK. He brings over six years of industrial research experience, having held positions at Nokia Bell Labs in Cambridge, UK, and Telefónica in Barcelona, Spain. He was also a research fellow at the University of Cambridge. His research interests revolve around human-computer interaction (HCI), ubiquitous computing, software engineering, machine learning (ML), data science, and responsible AI. Specifically, he works in the area of human-centered AI, leveraging mobile- and wearable-sensing with the aim of building technologies that augment the ways people interact and communicate in a responsible way. Marios holds a PhD from UCL, where his work intersected HCI and ML, as well as a MSc in Software Systems Engineering from the same institution, and a BSc in Computer Science from University of Cyprus. His research has been published in leading HCI conferences and general science journals, and his projects have received international media coverage, featuring in outlets such as the BBC, the Economist, the Times, and Fast Company.

She analyses behavioural and language traces left by users of information systems in order to better facilitate their interactions with others, as well as their access to information.

in parallel two innovative startup companies in Virtual Reality technologies and eHealth applications in line with his academic and research interests. Since June 2019, Dr. Neokleous is employed at the first Research Centre in Cyprus focusing on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies, CYENS Centre of Excellence as a Multidisciplinary Research Group Leader.

She received her PhD in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester (UK) and her MA in Visual Arts/ Museum Education from the University of Texas at Austin (USA). Theopisti is also the recipient of several scholarships and awards including a Smithsonian Fellowship in Museum Practice (USA), a Fulbright Fellowship (USA) and an Arts and Humanities Research Council Award (UK).

His research interests include Image Analysis, Game Development and Design in Unity, Development of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Applications, Computer Aided Detection of Lesions for Endoscopic Capsule Videos.

Fotos Frangoudes graduated from the University of Cyprus with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree, and holds an MSc from the University of Southern California with a specialization in Game Development. His research interests include the use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in the Healthcare and Educaton areas, as well the development of virtual humans and intelligent pedagogical agents for use in interactive applications.

Helia’s academic interests span various disciplines, reflecting her diverse approach to research and creativity. She is particularly interested in exploring photography, Cyprus history and archaeology, architecture, as well as art and design in her research.

Kalli Koulloufidou is a Research Associate in the “Immersive Technologies for Intelligent and Creative Applications” (ITICA) group, and mainly works on the development of Virtual Reality applications for cultural heritage. She holds an MEng degree in Computing from Imperial College London (2015). Her thesis focused on analysing a large-scale 3D facial database to determine the effectiveness of the methods used to represent facial morphology and guide reconstructive surgeries and comparing them with dense modelling methods. In the past she worked as a Software Engineer for Amazon, and her more recent work focused on the development of digital educational interventions, simulations and serious games.

Dr. Maria Shehade is Senior Research Associate at the CYENS Centre of Excellence, specializing in museology, digital cultural heritage, cultural policy and management and cultural diplomacy. She obtained her PhD in Cultural Heritage Management from University College London, and also holds an MA in Cultural Heritage Management from University College London and a BA in History, Archaeology and History of Art from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

She has extensive experience leading research and consultancy projects across the UK, Greece, and Cyprus, and also brings over a decade of university-level teaching experience, having taught in universities in both Cyprus and the UK. Her work bridges academic scholarship and applied practice, with a strong record in European and nationally funded research programs.

Her research at CYENS focuses on the intersections of museums, heritage management, and cultural policy, with particular emphasis on digital innovation in the cultural sector. She has conducted cutting-edge studies on new technologies for cultural heritage and GLAM institutions, including digital storytelling, immersive and multisensory experiences, visitor engagement, and the use of mobile and interactive applications. Alongside her academic work, Dr Shehade has led consultancy projects for museums and heritage sites, including the design of new museums and exhibition spaces and the incorporation of interactive technologies to enhance visitor experiences.

She has an extensive publication record on museums, cultural heritage, and cultural policy, contributing to both scholarly debates and professional practice. Her latest publications include the book Museums and Technologies of Presence, published in 2023 by Routledge, and the book Interactive Media for Cultural Heritage, published in 2025 by Routledge.

She is currently the Principal Investigator and Coordinator of the ClimAid project, funded by the Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus, which explores climate adaptation strategies for museums, advancing policy-relevant research at the intersection of sustainability and heritage resilience (https://climaid.cyens.org.cy/)

Stefanos Papadas has a BA in Audio & Visual Arts from the Ionian University. He has an integrated Master’s degree from the same University and a postgraduate scholarship from the Flemish Government in Multimedia Design of Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Ghent. His work focuses on alternative forms of visual storytelling, researching and reconstructing the contemporary aspects of audiovisual expression. The topics in which he is involved, mainly deal with the redefinition of the artistic space as a medium and the coexistence between digital world and organic matter.

She has more than 100 peer-reviewed publications in major scientific journals in my field of Educational Technology. I serve on the editorial boards of Educational Technology Research & Development (ETRD), TechTernds, Contemporary Educational Technology, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (JCALT), and Behaviour & Information Technology. I have been involved as a principal investigator (PI), local coordinator, or researcher in more than 20 research projects, funded by the European Union and national grants.

Dr Aekaterini Mavri has a PhD in Educational Technology from the Cyprus University of Technology, an MA in Interaction Design and a BA in Visual Communication Design from Middlesex University (UK). She is a senior researcher at the Cyprus Interaction Lab and a full-time teaching staff member at the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology. Her research interests focus on the design, implementation, and evaluation of curriculum-integrated social learning models, such as cross-organizational communities of practice, that integrate academic and industrial practices in the Higher Education Design disciplines.

Dr Antigoni Parmaxi (female) holds a BA in Classical Studies from the University of Cyprus, an MA in Pedagogical Sciences from the same University, and a PhD from the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). She is the co-director of the Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts and Tenured Teaching Personnel (Greek Language) at the Language Centre of CUT. She is also the Coordinator of the Learning Development Network of CUT. Her research interests include constructionist learning via emerging technologies, and learning design with emerging technologies for equality and social inclusion.

Eirini has worked as a researcher in various national, EU (Erasmus+ KA2) and Horizon 2020
projects such as IrisPhone-Pro [2018-2020], ENCASE [2018-2020], FeSTEM [2020-2022] and
Openlang [2021]. She is currently working on Erasmus+ funded projects such as DRFLEMP
[2022-2024] that has to do with Digital Reality in Language Learning for Medical Purposes,
FemPower [2022-2024] that has to do with Gender Equality in the Clean Energy Transition and
ARIDLL [2022-2025] that has to do with Augmented Reality Instructional Design for Language
Learning. Her research interests include among others education technology, STEM, emerging
technologies, gender equality, children, elder adults and women.

Dr Oksana Dremova holds a PhD in Education from HSE University in Russia, an MA in Globalising Education, Policy and Practice from the University of Sheffield (UK), and a BA in Pedagogy from Penza State University (Russia). She is also a researcher at the Cyprus Interaction Lab (the Cyprus University of Technology). Her research interests focus on mixed-methods policy analysis, academic ethics, AI in education and student experiences in higher education.

Stephanie Papalla holds a BArch and MArch in architecture from the Manchester School of Architecture. She is an architect and a researcher combining her experiences of the industry with academia. Her research interests include: urban design, design thinking, maker learning and emerging technologies.

In 2021 Dr. Ioannou received a “2nd Opportunity” grant from the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation and a year later has been awarded a Marie S. Curie funding (Individual Fellowship) by the European Executive Agency. Since May 2022 Dr. Ioannou continues at CYENS as a group leader of the “Neurocognitive Management of Occupational Movement Disorders” (Neo-Move) research group. His research areas focus on cognitive neuroscience, neurophysiology, motor control, chronic pain, work-related musculoskeletal disorders/diseases, motor rehabilitation, biofeedback systems and interactive technologies. Findings of his research have been published in several international scientific journals and presented at various universities and international conferences in the USA, Germany, Japan, Israel, Slovenia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, and Azerbaijan.

His research has been funded by multiple research grants, including a prestigious starting grant from the European Research Council (ERC). He has participated s in various international panels, including the ISCH domain of the European COST framework and the SH4 panel of the ERC competition.

Ali Najm is a Ph.D. candidate at the Cyprus University of Technology and a Research Associate at CYENS Centre of Excellence, where he is a member of the Neo-Move MRG . His expertise includes VR/AR development, serious game and application design, C# programming, and 3D modeling and animation. At CYENS, he has contributed to projects on VR well-being, rehabilitation, and interactive applications integrating behavioral sensors. Earlier in his career, he worked in R&D on monitoring instruments, sensor design and calibration, and health information systems. Ali has published in international journals and conferences and remains committed to advancing immersive technologies for well-being, education, and human–computer interaction.

Fotos Frangoudes graduated from the University of Cyprus with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree, and holds an MSc from the University of Southern California with a specialization in Game Development. His research interests include the use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in the Healthcare and Educaton areas, as well the development of virtual humans and intelligent pedagogical agents for use in interactive applications.

Dr Miria Plastira is a post-doctoral Research Associate at the Neo-Move Group at CYENS Centre of Excellence. She holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology, an MA degree in Social and Developmental Psychology and a BA in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from the University of Cyprus. Her research primarily centers around Time Perception. In her previous research she explored the effect of the speed of auditory stimuli, particularly speech and music, on time perception. Her expertise extends to investigating the experience of the passage of time within Virtual Reality environments and the impact of diverse environmental attributes on temporal perception. In addition to research, she also taught undergraduate courses like Introduction to Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, and Research Methods in Psychology and, as a teaching assistant, she contributed to the Quantitative Research Methods course in the Department of Social and Political Sciences of University of Cyprus.

Dr Tania Garcia Vite is a Cognitive Neuroscientist with a passion for technology, health and science. She was born and raised in Mexico where she earned a BSc in Psychology and a MSc in Sleep Disorders by the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She went on to complete a PhD in Cognitive Science / Neuropsychology from the University of Essex, UK for which she was awarded a full scholarship by the National Council for Science and Technology in Mexico. She was also a postdoctoral researcher for the School of Health Sciences at University of East Anglia within the Sleep and Brain Research Unit.  As a result of her academic and professional experience, she has a strong background in Sleep Science, Cognitive Neuroscience, Autistic Spectrum and Brain Rhythms for which she has conducted studies in lab, clinical and industry settings. Additionally, she has experience with various physiological techniques, signal analysis and neuromodulation techniques such as EEG, NIRS, eye tracking, and neurofeedback.

at the University of Cyprus (project manager of the Social Electricity Online Platform European project), and at the Insight Centre for Data Analytics of the National University of Ireland (research related to real-time Internet-of-Things stream processing and large-scale data analytics for smart city applications).

Andreas received a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship in 2016, working at the Institute of Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (IRTA Barcelona), through the European P-SPHERE project, collaborating with the Autonomous University of Barcelona, performing research on big data analysis and applications in the agri-food sector. By April 2018, he has been working as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) of the University of Twente, the Netherlands. By October 2019, he is the leader of the SuPerWorld MRG at CYENS Centre of Excellence. During his career, Andreas has published more than 60 research papers, has received several awards and has co-founded three start-ups.

Antria holds an Integrated Master’s degree from the School of Applied Mathematics and Physical Sciences at the National Technical University of Athens and a Master’s degree in Data Science from the University of Cyprus. She is passionate about Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Statistical Modelling, and is particularly interested in applying these areas to real-world challenges. She currently works as a Research Assistant at the SuPerWorld Research Group.

Chirag Padubidri, received the BE degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), India, and the MSc in Embedded Systems from the University of Twente, Netherlands. He began his career at the CYENS Centre of Excellence as a Research Associate and later joined the CYENS Doctoral Training Program, completing his PhD at the Cyprus University of Technology with a focus on AI-driven biodiversity monitoring, remote sensing, and geospatial analytics.

At CYENS, he is a member of the SuPerWorld Multidisciplinary Research Group, conducting applied research in deep learning, computer vision, and pervasive computing. His research interests include biodiversity monitoring, satellite image analysis, geographic information systems, multi- and hyperspectral imagery, aerial and drone-based imaging, and camera trap technologies. He also explores the integration of IoT and geospatial analytics to develop scalable tools for environmental modeling, data-driven services, and decision support.

Beyond CYENS, he is the co-founder and Operations Manager of PERIOPSIS Ltd., working on the design and deployment of AI-based solutions for satellite imagery, point-of-interest detection, and large-scale environmental observation.

Christoforos Kontzias is a final-year Computer Science undergraduate at the University of Cyprus, with hands-on experience in full-stack web development, software engineering, and AI-powered applications.

Noor Sajjad is a Research Associate with the SuperWorld Group at the CYENS Centre of Excellence. She holds a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Electrical Engineering, specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems, from NUST SEECS, Pakistan. Her background includes focusing on Computer Vision and the development of AI algorithms for IoT-based systems. Currently, her research involves applying Deep Learning methodologies to analyze advanced Remote Sensing, Aerial, and Satellite Imagery, with a particular emphasis on utilizing Hyperspectral Data for crucial crop health monitoring. Her broader areas of interest include remote sensing, deep learning, artificial intelligence, precision agriculture, and embedded systems.

Dr. Savvas Karatsiolis completed his PhD studies at the University of Cyprus in Computer Science with a focus in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. He also received his MSc in Information Systems from the Open University of Cyprus and his BSc in Computer Engineering from the University of Nicosia. He also has an HND in Electrical Engineering from the Higher Technical Institute of Cyprus. His research interests include Computer Vision, Unsupervised Representation Learning and Remote Sensing from satellite imagery.

He got his BSc in Computer Science and Telecommunications from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece in 2002 and his MSc in Advanced Systems Technologies in 2005 from the same university. Dr. Charalambous worked as a researcher and engineer on several projects funded by Horizon 2020, RPF and other agencies. He is a member of the ACM, the Eurographics association and has served as a reviewer of several prestigious journals and conferences. Reviewer credits include journals such as ACM’s Transactions on Graphics, Computer Graphics Forum, IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics and conferences such as Eurographics, Symposium on Computer Animation (SCA), Motion Interaction and Games (MIG) and CASA.

Alexis holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Cyprus (2024). In the past, he has worked under the supervision of Professor Andreas Aristidou, on a project involving motion retargeting between characters with substantially different forms of locomotion. His main research interests include Computer Animation and Machine Learning.

Amir has over a decade of experience as a faculty member in Iran, where he specializes in teaching graduate students Digital Image Processing. In 2021, he became a research engineer at KIOS CoE while also earning a second master’s degree in Intelligence Critical Infrastructure. This program, given jointly by the University of Cyprus and Imperial College London, resulted in his second master’s degree in May 2023.

Amir has vast experience in natural disaster management, having worked with prestigious organizations such as the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World Health Organization’s Office for Safety Community for more than 15 years. 

Since May 2023, Amir has been a member of CYENS, where he works as a post-doctoral researcher in the V-EUPNEA team, giving his skills to cutting-edge research projects.

AmirHossein Naghirazlighi is a PhD student in Computer Science at the University of Cyprus, where he conducts research in generative artificial intelligence, computer vision, and computer graphics. He is co-supervised by Dr. Ali Mahdavi-Amiri at Simon Fraser University (GrUVi Lab) and Dr. Daniel Cohen-Or, with a research focus on generative models for video, 3D, and visual content creation.

Originally from Iran, AmirHossein received his B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, graduating with distinction. His research interests span deep learning, generative models, visual computing, neural rendering, and multimodal AI, with an emphasis on developing geometry-aware and controllable generation methods. Before starting his PhD, he worked as an AI and AR engineer in industry, where he developed machine learning systems and AI-assisted software engineering tools. His work has been recognized through academic awards and international research collaborations, and he is passionate about advancing the intersection of computer vision, graphics, and generative AI.

Ismail Kamil Hadjri Giraldo is a specialist in AR and VR development, crafting interactive experiences for tourism, education, and marketing. With a background in 3D art, architectural visualisation, and product and automotive advertising, he blends creativity with technical expertise. Since graduating in 2020 from The Hanze University with a BSc in Game Design and Development, he has worked across digital marketing, visualisation, and immersive design, delivering high-quality interactive experiences.

Kian Izadpanah is a computer vision and artificial intelligence researcher with a strong academic background in machine learning, generative models, and visual computing. His research focuses on developing intelligent systems for image generation, image editing, visual understanding, multimodal learning, and 3D vision, with a particular interest in making generative AI models more accurate, controllable, and capable of understanding complex instructions. Throughout his studies and research career, he has collaborated with academic teams and professors on a range of theoretical and applied projects, gaining experience in designing deep-learning methods, conducting large-scale experiments, building research prototypes, and presenting technical findings. His work reflects a combination of scientific curiosity, strong technical ability, and a practical approach to solving real-world problems, and he is committed to contributing to the advancement of computer vision and responsible generative AI.

Dr. Mercè Álvarez de la Campa Crespo is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Computer Graphics and Animation at the PULSE group, CYENS Centre of Excellence. With a background in Physics (University of Barcelona) and a Master’s in Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality (Polytechnic University of Catalonia), her work centers on immersive technologies, motion capture, and their application in health and human-computer interaction. Her PhD explored VR tools for chronic pain therapy using mocap and perceptual distortion, demonstrating real clinical impact. She is passionate about transforming innovative research into impactful, real-world applications through VR, computer graphics, and AI.

Theodoros received his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in 2021 and his Master’s degree in 2022, both from the University of Cyprus. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science at the same university, focusing on Computer Graphics in the domain of musical instrument performances. He works as a Research Associate at the CYENS Centre of Excellence within the PULSE MRG. His research interests include Character Animation, Motion Capture, Machine Learning, Virtual Reality, and Audio Analysis.

Christina Charalambidou is a Project Officer at CYENS, providing general support to the Research Office and to the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises and public sector organisations under the European Digital Innovation Hub of Cyprus (DiGiNN) project. She has worked as a research assistant at MADLab (University of Cyprus) on a project in collaboration with the University of Oslo. Also, she was trainee as a research assistant at Jagellonian University and intern at Extended Experiences at CYENS, working on EU funded studies. Lastly, Christina is passionate about designing and facilitating workshops aimed at fostering lifelong skills

Christina is a Greek-Cypriot licensed School Psychologist, and she holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in School Psychology from the University of Cyprus. During her studies, she participated on Erasmus program at University of Olomouc (Czechia) and Jagellonian University (Krakow). Regarding her research experience, her main interests are educational psychology and cognitive functions.

Contact Information:

Email: c.charalambidou@cyens.org.cy

Kyriaki Panayi is a professional with extensive experience in administration, project coordination, financial management, and the management of research and European-funded projects. She is from Nicosia, Cyprus and has developed her professional career across the private, academic, and public sectors.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with Accounting and Finance from Brunel University and a Master’s degree of Science in Management from the University of Surrey, UK. Throughout her career, she has gained substantial experience in project administration and financial monitoring, European and research project management, stakeholder coordination, and collaboration with academic institutions, researchers, public authorities, and external partners.

During her time at the University of Cyprus, she worked in a research and administrative environment, supporting the management of European-funded research projects, including projects under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and Horizon programmes. More recently, she worked at the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, where she was involved in trade policy and bilateral relations, as well as the coordination of high-level meetings and events in the context of Cyprus’ Presidency of the Council of the European Union (2026).

Kyriaki has a strong organisational and coordination profile, with particular attention to detail and the ability to manage complex projects involving multiple stakeholders. She is passionate about bringing structure to complex processes, facilitating collaboration, and ensuring that projects are delivered effectively and achieve meaningful results. At CYENS, she looks forward to contributing her experience and skills to a dynamic research and innovation environment and supporting the successful implementation and development of research and European projects.

Maria Poveda is a Senior Project Manager at CYENS Centre of Excellence.

At CYENS, Maria oversees a diverse portfolio of European and nationally funded research projects with a combined value exceeding €11 million, supporting their coordination, implementation and successful delivery. She also contributes to research proposal development and the identification of new funding opportunities.

Prior to joining CYENS, Maria worked at the University of Cyprus as Project and Lab Manager (Lab for Internet Computing, Department of Computer Science), where she gained extensive experience in EU-funded research projects across multiple European Framework Programmes. She also managed the Certification Authority of CyGrid, supporting the secure issuance of X.509 digital certificates.  Furthermore, she served  as a Senior Project Manager in the private sector, gaining experience in cross-functional leadership.

She began her career as a Database Administrator, contributing to technical and strategic projects, including the Cyprus Integrated Land Information System (CILIS – Department of Lands and Surveys, Ministry of Interior, Republic of Cyprus), under CSC Danmark A/S.

Maria holds an MSc in Database Systems (Merit), a BSc (Hons) in Combined Science (Computing) and an MA in Applied Linguistics (Spanish), combining technical expertise with extensive experience in research project management.

Niki Kyriakou is a Project Manager at CYENS Centre of Excellence, with over eight years of experience in managing EU and nationally funded projects, including Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020, Erasmus+,RIF and UNDP initiatives. At CYENS, she leads arts and culture initiatives, supports research and doctoral training programs, and contributes to proposal development and institutional reporting. Niki holds a BA in History and Archaeology from the University of Cyprus, and an MSc in GIS and Spatial Analysis in Archaeology from University College London. She brings a strong interdisciplinary background in research, cultural heritage, and strategic project coordination.

Yiannis Trimithiotis is a project manager from Nicosia with more than 15 years of professional experience, most of it in research management and European funding programmes.

As Research Officer at European University Cyprus (2015–2018), he supported EU and international proposal development, advised academic staff on funding opportunities, eligibility and compliance, developed project monitoring systems, coordinated science communication, and liaised with stakeholders across and beyond the university. As Project Officer at the Cyprus Institute (2019–2021), he coordinated the implementation of EU-funded research, managed cross-institutional collaboration with European partner universities, and organised training sessions and high-level academic events supporting dissemination. From 2023 to 2025, he managed DISACT, a €1.9M ERC Consolidator Grant (Horizon Europe) at the University of Cyprus.

He has also managed civil society grant programmes under the EEA and Norway Grants Active Citizens Fund Cyprus, as part of its Fund Operator team, and the Civil Society Fund Cyprus, as Programme Director at the NGO Support Centre. In 2022 he co-founded ProjectSquared Ltd, a grants and project management consultancy.

Yiannis holds a BA in Political Science (minor in Sociology) from the University of Cyprus and an MA in Social and Political Thought from the University of Warwick, both with Merit. He is a certified Lifelong Learning Trainer (HRDA, Level 5) and speaks Greek, English and French.

In particular: Mobility Management, QoS adaptation and control, Resource Allocation techniques, Wireless Sensor Networks (topology, congestion, and mobility control, security), and Internet of Things. He holds a M.Sc. (1999) and a Ph.D. (2002) from the Georgia Institute of Technology both in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is a member of IET (former IEE), IEEE, ACM, and participates in the Technical Program Committees of several conferences, such as Globecom, VTC, PIMRC, WNET, EW. He is also an Associate Editor of the Journal of Telecommunication Systems.

Dr. Christiana Ioannou received her PhD in 2017, from the Department of Computer Science of the University of Cyprus. Christiana obtained a BSc in Computer Science from San Diego State University and a post-graduate diploma in Management from Mediterranean Institute of Management. She also obtained a MSc in Computer Science from Florida Institute of Technology. Her research interests include WSNs and the IoT focusing on Security, Intrusion Detection System using anomaly detection mechanisms for novel attacks.

Dr. Christophoros Christophorou, has completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Cyprus (B.Sc. in Computer Science and M.Sc. in Advanced Computer Technologies, 2002 and 2005, respectively). He received his Ph.D., also at the University of Cyprus, in the area of Mobile/Wireless Networks, in 2011. His main research interests and expertise are mostly concentrated in the Mobile Telecommunications and Networking research fields with major interest in 5G Mobile Cellular Networks area.

Iacovos Ioannou, has completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Cyprus (B.Sc. in Computer Science) and his graduate studies at the Open University of Cyprus (M.Sc. in Networks and Computers Information Security). He is also a PhD student at the University of Cyprus. His research is focused on 5G Mobile Networks and more specifically on D2D communication.

Dr. Michael Savva is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Cyprus, conducting research at the Networks Research Laboratory (NetRL). His work focuses on adversarial threats to Internet of Things (IoT) environments, particularly the detection, localisation, and recovery from jamming attacks using fuzzy logic and machine learning methodologies. He completed his PhD on IoT network resilience, receiving the Michalis Polydorou Memorial Scholarship for academic excellence. He holds MSc degrees in Wireless Communication Systems and Information & Communication Systems Security, complementing a BSc in Business Planning and Information Systems. Dr. Savva has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications in leading venues such as MedComNet, DCOSS-IoT, IFIP Networking, and Computer Communications, and has contributed to research projects including ERMIS and IDeMRIoT. His teaching spans cybersecurity, network security, programming, and information systems across several higher education institutions.

She received her Ph.D., also at the University of Cyprus, in the area of Mobility/IoT/Wireless Sensor Networks, in 2022. Her research interests include distributed algorithms and complexity analysis, fault tolerance, wireless sensor networks and IoT networks, especially in algorithms using mobile nodes.

Savvas Antoniou holds a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from the University of Cyprus. For his thesis, he developed an algorithm to enhance the reliability of elastic optical networks during failures, ensuring uninterrupted service for users. By simulating network scenarios, he demonstrated that a shared path protection method significantly improves resource efficiency and reduces service interruptions compared to traditional techniques. Savvas has five years of professional experience in the telecommunications industry, where he worked for a multinational company as a Software Developer, contributing to the development and customization of a critical platform for a major telecommunications provider. Moreover, he spent six months as a Full Stack Software Developer working on a government modernization project. At CYENS, Savvas is excited to contribute to innovative projects, leveraging his skills and passion for technology to drive meaningful change. 

Tasos Kourouniadis is a Software Engineer with an MEng in Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Western Macedonia. His work focuses on software systems and networking technologies, including research on load balancing in Software-Defined Networking as part of his thesis, alongside the design and implementation of scalable, data-driven applications across mobile and web platforms.

Constantinos S. Pattichis is Professor with the Department of Computer Science and Co-Director of the eHealth Lab of the University of Cyprus and MRG Leader on Smart, Ubiquitous, and Participatory Technologies for Healthcare Innovation, in the CYENS Centre of Excellence. He has 30 years of experience in eHealth systems, medical imaging, biosignal analysis and intelligent systems. He has published more than 100 journal publications, 214 conference papers, 30 chapters in books and co-editor of 19 journal special issues and 18 conference proceedings in these areas. He is a Fellow of IEEE, IET, International Academy of Medical and Biomedical Engineering (IAMBE) and European Alliance for Medical & Biological Engineering & Science (EAMBES).

Dr. Eirini C. Schiza is a researcher at the CYENS Centre of Excellence and a specialist in eHealth, medical education, and immersive technologies. She holds a BSc and MSc in Computer Science from the University of Sussex and a PhD from the University of Groningen. Her work focuses on digital health ecosystems, electronic health records, virtual and augmented reality in healthcare, and AI-powered tools such as chatbots. With over 30 publications and active roles in major EU-funded projects, she bridges research and practice to improve healthcare delivery, patient engagement, and medical training across Europe.

Ioannis Charalambous is a Computer Science student at the University of Cyprus. He serves as the Administrative Leader for the university’s Formula Racing Team and has gained professional experience as an Intern in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Beyond his technical and academic roles, Ioannis enjoys designing and building computer systems, photography, and video editing. He is a live-performing guitarist and maintains a highly active lifestyle through boxing, basketball, and fitness.

Dr. Constantinou received his Dipl-Ing. Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering from National Technical University of Athens, his MSc in Biomedical Engineering from the Postgraduate Program of the University of Patras and National Technical University of Athens, and his PhD degree from the Computer Science Department of the University of Cyprus in the area of image analysis/computer vision. Dr. Constantinou has been involved in several EU-funded and RIF-funded research projects related to robotics (AgriRobot, SAVSAR), telemedicine (e-Herophilous, MARTE-III, Telehabilitation), e-learning (mEducator), Internet of Things (REDUCTION, NAVARCHOS 2, NAVARCHOS 3, CYGNUS), advance image processing and analysis (CAD_Gen, ABCD-CAD), biological procedure modelling and simulation (PENED 03) and e-health (FISTAR, eHealth4U, eHealth4Ageing, CEF NCPeH). He contributed to more than 30 papers in scientific conferences and journals in the area of robotics, medical image analysis, computer vision and ehealth. Moreover, Dr. Constantinou participated in IHE Connectathon 2015 and 2016 and in IHE Expandathon 2015. Dr. Constantinou was an active member of the UCY eHealth team which was the first university worldwide to succeed IHE XDS.b, PDQv3, and epSOS PS interoperability standards in IHE Connectathon 2015. Since 2016, Dr Constantinou has been the technical Leader of the Cyprus CEF NCPeH project for integrating national e-Health infrastructure with NCP for cross border eHealth Information exchange (budget ~2.6M). Additionally, since 2017, Dr Constantinou is the technical leader in CEF Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI) project for the deployment of Access Point in Cyprus and for the integration of national infrastructure with Access Point for cross border social Security information exchange (budget ~1.6M). Dr. Constantinou had the role of technical leader and architect of Cyprus Covid-19 certificate issuing portal (eudcc.gov.cy portal) (budget ~1.6M).

Dr. Maria Matsangidou is a Senior Researcher in Digital Health and Emerging Healthcare Technology at CYENS Centre of Excellence. Her expertise lies in personalized digital interventions that enhance patient care through Virtual Reality and health informatics, targeting dementia, cancer, chronic pain, motor impairments, and mental health disorders. She has led or coordinated over 10 EU and nationally funded projects, managing over €3 million in research funding. Dr. Matsangidou has published over 50 high-impact papers in venues such as ACM CHI, IEEE Access, Virtual Reality Journal, and the Journal of Medical Internet Research. She is an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS) and JMIR, and serves on program committees for ACM CHI and other leading conferences.

Marios Antreou is a researcher and software developer — more specifically an eHealth Software Developer — currently pursuing a MSc in Artificial Intelligence (2024–2025), having completed his BSc in Computer Science at the University of Cyprus in 2024. He is actively involved in the implementation of the National Contact Point for eHealth (NCPeH) in Cyprus, contributing to cross-border health data interoperability and digital health services. In parallel, he participates in the MyHealth@MyHands project, which aims to empower citizens with secure access to their health data through the EU Digital Identity Wallet and to advance the European Health Data Space infrastructure. His research interests lie at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, health informatics, eHealth technologies, interoperability standards, and citizen-centred digital health solutions.

Marios Christodoulou is a Cypriot computer scientist with expertise in software development and a focus on e-health applications. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Cyprus and has worked as a Special Scientist at the Biomedical Engineering Research Center, contributing to innovative healthcare technology solutions. Proficient in Java, C#, React, and Angular, Marios is passionate about developing user-centric digital products and exploring emerging technologies that advance digital transformation.

Pantelis Anthimou is a software engineer working at the eHealth Lab of a university. He is actively involved in the design and development of eHealth and cross-border healthcare systems, with a focus on interoperability, clinical data exchange, and modern web technologies. His work spans both frontend and backend development, contributing to national and European eHealth initiatives.

Paschalis Kontopyrgos is a Research Associate at the CYENS Centre of Excellence, where he contributes to interdisciplinary research on extended reality (XR) technologies and artificial intelligence in digital interventions and assessment methods for health and education. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Kent and a Master’s degree in School Psychology from the University of Cyprus.

During his undergraduate studies, Paschalis was involved in research examining virtual reality immersiveness and user experience in digital environments. His Master’s research focused on the development and empirical evaluation of a brief virtual reality–based attention training intervention for school-aged children, grounded in cognitive psychology and experimental assessment frameworks.

He is a licensed School Psychologist in Cyprus, with professional experience in psychological assessment, intervention planning, and collaboration with educators, families, and multidisciplinary teams within school settings. This applied background informs his research approach, supporting the translation of psychological theory into evidence-based digital tools.

Dr. Veronica Hadjipanayi is a chartered psychologist with a BSc in Experimental Psychology and a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Bristol. Her research focuses on attention and decision-making, with a strong interest in health-related behaviour and quality of life across different health conditions, particularly cancer. She completed a funded research visit at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, supported by the Experimental Psychological Society, gaining experience in human movement and rehabilitation research. She has also received online training from Harvard Medical School in implementing positive psychology interventions in clinical settings.

Veronica has worked with diverse populations, including individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and uses a broad range of methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative approaches, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. She has published in high-impact international journals and serves as a peer reviewer. Veronica is an active member of several professional organisations, including the British Psychological Society (BPS), the Cyprus Psychologists Association (CYPSA), the Cyprus Epidemiology and Public Health Association (CYEPHA), and the American Psychological Association (APA).

Dr. Zinonas C. Antoniou (M) is a Research Special Scientist at the Electronic Health (eHealth) Laboratory of the Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus. He received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Cyprus in 2018 and the 5-year Engineering Diploma (Dipl.-Ing.) from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens in 2010.

His research interests focus on adaptive video delivery for real-time applications, mobile health (mHealth), and electronic health (eHealth) systems. Dr. Antoniou has over 10 years of experience in eHealth and mHealth systems, with strong expertise in interoperability protocols, architectures, and standards.

He has been actively involved in numerous national and European research projects and has participated in more than ten eHealth Digital Service Infrastructure (eHDSI) test events, contributing to the cross-border exchange of interoperable health documents between Cyprus and other EU Member States.

Dr. Antoniou has extensive expertise in MyHealth@EU interoperability frameworks, which leverage the European Interoperability Framework (EIF) and its refined eHealth European Interoperability Framework (ReEIF). His work emphasizes semantic and technical standardization through common data formats, terminologies, and protocols to enable the secure, cross-border exchange of patient health data, including ePrescriptions and Patient Summaries, as a core part of the European Health Data Space (EHDS). He is highly familiar with the implementation of HL7 CDA artifacts and the use of the ART-DECOR platform (originally adopted from epSOS) for managing interoperability specifications such as Patient Summary, ePrescription, eDispensation, and Original Clinical Document, and he is now actively exploring FHIR-based standards and services as part of the ongoing evolution of MyHealth@EU.

from the University of Cambridge in 2011.

Melinos was one of the first members of the Smart Geometry Processing Group at UCL, where he worked on using collections of 3D objects to develop novel representations and shape analysis algorithms for understanding, learning and using shape structure. After completing his PhD, he held a post-doctoral researcher position at the University of Cyprus as well as a visiting researcher post at Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology.

Melinos has served as a program committee member for SMI, CGI, ISVC and WSCG, as well as a reviewer for every major conference and journal in the area of computer graphics. He has attracted more than 200.000 euros in funding and awards during his MPhil, Phd and postdoc. He has recently been awarded a prestigious 250.000 euros grant by the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus for the ANNFASS project, to analyze cultural heritage monuments with the help of deep neural networks.

Marios Loizou holds a Dipl.-Ing. (2016) in Computer Engineering and Informatics from University of Patras, Greece, and an MSc (2017) in Computer Science from the University of Cyprus. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Computer Science, at the University of Cyprus. His research interests include data-driven 3D shape analysis, geometry processing, model-based 3D visual tracking, deep learning approaches for shape and point cloud processing, computer vision and computer graphics.

His research interests are focused on applications involving face image interpretation, face image coding, restoration and synthesis, age progression and non-invasive multi-modal human computer interaction, biometrics and other related applications of computer vision and virtual reality.

Andreas has published more than 150 papers in scientific journals, edited books and conference proceedings. Andreas was the principal investigator or partner in more than 15 externally funded research projects that received funding from the national Research Promotion Foundation or from the European Union.

Dr. Kalliopi-Evangelia Stavroulia is a Research Associate at CYENS Centre of Excellence, with the Visual Media Technologies Co-Lab research group. She holds a PhD in Virtual Reality in education from the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology. She also holds an MSc in the Design and Development of Computer Games and Interactive Technologies from the Cyprus University of Technology and the University of Cyprus (2016), as well as a Master of Arts in Education (Education Sciences) with distinction from Roehampton University of London and The Higher School of Pedagogical and Technological Education-ASPETE (2010). She earned her Bachelor’s degree in International and European Studies from Panteion University of Athens in 2006. Her research focuses on emerging technologies in education and training, with particular emphasis on the use of Virtual Reality for teacher training and professional development. She has designed and implemented VR applications in the context of teacher education and served as the principal investigator of the Erasmus+ VRTEACHER project (www.vrteacher.eu), which explored VR-based approaches for teacher training and was recognized as one of the top three finalists for the SALTO 2023 award. Dr. Stavroulia has participated in numerous EU-funded research projects, delivered workshops and seminars, and presented her work at international conferences. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings in the fields of educational technology and virtual reality. In addition to her research work, Dr. Stavroulia has teaching experience at the American College of Greece, where she has delivered courses in areas related to design thinking, multimedia, and emerging technologies in design

Andreas Aristidou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Cyprus and a Senior Research Fellow at the CYENS Centre of Excellence. He previously held postdoctoral research positions at Reichman University, Shandong University, and the University of Cyprus. He earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge as a Cambridge European Trust Fellow, following a BSc from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and an MSc (with honors) from King’s College London. His research focuses on computer graphics, particularly character animation, where he employs machine learning and generative models to create virtual humans. His work also spans digital heritage, VR/AR/MR environments, and the use of Conformal Geometric Algebra in computer graphics.

Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of New Hampshire, specializing in Human–Computer Interaction, automotive user interfaces, and the future of work; prolific researcher and editor with major NSF-funded projects, international collaborations, and leadership roles in ACM SIGCHI and CHIWORK.

Andria Shimi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cyprus (UCY), a licensed School Psychologist, and Director of the Memory and Attention Development Lab (MADLab). She is a Developmental Cognitive Neuroscientist specialising in cognitive and brain development, with a particular focus on attentional mechanisms and neurodevelopmental disorders. She holds a BSc in Psychology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, an MA in School Psychology from UCY, and both an MSc in Psychological Research and a PhD in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Oxford. Her doctoral studies were supported by prestigious scholarships from the Bodossaki and Leventis Foundations. She conducted postdoctoral research at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (University of Cambridge) and the University of Oxford, and held visiting scientist roles at the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology (Weill Cornell Medical College, New York), the University of Oregon, and the University of Edinburgh. From 2016 to 2018, she was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, funded by the European Commission. Since joining the UCY faculty in 2018, she has led several nationally and internationally funded projects. Her research integrates behavioural and neuroscience methods, including EEG, Virtual Reality, eye tracking, and neuropsychological assessments, to investigate how attentional control supports memory and executive function in both typical and clinical populations. Her overarching aim is to bridge basic and applied research to inform interventions that enhance cognitive performance and brain health. At CYENS, she leads the EU-funded research project “MINDFIT – Empowering Minds: Enhancing children’s mental fitness”, which focuses on strengthening mental wellbeing through innovative interventions.

Angelos Kassianos holds the position of Lecturer in Health Psychology at the Department of Nursing of the Cyprus University of Technology since January 2022. He is also a Visiting Professor at Riga Stradins University and a Visiting Tutor at University of Cambridge since 2023 and an Honorary Fellow with UCL. He holds a degree in Psychology (BSc, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, 2007) with postgraduate and doctoral studies in Health Psychology at the University of Surrey in the UK (2013). In his doctoral dissertation, he studied the relationship between quality of life and behavioral changes in patients with prostate cancer. In addition to his Ph.D, he did the Stage 2 training in Health Psychology Practice and is registered as a Health Psychologist with the UK Health and Care Professions’ Council (HCPC) since 2017. During his PhD, he also worked for 3 months in 2012 as an Intern at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva.

I am a Professor of Human–Computer Interaction at UCL, working on a central challenge of contemporary knowledge work: how to support effective work in a digital world that has been radically reshaped by remote and hybrid working, and is now being further transformed by large language models, without driving overload and burnout. My research sits at the intersection of technology, psychology, and organisational life. I study how digital systems reorganise everyday work, including how tasks, boundaries, recovery, and invisible labour are structured, and how these systems can be redesigned to support wellbeing and long-term effectiveness rather than narrow, short-term notions of productivity. I lead interdisciplinary HCI research, working closely with workers in academia, healthcare, and other knowledge-intensive settings. My work has reframed how productivity is understood in digitally mediated work, highlighting its socio-technical and psychological dimensions rather than treating it solely as a matter of efficiency or output. Alongside my research, I have extensive experience in governance, equality, diversity and inclusion leadership, and policy advising. I have advised government on technology and wellbeing, and held senior roles shaping culture and practice within higher and secondary education. This governance perspective directly informs my research, grounding it in the structural realities that shape how work is experienced. I also work as an internal coach at UCL, supporting individuals and senior leaders navigating complexity, workload, and change. Drawing on my combined research, governance, and leadership experience, I help people align roles, values, and practices in ways that are both sustainable and effective.

Antreas is an undergraduate student studying mechanical engineering in the University of Cyprus. Ever since high school he has been interested in science and engineering and has taken part in multiple Pancyprian and international robotics competitions. Since starting university, he joined the university’s formula student team and is in charge of the electronics sub-team. He is also a research assistant in the university’s robotics lab. He joined the VIDEOMICS group at CYENS in the summer of 2022 and is working object detection and deep learning algorithms.

Distinguished Professor at the University of Cyprus with deep expertise in computational neuroscience, neural networks & coding, machine learning, and bioinformatics; strong publication and citation record (≈1,700 citations) marking thought leadership in brain-inspired AI.

Chamber of Greece, and a short scholarship from EuroSDR (European Spatial Data Research Network).
Currently he serves as Vice chair of Civil Engineering and Geomatics department of CUT, and as senate member in CUT. He is founder and Head of Photogrammetric Vision Lab.

He worked for 12 years in Greece as free-lance land surveyor, court expert and technical consultant in geoinformation companies in nationwide projects, as well as in research projects (4 European, 6 national) for archaeological site and monument recording, copies of museum exhibits and real time quality control applications using machine vision, AUAVs for mapping, etc.

Prof. Skarlatos has successfully coordinated iMARECULTURE, a recently completed H2020 Research and Innovation project (RIA), under a call for virtual museums. The project itself focuses in promoting maritime cultural heritage, through several immersive applications and serious games. There are 11 participating organizations in the project, with a total budget of 2.7M € and 100% funding from EU.

During his post in CUT, he has coordinated research projects with UAV mapping (HawkEye, ArcheoPhoto), UAV coastal mapping and bathymetry (SARCOS, Archaeological Survey on the new marina of Ag. Napa), mobile mapping platforms (CUT, starting grant), and satellite remote sensing applications (SpotOnAcacia). He has also participated in underwater ROV mapping (AQUABOT), satellite imagery processing (CASCADE, RISKA). Funding has been granted from EU Horizon 2020, EU FP 7, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Union and Greek national funds, Promotion Foundation of Cyprus, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Honor Frost Foundation, Dept. of Antiquities of Cyprus. He is the lead surveyor in Mazotos shipwreck, underwater excavation, since 2010. He is also developing a micro deformation monitoring system for civil engineering laboratory material and construction analysis.

In relation to this tender, are the following projects:

• MOBILO, funded by Research and Innovation Foundation (Cyprus) under ENTERPRISES 0916 program
• Rapid-Jewel (FP4-Brite-Euram III-BRPR-CT98-0762)
• EcoMarble (FP5-GROWTH-GRD1-1999-10404)
• ΣΥΝΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ 09ΣΥΝ-62-629 (Digitization, renovation and reconstruction of the Parthenon frieze and votives)
All these projects were involving 3D reproduction accuracy of jewels, marble objects and artefacts, with varying sizes from a few centimeters (jewels), to many meters (Parthenon Frieze)

He has been member of Board in Hellenic Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (2003-2019). In 2012 he was delegate of Greece in International Symposium of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, in Melbourne. He was elected vice president on the Cyprus Association of Rural and Surveying Engineers for a two-year term (2013-2015). He is the academic delegate of Cyprus in EuroSDR (2010-) and co-chair (2016-2021) in International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Working Group II/9, Underwater Data Acquisition and Processing.

Research Interests

His main research interests are focusing in acquisition and processing of 3D data and point clouds using image sequences. This includes underwater, UAV or close range photos. Apart from image based techniques, 3D data acquisition is extended using hand held or terrestrial laser scanning. His general interests include Geographic Information Systems, Data Bases, image matching, DTM creation, orthophotograph production and orthophotograph checking without reference data, videometry, satellite image processing, and special applications of close range photogrammetry.

Dr Doros Polydorou (M) is an Assistant Professor at Cyprus University of Technology. He is a creative coder and digital artist with a keen interest in immersive technologies. Doros has a background in multimedia design (BSc), computer animation (MA) and a Phd in digital performance and immersive design. Doros has worked internationally in universities in Singapore and the UK in both artistic and commercial projects. He is the co-founder of the Media Arts and Design (MAD) lab, and his current research interests explores experimental narratives through immersive technologies and techniques in site specific performances, installations and exhibitions.

Elias Athanasopoulos is an associate professor in Computer Science with the University of Cyprus. He received his BSc in Physics from the University of Athens and his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Crete. Before joining University of Cyprus, he was an assistant professor with Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. Elias was a Microsoft Research PhD Scholar, as well as a Marie Curie fellow with Columbia University and FORTH.  His research interests are system security and privacy.  He has several publications in all major systems, system-security, and privacy venues, such as IEEE Security and Privacy (Oakland), IEEE European Security and Privacy, ACM CCS, Usenix Security, Usenix ATC, NDSS, EuroSys, PETS, and ACM TOPS. 

She was a Global Faculty in Residence at Gallatin School for Individualized Study, NYU in 2021, she has taught at the University of Cyprus, Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS), and European University (CY). 

Latest publications include “Of heroes and Villains: Manifestations of national and colonial identity in Cyprus through Historical Theatre Plays, 1878-1960” in Colonial Cyprus: A Cultural History, 1878-1960, edited by Karyos, A., Hadjiathanasiou, M., Solomou, E., Routledge, 2024, and (co-authored with Nihal Soganci) “Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival: Creating and Curating Beyond the Liminal Fragility of Buffer Zones in Cyprus”, in Cultural Crossroads, Vol. 4, 2004.  

He joined UMass Amherst in 2012. He was a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University from 2010 to 2012. He obtained his PhD from the University of Toronto in 2010.

He has served on technical paper committees for CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, SIGGRAPH, SIGGRAPH ASIA, Eurographics, and Symposium on Geometry Processing.

He currently serves as Associate Editor in the Editorial Boards of IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (TPAMI) and IEEE Transactions on Visualization & Computer Graphics (TVCG).

He was listed as one of the 100 most cited computer graphics scholars in the world between 2010-2020 by the Tsinghua’s AMiner academic network.

Dr. George A. Papadopoulos holds the (tenured) rank of Full Professor in the Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus. His research interests include Advanced Software Engineering, Technology Enhanced Learning, Medical Informatics, Assistive Technologies, Context Aware and Recommender Systems, and Internet Technologies. He has published over 200 papers as book chapters or in internationally refereed journals and conferences, he is a current or past member in the Editorial Board of 19 international journals and is serving or has served as a Chair or Steering or Program Committee member in more than 200 international conferences. Professor Papadopoulos is a recipient of a 1995 ERCIM-HCM scholarship award. He has been involved or is currently participating, as coordinator or partner, in more than 150 internationally and nationally funded projects (total budget for his participation is around 12 MEURO) and has been invited by the E.U. and national agencies as an Expert Evaluator or Reviewer more than 100 times. He is the Director of the Software Engineering and Internet Technologies (SEIT) Laboratory (http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/seit). More information can be found on his personal web site at: http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george. His email is george@ucy.ac.cy.

IEEE INFOCOM, IEEE ICDCS, IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, and ACM Transactions on the Web.

He has extensive experience leading EU-funded projects. Specifically, he was the technical manager of the ReCRED project (Horizon 2020 Innovation Action – 2014) and the coordinator of the ENCASE project (Horizon 2020 Marie Curie RISE – 2015).

His work on fringe web communities, hate speech, disinformation and disturbing content on YouTube had extensive coverage in major news outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, New Scientist, Business Insider, Quartz, Wired, and El Pais.

He is also the co-director of the Network Systems and Science Research Laboratory and a member of the Board of Directors of the Research Centre of Excellence on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (RISE).

Dr Orestis Georgiou is an author of 6 patents, 2 books, and 100+ academic papers that have been published in leading journals and conferences of Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Engineering and Medicine. He has also been co-awarded R&D grants in excess of €10 million, including a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship, and is the recipient of the prestigious 2019 IEEE Heinrich Hertz award. Formerly Head of R&D Partnerships at Ultraleap, where he led multi-partner collaborations and EU-funded projects, Orestis is now R&D Funding Lead at AcoustoFab — a London-based startup developing the world’s first multi-axis acoustic levitation platform for contactless material manipulation. Passionate about haptics, acoustic engineering, and future human–machine interfaces, Orestis works at the intersection of technology, research, and strategic growth, helping to turn bold ideas into reality.

Leading academic in Human-Computer Interaction with expertise in tangible and embodied interaction, human-AI collaboration, and the future of work; Professor at Wellesley College, recognized with multiple international awards and extensive research and leadership in HCI education and innovation.

His involvement in Systems Innovation and Entrepreneurship has led to a successful bid to coordinate Innovate EUt of the EIT HEI Initiative call.

Stelios holds a Master of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Imperial College London (UK) and a PhD in nonlinear structural mechanics from the same university.

He is a Member of the Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber (ETEK), Graduate Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), Associate Member of the American Association of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Chair of the Stability Committee of the ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute, Member of the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network in Cyprus and National Representative at the CEN/TC350/SC1 for circular economy in the construction sector.

In 2008, Stelios and his collaborators received the Trevithick Prize for the Best Paper in Engineering Sustainability from the Institution of Civil Engineers. In 2015 he was awarded merit in Excellence in Structural Engineering Education by the Institution of Structural Engineers for his innovative teaching case study for Integrated Design.

His research interests include nonlinear structural mechanics, novel multifunctional structural materials, entrepreneurship and sustainability in construction and design, systems innovation, biomimetic design and innovation in Engineering Education.

Dr. Styliani Kleanthous holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Leeds, UK. Her main research interests and expertise are concentrated in the area of Human Computer Interaction, User and Community Modeling, Personalization and Adaptive Systems. Styliani specializes in exploiting psychological and social theories for modeling user preferences and for designing intelligent interaction and adaptive user support. 

Victor conducted his BA (prehistoric archaeology), MA (palaeolithic archaeology) and PhD (Near Eastern archaeology) at Leiden University, where he also held positions as post-doctoral researcher and lecturer for BA and MA.

Through his continuing affiliation with Leiden University, he is editor of the faculty book-series, and regular lecturer and thesis supervisor. He has participated and co-directed archaeological projects in The Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Greece, Iraq and Cyprus, and has followed courses at UCL (UK), Wiener lab (GR) and Delft University of Technology (NL).

Since 2020 he is postdoctoral researcher at the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus, and since 2023 affiliate Research Fellow at CYENS, at the MuseumLab MRG.

adaptive topology control, computer communication networks, blockchain for IoT, and implementation of real-time monitoring and control systems.

Avra was a Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Arts Barcelona, Columbia University, the Martin E. Segal Centre at CUNY, MIT, the Universities of Birmingham, Leeds and Surrey, the Institute of Theatre Studies at Freie University in Berlin and was a Japan Foundation Fellow at the University of Tokyo. She has lectured and conducted directing workshops and seminars on directing methodology, practice and ethics; adapting the Greeks and Shakespeare for the contemporary stage, in various parts of the world. 

As the Αrtistic Director of Athens-based Persona Theatre Company, she has directed works from the classical and contemporary repertory, incorporating different forms of technology in her mise-en-scene. Her most recent directing works include Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya at Dionysos Theatre in Nicosia (December 2023); Karen Malpede’s Troy Too at Here Arts Center in New York (May 2023); Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal at the Cyprus Theatre Organization (2022) and Enter Hamlet (her adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet) at the Verona Shakespeare Fringe Festival (2022). In 2020 she was nominated for the Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award by the League of Professional Theatre Women. 

Dr. Marina Toumpouri is the Team Leader of the 3D / Software Development Team at CYENS Centre of Excellence. She brings two decades of interdisciplinary experience in digitization, digital humanities, and cultural heritage management, with a particular focus on documentation, preservation, and knowledge transmission. At CYENS, she plays a key role in shaping and delivering research and innovation initiatives that bridge traditional humanities scholarship with cutting-edge technology across the cultural and creative sectors.

Dr. Toumpouri holds a Bachelor’s degree in Musicology from the University of Lorraine, a Master’s degree (D.E.A.) in Art History from the University of Strasbourg, and a Ph.D. (Doctorat) in Art History from the University of Lille, with a specialization in Byzantine Manuscript Studies. 

Her research is dedicated to the integrative application of emerging technologies, such as Mixed and Extended Reality (MR/XR), 3D modelling, interactive media, for cultural heritage documentation, digital storytelling, and public engagement. She explores how these tools can be used not only for the safeguarding of heritage assets, but also for reactivating them as living, participatory resources. She is particularly interested in the development of immersive and narrative-driven experiences that facilitate the interpretation of complex historical and cultural content by both academic and non-specialist audiences.

Dr. Toumpouri has led and contributed to national and EU-funded research and innovation projects focused on the sustainable valorisation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. These initiatives place a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, participatory design, and community co-creation. 

In addition to her research activities at CYENS, Dr. Toumpouri serves as an expert advisor to the Church of Cyprus on matters related to heritage conservation, digital archiving, and the curation of ecclesiastical collections, contributing to the preservation and promotion of Cyprus’s religious and cultural legacy.

His professional career so far has been diverse and multi-tiered in terms of skillset and knowledge requirements. Through combining rationalistic studies through business and psychology degrees while primarily working in the art fields through photography and music, he opted to combine the two seemingly disparate domains through pursuing an architecture degree. As an architect he aims to further develop his understanding of form and data utilizing new and novel technological tools and processes in the domains of computational design, remote sensing, BIM and AI-assisted design paradigms.

Senior Full Stack Developer with strong technical expertise across a wide range of web technologies. Studied at the University of Nicosia, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a Master’s in Mobile Systems. Proficient in core web development languages including PHP, HTML5, and JavaScript, and experienced with frameworks and tools such as Laravel, React, WordPress, and MySQL. Skilled in both front-end and back-end development, with hands-on experience managing learning management systems, building custom plugins, developing e-commerce platforms, and delivering scalable, user-friendly web applications.

Kristiana is a UI/UX Designer with over seven years of experience in digital design, game design, and marketing. She enjoys creating digital experiences that are both visually appealing and easy to use, with a strong focus on making technology accessible and engaging for different audiences.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Interactive Media and has worked across a variety of creative and digital fields, giving her a broad understanding of design, communication, and user experience. Her work combines creativity with practical problem-solving to help turn ideas into intuitive digital products and experiences.

At CYENS, Kristiana contributes to the design and development of projects by applying a user-centered approach throughout the creative process. She is passionate about designing digital experiences that not only look good but also create meaningful interactions for users.

Maria Loizou is a Senior Graphic Designer based in Nicosia. She holds a BA in Multimedia and Graphic Design and an MA in Graphic Communication from the Cyprus University of Technology.

Her work spans across graphic design, branding, digital illustration, UX/UI, and information visualization. With a strong background in the advertising industry, Maria has contributed to a wide range of projects, from visual identity development and traditional print design to creative concepts for digital platforms and interactive applications.

At CYENS – Thinker Maker Space, she played a key role in shaping the department’s branding, visual communication, and social media presence. She also led the Art Direction and Coordination of the Visual Communication and Marketing team behind the WIP Arts & Technology Festival for four consecutive years.

Currently, Maria is part of the CYENS – 3DSW Development Team, where she focuses on branding and visual design for research and collaborative projects, mainly within digital and interactive platforms.

3D artist/animator

Marios Thoma is a Research Associate in the Cognitive Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) Research Group at the CYENS Centre of Excellence. He specializes in neural-symbolic AI and the development and behavioral evaluation of agentic pipelines based on large language models (LLMs), including tool-using agents and red-teaming protocols, with emphasis on LLM behavior characterization and failure-mode discovery. He also applies quality-diversity methods (e.g., MAP-Elites) to financial portfolio optimization. At CYENS, his projects have included PEDESTRIAN, developing an egocentric-vision dataset focusing on improving pedestrian safety, and several cross-platform smartphone apps using custom-trained computer-vision models for artwork identification and pedestrian-flow obstacle detection. Previously, at the Open University of Cyprus (Computational Cognition Lab), he worked on the MARI-Sense project, focusing on expert systems with neural-symbolic methods.

Myrto holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Athens School of Fine Arts (2009) and a master’s degree on Heritage and Interpretation, Department of Museum Studies of the University of Leicester, UK (2013). She is currently a PhD student in the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology. Her research focuses on current museum practices around the exhibition, acquisition and preservation of artworks made with the use of Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies.

Pantelis is a Lab Technician at Thinker Maker Space and The Studio at CYENS CoE. With a background in architecture and extensive experience in digital design, he specializes in CNC/Laser machining, 3D printing, 3D modeling, terrestrial 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry. His expertise enables the integration of technology and design into functional products. With a particular interest in innovation, sustainability and immersive environments, Pantelis takes a hands-on problem-solving approach to the evolving field of manufacturing and production design. He also works as a Lab Technician at The Studio at CYENS CoE, a digital production studio, where he maintains and optimizes virtual production systems, including camera tracking, audio and video signal flow as well as the proper operation of the space’s machinery.

Stella Taousiani serves as the Artistic Coordinator and Curator at Thinker Maker Space(TMS), where she manages the CYENS Artistic Residency Program (30+ residencies to date) and leads curatorial projects. With a background in architecture and industrial design, her work focuses on cultural programming, interdisciplinary collaboration, and audience engagement.

She has served as Head Curator of the WIP Arts & Technology Festival for three consecutive years, contributing to its establishment as a major regional platform that welcomed 7,500+ visitors and 60+ local and international artists in its latest edition.

Beyond WIP, Stella has overseen the artistic coordination and planning of TMS public programmes, including Turning the Wheel, Intellectual Property for Creatives, and Chocolab.

She has also coordinated European-funded projects such as Studiotopia and CampScape, and built partnerships with cultural institutions, universities, and research bodies across Europe.

Stratis was born in London in 1979. He holds an MEng in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London and an MSc in Principles of Physics from the University of Cyprus. He has extensive teaching experience in Physics and Mathematics at a range of levels.