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Three members of the Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts have been awarded the ‘Best Social Impact Award’ at the Cyprus Digital Championship 2014 competition. The team consists of Fernando Loizides, Iosif Kartapanis and Francesca Sella. The team are developing a mobile application called Mi.L.A (Minority Languages and Autism) which assists children with autism in developing cognitive and communication abilities. The development of the application has many facets and a part of it will be to be used in places where the access to therapy in limited of unavailable. The application specifically targets languages that are in the minority in terms of mobile device material for autism. “We recognize that there is lack of applications that cater for children with autism for minority languages. This is reasonable, from a business perspective since there are more ‘clients’ speaking non-minority languages which will buy or use an application. …

Womenpower (WE-ME)is the winning concept of Mahallae (funded by UNDP) under the “Women and Dialogue” challenge. The project is funded with $30,000 for a period of ten months (June 2014-May 2015). Aim of the project: the project intends to link women mentors and mentees together through an online community platform to be developed following a user-centered approach. More specifically WE-ME aims at helping young women to receive support and advice in regards to self-improvement, in order to increase their self-esteem, personal and social power and solidarity. It is expected to provide women with practical advice on how to deal with difficulties in their personal and professional life in order to overcome the glass-ceiling effect and promote gender equality. Moreover, the platform will also allow its members to organize local WE-ME Mentoring/supporting- meetings, seminars and/or fairs and a yearly WE-ME Mentoring-conference to be organized in Euro-Mediterranean region. These events are expected …

The 1st International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies was completed with great success. The conference was part of 16th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI International 2014), which was held at the Convention Center of Creta Maris hotel, Hersonissos, Heraklion, Crete, from June 22nd to 27th, 2014. The HCI International is one of the largest international and interdisciplinary conferences in information and communication technologies. This year the conference attracted approximately 2,000 participants from 67 countries, coming from the academic and research community as well as professionals from the field of Information Technology and Telecommunications who presented original scientific papers and technological advances that were exposed in the exhibition area of the Conference. The conference program included two thematic areas: “Human-Computer Interaction” and “Human Interface and Management of Information” as well as 12 conferences affiliated with HCII 2014. One of these conferences was the 1st International Conference Learning and Collaboration …

On May 28, 2014, a total of 21, 4-graders from the Lanitio Primary School in Limassol visited the Cyprus Interaction Lab (CIL) of the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology. During their visit at CIL, students had the opportunity to discover the learning possibilities of multi-touch, interactive tabletops. Students, worked in teams, with existing mutli-touch learning apps for Windows 8, as well as custom-built applications developed at CIL for educational use. This visit offered students the opportunity to learn collaboratively, using this emerging technology, embracing an alternative learning experience and giving them a glimpse of what to expect in education in the years to come. The educational visit was organized by Dr. Maria Zeniou, teacher at Lanitio Primary School and visiting researcher at the Cyprus Interaction Lab.

On March 27, 2014, a total of 15 undergraduate students from the School of Sciences (program of Computing) of UClan Cyprus visited the Cyprus Interaction Lab (CIL) of the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology. At CIL, students interacted with three multi-touch, interactive tabletops and discovered their possibilities for collaboration and learning. Students, in teams, worked with existing mutli-touch apps for Windows 8, as well as our own custom-built applications developed for educational use. The educational visit was organized by the UClan Lecturer, Josephina Antoniou, and the UCLan Cyprus Student Support office.

Research methods in HCI Degree course | July 25 – July 31, 2014 The overarching aim of this summer school course is to improve participants’ understanding of significant research methods commonly or increasingly used in the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI). Visit the course webpage >

The Cyprus Interaction Lab (CIL) of the Cyprus University of Technology is happy to discuss your project idea and act as the Hosting Lab for proposals you might plan to submit to the HORIZON 2020 funding program. The Research Hosting program allows researchers and practitioners in the area of Human Computer Interaction and Instructional Technology to host their projects at the CIL Lab and get full access to its facilities and equipment for the purpose of completing their project.

The Cyprus Interaction Lab is a supporter of two conferences on mobile computing: iPads in Higher Education (ihe 2014) is the world’s 1st international research conference about iPad use in Higher Education (HE). You are invited to join scholars, learning technologists and practitioners from across the globe to share insights into teaching practice and student learning in an interdisciplinary and collaborative interchange of experience. The conference seeks to provide a common forum for the varied forms of research on the use of iPads HE, and to explore innovative models of learning using the iPad.  The conference takes place in Paphos, Cyprus between 20-22 March 2014 Industry/Public Sector-Academy on Mobile Computing is the first conference in Cyprus where industry, public sector and academia come together to discuss the potential of mobile computing research and practice in Cyprus.  The conference takes place on January 29th 2014.

The Visiting Fellowship program allows researchers and practitioners in the area of Human Computer Interaction and Instructional Technology to be hosted at the CIL Lab and access its facilities and equipment for the purpose of completing a research project. CIL Visiting Fellowships are unpaid fellowships. Visit the Fellowships section for more information.

The Cyprus Interaction Lab (CIL) offers 3-5 internships for 2014 (Spring, Summer, or Fall) in the areas of Human Computer Interaction and Instructional Technology. The CIL internship program allows undergraduate and graduate students as well as recent graduates to work on projects in the fields of Human Computer Interaction and Instructional Technology. CIL interns gain valuable real-world experience by getting involved with ongoing research activities of the Lab. CIL internships last for a period of 2-3 months and are completed under the supervision of the Lab coordinators. CIL internships are unpaid internships. International applicants are encouraged to apply for external funding (e.g., Erasmus Student Mobility for Placements program that enables higher education students to spend 3 months in an organization in another participating country). Visit the Internships section for more information.

The Cyprus Interaction Lab is now a member of the GALA (Games and Learning Alliance) Network of Excellence. GALA aims to shape the scientific community and build a European Virtual Research Centre aimed at gathering, integrating, harmonizing and coordinating research on Serious Games and disseminating knowledge, best practices and tools as a reference point at an international level. The other key focuses of the project are: the support of the deployment of Serious Games in the actual educational and training settings; the fostering of innovation and knowledge transfer through research-business dialogue; the development high-quality didactics on Serious Games by promoting and supporting courses at Master and PhD level.

Call for Participation HCI International 2014 – 16th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction LCT 2014 1st International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies 22-27 June 2014, Heraklion, Crete, Greece Creta Maris Beach Resort Chairs: Panayiotis Zaphiris Andri Ioannou Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus Download ‘call for participation ‘ leaflet [PDF]

The Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts, Cyprus University of Technology is organizing a seminar for the annual World Usability Day, in cooperation with the Pedagogical Institute of Cyprus and the Cyprus Computer Society. The theme of the seminar will be the Technology Enhanced Learning. As part of the seminar will present the results of the transnational research project Multimodal Information Spaces for Problem Based Learning, funded by the Cyprus Promotion Foundation. The project is the result of the cooperation of two European research institutes – Cyprus Interaction Lab (Cyprus) and Laboratory for Open Systems and Networks at the Jozef Stefan Institute (Slovenia) *All presentations will be in English. Download the presentation [PDF]   View Larger Map

The Cyprus Interaction Lab successfully participated to the event “Researchers’ Night 2013″ organized annually by the Research Promotion Foundation . The event was held on Friday, September 27, 2013 at Evagoras Lanitis Cultural Centre in Limassol. The research activities demonstrated entitled “Interactive Multimedia Applications – Learning and Fun for All . ” As part of this research activity, visitors had the opportunity to participate in cooperative games around a multitouch interactive table, interact with a humanoid robot as well as other forms of human computer interaction (eg. Brain-computer Interface).

Associate Professor Panayiotis Zaphiris (Dean of School of Fine and Applied Arts) is the editor of a new book titled “Online Communities and Social Computing” published by Springer. This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Online Communities and Social Computing, OCSC 2013, held as part of the 15th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2013, held in Las Vegas, USA in July 2013, jointly with 12 other thematically similar conferences. The total of 49 contributions was carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the OCSC proceedings. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: user behavior and experience in online social communities; learning and gaming communities; society, business and health; designing and developing novel online social experiences. Details about the book can be found at: http://www.springer.com/computer/hci/book/978-3-642-39370-9 Other books by Dr. Zaphiris can be found at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Panayiotis%20Zaphiris&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank

The Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology, in collaboration with the European Association of Technology Enhanced Learning successfully organized the 9th Joint European Summer School on Technology Enhanced Learning in Limassol, Cyprus. The summer school welcomed 60 doctoral students, as well as 20 young and experienced researchers, from internationally recognized European and American universities. The Cyprus Interaction Lab of the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology studies the interaction of people with technology in various fields (including education). The lab aims at understanding user needs, enhancing their experience and interaction with technology, and at providing systems that follow international standards and practices The Summer School provided a stimulating learning environment in which participants had the opportunity to develop research skills in Technology Enhanced Learning, broaden their knowledge, and develop collaborations with other researchers …

The Cyprus Interaction Lab (https://www.cyprusinteractionlab.com/) in the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts announces 5 Summer Internships. General Topics: Collaboratiion technology and learning: Ιnteractive surfaces and multitouch tabletops. Multimedia Applications: Design and development of educational applications for multitouch interactive tabletops. Use of technology for peace and conflict management. Problem-based leaning in creative information and communication spaces. Robotics in education. Use of eye tracking for evaluating/determining cognitive loads in the use of interactive multimedia or computer games Web 2.0 and Dyslexia Social Dimensions of Computer Games Creation of design guidelines for the creation of accessible multimedia content Cultural differences in the design of interactive systems Combining learning theories to usability practises in the area of interactive multimedia Your occupation will be on a voluntary basis, for 3 days a week, for the period June 1, 2013 to July 31, 2013 and there will be no payment. Applicants should: be in a Masters …

The Cyprus Interaction Lab hosts the 9th Joint European Summer School on Technology Enhanced Learning, to take place from Monday, May 27th to Friday, May 31st, 2013 in Limassol, Cyprus. The summer school aims to encourage participants to adopt a critical stance in thinking about the role of technologies in providing opportunities for learners and the potential of these opportunities in terms of learning. The summer school provides a stimulating learning environment where participants get opportunities to: develop research skills; increase their knowledge base; collaborate with others in their own and complementary research areas; engage in debate; have access to experts in the field; and discuss their own work. For this summer school the overarching theme is ‘interdisciplinarity’ and the focus will be on the challenges and opportunities that arise from working at the boundaries of different disciplines. The programme covers topics from a broad range of domains which contribute …

The lab owns a humanoid robot – NAO from Aldebaran Robotics. NAO is currently being used in a couple of research projects. We use NAO as a social mediator during music therapy sessions with high-functioning autistic children and we examine changes in their attitudes and behaviors over time. We further examine pre-schoolers’ caring attitudes and social behavior around NAO when he becomes part of their everyday play.