The people

Team

Researchers driving the HUMAN-AI project

🇵🇱 Poland

University of Silesia in Katowice

Dr. hab. Eugenia Smyrnova-Trybulska, Prof. US

Project Coordinator · University of Silesia in Katowice

Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Research in E-learning (IJREL), coordinator of DLCC conference, coordinator of HUMAN-AI, IRNet, FITPED, FITPED-AI and FITPED-GAI. Author of 380+ scientific publications in e-learning methodology, SMART university, STEAM, robotics, AI in education and MOOCs. Creator of 190+ e-learning courses and two MOOCs.

Prof. Małgorzata Przybyła-Kasperek

Researcher · University of Silesia in Katowice

Professor of Computer Science. Specialises in distributed decision-making systems, conflict analysis, knowledge integration, classifier fusion and explainable AI. Strongly involved in research on AI in education; leading roles in EU projects FITPED, FITPED-AI and FITPED-GAI.

Dr Tomasz Kopczyński

Associate Professor · University of Silesia in Katowice

Associate Professor at the University of Silesia, PhD in humanities, affiliated with the Institute of Educational Sciences. Researches integration of AI and emerging technologies in education, educational robotics, VR and hybrid teaching aids.

🇪🇪 Estonia

Tallinn University

Prof. Sirje Virkus

Lead at Tallinn University · Tallinn University

Professor of Information Science and Head of the Study Area of Information Sciences at Tallinn University's School of Digital Technologies. PhD from Manchester Metropolitan University. 250+ publications. Recipient of the Order of the White Star (4th Class) of the Estonian President (2021).

Marianne Paimre, PhD

Researcher · Tallinn University

Estonian media and information researcher. Focus on media representations of social issues and digital health information behaviour, particularly among older adults. PhD from the University of Jyväskylä, 2013.

🇵🇹 Portugal

Universidade Aberta

Prof. Pedro Isaías

Associate Professor with Habilitation · Universidade Aberta

Associate professor with Habilitation at Universidade Aberta in Lisbon. Coordination team of the postgraduate programme in Digital Innovation and Business Analytics. Research on Learning Technologies, Data Analytics, Business Intelligence and Digital Transformation.

Prof. Diogo Casanova

Vice-Rector for Innovation, Quality and Digital Transformation · Universidade Aberta

Vice-Rector for Innovation, Quality and Digital Transformation at Universidade Aberta, and Assistant Professor in Education and Distance Learning. Focus on digital education, online assessment, learning design, quality assurance and pedagogical innovation.

Prof. Isabel Huet

Senior Researcher (LE@D, CIDTFF) · Universidade Aberta

25+ years in higher education pedagogy, doctoral supervision and teachers' professional development. Researcher at LE@D and CIDTFF, Senior Fellow of Advance HE, Honorary Doctoral Supervisor at the University of Liverpool. UAb lead for Erasmus+ CRED4TEACH (2023–2026).

Prof. Maria do Rosário Bernardo

Assistant Professor · Universidade Aberta

Assistant Professor at Universidade Aberta in Economics, Management and Information Systems. Senior researcher at INESC TEC. Research interests: decision-making, e-government, chatbots, business intelligence and smart cities.

Prof. Isabel Roboredo Seara

Assistant Professor · Universidade Aberta

Assistant professor in the Department of Humanities at Universidade Aberta and senior researcher at the Centre for Linguistics, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Coordinator of DIGITHUM – Digital Humanities project. PhD in Portuguese Linguistics.

🇺🇦 Ukraine

Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University

Prof. Natalia Morze

Lead at BGKMU · Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University

Habilitated Doctor, Full Professor at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine. Expert in digital education, ICT in education, e-learning, AI in education and learning analytics. 400+ publications. UNESCO national expert.

Prof. Rusudan Makhachashvili

Head of Internationalization Research Lab · Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University

Habilitated Doctor, Full Professor. Research Expert of the European Digital Education Hub (Main Drivers on EU level for AI in Education Squad, Future Classrooms Squad). Member of Digital Humanism Initiative (TU Wien). Expert for the National LLM development taskforce (Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine).

Dr. Iryna Vorotnykova

Associate Professor, Head of Department · Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University

Head of the Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Education and Technologies at the In-service Teacher's Training Institute of BGKMU. STEM education, innovative pedagogies, AI and teacher training. Researcher in IRNet (FP7 Marie Curie IRSES, 2014–2017).

🇳🇱 Netherlands

Both Online BV

Menno Both, MSc

Founder · Both Online BV

Founder of Both Online; researcher at Saxion University of Applied Sciences specialising in Digital Transformation. Bridges research and practical application across digital media, social entrepreneurship and trainings.

Prof. Dr. Piet Kommers

Professor of UNESCO Learning Technologies · Both Online BV

Professor of UNESCO Learning Technologies. 150+ publications, h-index 24. Adviser of the UNESCO International Institute for Information Technologies in Education since 2001. Founder of the International Journal of Web-based Communities.

🇹🇷 Türkiye

STARTINFORUM / IATELS

Prof. Dr. Iryna Sekret

Lead at STARTINFORUM · STARTINFORUM / IATELS

Prof. Dr. Iryna Sekret is the founder of STARTINFORUM and IATELS Committee Chair. As an expert in Education and Psychology, she develops and coordinates international projects focusing on AI-driven pedagogy and digital competencies.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elif Öcalmış

Researcher · STARTINFORUM / IATELS

Dr. Elif Öcalmış, PhD in Eastern Languages and Literatures, specializes in the intersection of philology and digital transformation. As a STARTINFORUM contributor to the HUMAN-AI project, she focuses on the ethical integration of AI in language teaching and literary
translation

Andrii Sekret

IT Lead · STARTINFORUM / IATELS

Andrii Sekret is an IT professional specializing in Software Engineering and Management. He leads projects in personnel management and development, LMS and educational platforms.

Oleksii Sekret

Multimedia Lead · STARTINFORUM / IATELS

Graphic design and arts specialist. In HUMAN-AI: leads analysis and testing of AI applications in multimedia and marketing; needs assessments among university students and teachers; AI-driven graphic design methodologies.

Zeynep Bülte

Soft-Skill Trainer · STARTINFORUM / IATELS

Zeynep Bülte is a soft-skill trainer, a member of the European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (EPSA). She specializes in soft-skills development, delivers international training on leadership, teamwork, and communication.

🇹🇭 Thailand

Khon Kaen University

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Issara Kanjug

Dean of the Faculty of Education · Khon Kaen University

Dean of the Faculty of Education at Khon Kaen University (2023–2027 term). PhD in Educational Technology. Visionary in educational innovation, leads the Teacher Prom AI Chatbot.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Niwat Srisawasdi

Head of Smart Science Learning Innovation · Khon Kaen University

Assistant Professor at KKU's Faculty of Education. Heads Smart Science Learning Innovation at the SLIRC. Award-winning research on technology-enhanced STEM education, digital learning, TPACK and AI-transformed education.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Anucha Somabut

Assistant to the President for Education · Khon Kaen University

Assistant to the President for Education at Khon Kaen University. Faculty member in Educational Technology. Drives the KKU Smart Learning project.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wirapong Chansanam

KKU Secondment Host Coordinator · Khon Kaen University

Lecturer of Information Science and Chair of the Digital Humanities Research Group at KKU. 15+ years across information science, data analytics, AI and digital heritage. Host coordinator for the November 2026 KKU secondment cohort.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kanyarat Kwiecien

Lecturer in Information Science · Khon Kaen University

Lecturer in the Department of Information Science, KKU's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. PhD in Communication and Education Technology. Research on metadata, digital services and information behaviour, with focus on cultural heritage.

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University

Salgarayeva Gulnaz

Lead at QyzPU · Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University

Candidate of Technical Sciences, Professor; leading researcher in digital and inclusive education. Focus on digital technologies in accessible learning environments and algorithmic thinking through digital applications.

Karimova Beibitkul

Rector of QyzPU · Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University

Rector of the Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University. Candidate of Philological Sciences. Specialises in linguistics, comparative grammar and linguistic personality; digital technologies in language learning.

Ainur Bazarbayeva

Senior Lecturer · Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University

Researcher and senior lecturer at QyzPU. Focus on hard and soft skills development, CS/IT education and university–industry collaboration.

Makhanova Aigul, PhD

Researcher · Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University

PhD researcher in Computer Science and inclusive digital education. Focus on integrating digital technologies into accessible learning environments for students with special educational needs.

Sabit Botakoz

Researcher · Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University

Researcher in Computer Science and Inclusive Digital Learning. Innovative approaches to teaching in inclusive educational environments through digital and distance learning technologies.

🇧🇷 Brazil

University of São Paulo / FEA-USP

Prof. Adriana Backx Noronha

Lead at USP · University of São Paulo / FEA-USP

Full Professor at FEA/USP. PhD in Electrical Engineering (UNICAMP, 1999). President of the Research and Innovation Committee of FEA-USP. Vice-Coordinator of USP's Digital Transformation and AI Office.

Rwrsilany Silva

Accounting Professor (IFRO) · Federal Institute of Rondônia (IFRO)

Accounting Professor at the Federal Institute of Rondônia (IFRO); PhD candidate in Administration at USP. Research on tax accounting, the digital economy, AI in accounting and professional education.

Douglas Ribeiro Romani

Coordinator of Advertising and Visual Programming (IF Goiano) · Instituto Federal Goiano

Coordinator of Advertising and Visual Programming at IF Goiano; PhD candidate in Administration at USP. Research on Active Learning Methodologies, Virtual Learning Environments, and AI applied to education.

🇸🇰 Slovakia

Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra

Martin Drlík

Doc. Mgr. Martin Drlík, PhD. is a professor at the Department of Informatics and Vice-Dean for External Relations and Development. His primary research interests in the education domain lie in learning analytics, educational data mining, AI in education, and teaching computer science.

Ján Skalka

RNDr. Ján Skalka, PhD. (ORCID:0000-0003-2211-2794), is an associate professor and head of the department, as well as the coordinator of the FITPED-AI project. His educational experience focuses on programming languages, modern technologies, and user behavior in virtual environments.