Dr. Eugene G. Kowch is an Associate Professor in the Leadership, Policy, and Governance department at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. His research program focuses on developing education organizational and leadership and innovation capabilities in concert with learning technologies and policy so that innovative teaching and learning in the information age is adaptable, sustainable, and more suited to a new generation of digital learners in university, college, and school systems.
Dr. Kowch explores vast potential of computing and technologies to develop a new generation of teachers and leaders at the nexus of changing education systems. For 20 years, Dr. Kowch’s research program and graduate students conceptualize and develop ideas, processes, and policies to support higher education, K-12, and industry systemic change. He has been the President of AECT, the first and premiere multinational technology/learning science for academics, researchers, and practitioners in schools, higher education, and industry and Chair of the AERA Group: Chaos and Complexity in Education.
He has published hundreds of articles and a recent major reference work “Systems Thinking and Change” with Springer Online, offering the newest theory, research, and practice guidance for systemic change leaders and learning architects. He has supervised many masters and doctoral students to completion, with research teams active in complexity thinking for leader development. Dr. Kowch holds national awards in Canada and Thailand for contributions to the education technology and leadership fields and has offered nearly two dozen keynote addresses across Asia and around the world focusing on leading education system adaptability with technology, most recently focusing on robotics and artificial intelligence.
BA in Communication Design (2003), MA in Multimedia Art (2007) and PhD in Digital Media (2013) from the University of Porto. In 2020, he completed a Post-Doctorate in Design at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto. He is currently Adjunct Professor at the School of Design of the Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave (IPCA) and Director of the MA in Digital Design.
He is an Integrated Researcher of the Research Institute for Design, Media and Culture (ID+), where he has focused his research in the area of Communication Design for Digital Media. He is currently Principal Investigator (PI) of the project “ECHO – Echoing the Communal Self: designing the dissemination and replication of self-initiated practices in underprivileged urban communities in a post-pandemic world”, funded by FCT (EXPL/ART-DAQ/0037/2021); and has participated, as a team member, in several funded research projects. He is member of the editorial board of several scientific journals and was co-editor of more than several scientific publications in the area of Design, namely chapter books and proceedings of international conferences.
He is the Founder and Chair of DIGICOM – International Conference on Design & Digital Communication (http://digicom.ipca.pt); and Co-Chair of International Conference on Human Dynamics and Design for the Development of Contemporary Societies, conference track of AHFE (USA).
He has won numerous awards, namely: 3 Graphis Gold Award (2021, 2015 and 2014, USA); 2 Graphis Silver Award (2020 and 2014, USA); 1st prize – Mascot of the Oceanário of Lisbon; 1st prize – Mascot of the Water Pavilion of Porto; 1st prize – Porto Digital logo; 1st Prize “Winner Online” in the contest Webdesign 2004, promoted by ESTAL. Some of his design projects appear in over two dozen books on Communication Design, published in Hong Kong, Germany, Spain, USA, Austria, Netherlands, France, China and UK.
Neil
Gordon is a reader in Computer Science. He has research
interests at the interface of mathematics with computer
science, particularly in the areas of finite geometry
and its applications and in formal approaches. He is
also an advocate for the effective development and use
of technology for teaching, especially in higher
education, and has worked on a number of projects with
the AdvanceHE. After a joint degree in Mathematics and
Computer Science, he went on to complete a PhD in
Applied Mathematics (Finite Geometry and Computer
Algebra, with Applications). This was followed by work
as a Research Assistant, initially on geometry and group
theory, and later on solving differential equations and
their applications in mathematical physics. He worked
for some time as an Educational Technology Advisor,
exploring and supporting the use of computer technology
in teaching mathematics. In 2000, he began working as a
lecturer in Computer Science.
Dr.
Ding, researcher of Hainan University. Her research
interests include educational big data and learning
analysis. She presided over six projects including two
projects funded by NSFC, won the second prize of
educational science research achievements in Zhejiang
Province, and published more than 20 SSCI / SCI/CSSCI
papers.
Dr.
Kumiko Aoki is the Chair and Professor of Informatics at
the Open University of Japan. Since receiving her Ph.D.
in Communication and Information Sciences（CIS）from the
University of Hawaii, she was Assistant Professor of
Information Technology at Rochester Institute of
Technology (1995-1998) and Assistant Professor of
Communication at Boston University (1998-2003).
After her return to her home country, Japan, in January
2004, she was a faculty member of the National Institute
of Multimedia Education (NIME) in Chiba, Japan, as well
as the Graduate University for Advanced Studies
(SOKENDAI) until NIME was integrated into the Open
University of Japan (OUJ) in April, 2009.
Currently she serves as the Chair of Informatics at OUJ
and teaches digital media, social informatics, and
e-learning. She has also been the instigator in
promoting online education and recently synchronous
online education at OUJ. Her research interest has
always been the effective use of information and
communication technologies in higher education and their
impact on the practices of teaching and learning in
higher education.
Dr
Sherif Welsen is an associate professor in the
Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department,
Faculty of Science and Engineering, the University of
Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC). He received his MSc.
from the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, Cairo,
in 2006 and Ph.D. from Ain-Shams University in 2010. He
has been with UNNC since November 2013. He is the
faculty senior tutor since 2017. He is also the founder
and head of the Science and Engineering research group.
He led teaching and learning in the faculty of science
and engineering from 2017 to 2021 when he served as the
faculty deputy director of teaching and learning and the
director of teaching and learning. Dr Welsen had a
scientist position in Shenzhen from 2011 to 2013. He had
an assistant professor position in Egypt from 2010 to
2011 and as an associate lecturer and researcher from
2004 to 2010. His research interest includes blended
learning, digital reading, wireless communications,
coding techniques for emerging wireless technologies,
location estimation, and digital chip design.
Mikie Nishiyama is associate professor in the Postgraduate School, Tokyo Healthcare University, and Ph.D. candidate of the University of Tokyo. M.A. in Linguistics from the University of London, M.A. from Kyoto University and M.A. from the University of Tokyo. She is currently a director of the Japan Society of English for Research (J-SER). She is in charge of the graduate-level English for academic purposes course and undergraduate-level English courses at Tokyo Healthcare University. Research interests include machine translation in foreign language education. Her current research project is investigating the appropriate use of machine translation in foreign language learners’ writing.
