Mario Barajas is Professor at the University of Barcelona (Spain), and founder member of the new Institute of Educational Research of the Faculty of Education. He earned his doctorate degree in Education from the same University, with an specialisation in e-learning. He is Master’s Degree in Educational Technology from San Francisco State University in the USA, and holds degrees in Engineering and in Philosophy. Dr. Barajas teaches about Digital Learning Environments at the doctoral program ‘Education and Society’. He is a member of different Research Committees and Journals at an international level. His research areas include: a) creative digital education, b) game-based learning, c) STEAM education -Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics; d) impact evaluation of digital education. During the last two decades, Dr. Barajas has coordinated and participated in a large number of competitive projects funded by the European Union. He leads the research group Future Learning (www.futurelearning.org)
Dr. Olabe and his research group are active participants in the field of learning and teaching technologies applied to online education, including the following areas: a) the design of multimedia content for primary, secondary and college level courses; b) the development of pedagogical methodologies for new digital learning environments; c) the creation and use of technological-based tools applied to teaching and learning; d) the implementation of resources for active pedagogical methodologies; and e) the delivery of Master’s, Bachelor’s courses and degrees using learning platforms.
During the last two decades, Dr. Olabe and his research group have received the support of the European Union and the National Council for Science and Technology of Latin-American through the funding of a large number of research and development projects.
Dr. Olabe has published several books and multiple articles in international journals, and has collaborated with international journals and committees. He has established working relationships with members of the MIT Lifelong Kindergarten group and with members of the One Laptop per Child project (OLCP) in the US and in multiple countries of Latin America. He has established relationships with governmental educational groups of the Ministries of Education of Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia, as well as the educational networks RENATA of Colombia and CONACyT of Paraguay, and research groups at the University of Alicante, University of Extremadura, University of Salamanca, Luisíada University of Portugal, University of Silesia and LaSalle Bajío University (Mexico).
A. Pfennig was born in Büdelsdorf, Germany in 1970. She studied Minerology at the Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms University Bonn, Germany, where she graduated in 1997. Her Ph.-D. in the field of ceramic moulds for liquid metal casting was earned in 2001 from the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen, Germany. She then worked for Siemens Energy in charge of ceramic shields for stationary gas turbines and transferred to Berlin in 2008 where she conducted scientific research on the oxidation of high temperature materials and corrosion behavior of steels used in Carbon Capture Techniques. 2009 she became full professor at the Applied University Berlin, HTW where she currently teaches material science for engineering students. Anja Pfennigs research interest and expertise is in the field of corrosion and corrosion fatigue of materials at high temperature and high pressure simulating geothermal environments. Here she involves students in practical project based lectures. For 6 years her teaching and teaching related research focusses on matters concerning first year students. Diversity, motivation, duration and step-by-step success are important when designing a new course. Inverted classroom scenarios, blended learning concepts, online courses and alternative grading are important research topics with regard to practical and theoretical study results and development of self-confident young engineers. Anja Pfennig successfully produces lecture videos using the peer-to-peer approach and implements these in her first year courses as study source in inverted classroom scenarios. The impact of lecture films on study behavior, continuity and study results is her main interest as lecturer and researcher.
University of the Basque Country - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Spain
Applied University Berlin, HTW, Germany
The Education University of Kong Kong, Hong Kong
Keynote Speakers
Prof. Kuan-Chou Chen, Purdue University Northwest, USA
Kuan-Chou Chen is the Associate Dean for Graduate Program and Research, Thomas M. McDermott Sr. Endowed Chair, Professor in Economic Development, Professor of Management Information Systems. He was the Department Head of Information Systems, Finance, and Business Analytics (2005-2016), as well as Interim Department Head of Department of Graduate Studies in Education (2013-2014) at Purdue University Northwest. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University and his MBA from National Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan. He specialized in computer programming, system simulation, project management, decision support systems, data mining, system analysis and design, e-business strategy and application, supply chain management, network design and security, knowledge management, and information economy. Professor Chen has more than 90 scholarly publications, most in peer-reviewed journals. He is an active participant in several professional journals and serves on three paper reviewer boards. Currently he is an Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning. His productivity and scholarship have been recognized by his colleagues, being nominated three years in a row for an “Outstanding Scholar Award.” He also the recipient of Teacher of the Year Award (Purdue University Northwest, 2005). (www.futurelearning.org)