Team Members

Andrei Pârvan

Associate Professor & Researcher

About

Since 1996, Andrei has been transforming good intentions into tangible impact across teacher training, learning design, and citizenship education. Rooted in grassroots community development and social innovation, his work spans Romanian and international contexts. Andrei holds a PhD in Economics focused on the educational disengagement of the Roma population and is currently pursuing a second PhD on curricular determinants of academic success and student well-being. With over 12 years of experience in higher education, he has designed meaningful learning experiences, supported student success, and fostered innovation. Since 2020, he has been actively engaged across diverse global ecosystems and stakeholder networks. Beyond his professional work, Andrei is an avid hiker, global traveler, and passionate explorer of the hidden stories within data. Once the self-proclaimed "incumbent president of the Pedestrian Party," he now believes the world would be a better place if every home were governed by at least one cat.

Diana Stoica

Associate Professor & Researcher

About

I am Diana Stoica and for the last 25 years I have been inspiring students to study Romanian and English as a foreign language. I work with students from almost all over the world and this has helped me become more empathetic and inclusive of different cultural perspectives and discover new ways of looking at the world around us. I have a BA in English (and Romanian) language and literature, an MA in British Cultural Studies and a PhD in English Literature. I have been teaching English as a Foreign Language for 25 years and Romanian as a Foreign Language for the last 19 years. I also have a CELTA qualification for teaching English as a foreign language. I can also boast international experience in TEFL in Turkey and Italy, in both private language institutions and academic environments. I am fluent in three languages (English, French and Italian), conversational and fluent in reading and writing in Spanish and Greek. I have been with UNSTPB for almost 23 years now and I can say this has been a fruitful and rewarding experience as it enabled me to grow both as a person and as a professional inside a wonderful community of students and teachers.

Edmundo Tovar Caro

Associate Professor & Researcher

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About

Edmundo Tovar received his degree in Computer Engineering (1986) and his Ph.D. in Informatics (1994) from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain. Since 2001, he has been a Professor of IT in Enterprise at UPM. He is a Certified Software Development Professional (2005–) and holds the Professional Software Engineering Master Certification (2015–) from the IEEE Computer Society. He has held several leadership roles in Open Education, serving as an elected member of the OpenCourseWare Consortium Board of Directors (2009–2013), Executive Director of the OCW Office at UPM (2008–2012), and Executive Director of the Open Education Office at UPM (2013–2016). He also served as Associate Dean for Quality and Strategic Planning (2007–2012). An expert in Quality Assurance, he has participated in numerous national and international university evaluation committees. He is currently a member of the Accreditation Committee for EURO-INF (European Quality Label for Informatics Education) under ANECA. Professor Tovar leads both an Innovation Group and a Research Group focused on technologies applied to Open Education, coordinating several European projects. He is the author of approximately 300 publications in Engineering Education. A cofounder of the Spanish Chapter of the IEEE Education Society (2004–2006), he has held multiple leadership roles within the IEEE Education Society, including Member-at-Large of the Board of Governors (2005–2013), Vice President for Educational Activities and Awards (2013–2018), President-Elect (2019–2020), President (2021–2022), and currently Past President (2023–2026). He also serves on various IEEE Educational Activities Board Standing Committees and is actively involved in numerous IEEE conferences as General Chair and Steering Committee member. He is a Professional Member of IEEE–Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) and faculty advisor of the Nu Beta Chapter. In 2022, he was awarded the Ramón Llull National Research Prize in Computer Engineering.

Grațiela Ianos

Associate Professor & Researcher

About

Grațiela Ianoș este Conferențiar la Universitatea Națională de Știință și Tehnologie POLITEHNICA București, în cadrul Departamentului de Formare a Cadrelor Didactice și Științe Sociale. Domeniul său de expertiză se concentrează pe integrarea tehnologiilor actuale și a abordărilor inovatoare în procesul educațional, implicarea studenților și a comunității, precum și pe practica pedagogică. Interesele sale de cercetare includ pedagogii inovatoare, metodologia cercetării, tehnologia educațională și dezvoltarea relației dintre școală și comunitate. A fost implicată în numeroase proiecte desfășurate în echipe interdisciplinare, orientate spre stimularea participării comunitare, creșterea implicării studenților, dezvoltarea de materiale de învățare digitale și elaborarea de programe de formare pentru specialiști. Activitatea sa i-a oferit competențele necesare pentru a face față provocărilor actuale ale societății și pentru a răspunde eficient nevoilor emergente din diverse domenii. Grațiela Ianoș is Associate Professor at the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, within the Department of Teacher Training and Social Sciences. Her expertise focuses on integrating current technologies and innovative approaches into the educational process, fostering student and community engagement, and advancing pedagogical practice. Her research interests include innovative pedagogies, research methodology, educational technology, and strengthening the relationship between school and community. She has been involved in numerous interdisciplinary projects aimed at stimulating community participation, increasing student engagement, developing digital learning materials, and designing training programs for specialists. This work has provided her with the skills needed to address contemporary societal challenges and respond effectively to emerging needs across various fields.

Paz Díez Arcón

Associate Professor & Researcher

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No bio available yet.

Özgür Yaşar Akyar

President, Ph.D.

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No bio available yet.

Andreea-Georgiana Stancu

Project Expert

No bio available yet.

Loredana Manasia

Associate Professor & Researcher

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About

Dr. Loredana Manasia is an Associate Professor at the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest and Director of the LEARNINNO Research Center. She is an educational researcher with expertise in higher education, educational innovation, and education policy. Her teaching and academic activity focus on educational research methodologies, instructional design, learning theories, adult education in organizational contexts, and pedagogical practice. She has held significant roles in academic leadership and research coordination and has contributed to numerous national and European projects addressing education reform, digital transformation, sustainability, and social inclusion. Dr. Manasia earned her Ph.D. in Education Sciences from the University of Bucharest, with a doctoral focus on metacognitive competencies and learning communities. She also holds both a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree in Educational Sciences from the same institution. Her scholarly work includes multiple authored and co-authored books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and conference proceedings. Her research interests span metacognition, digital and multimodal learning, instructional design, teacher education, sustainable and green education, service-learning, and student well-being, with recent work emphasizing innovative pedagogies and visual methodologies.

Ruxandra Ioniță

Lecturer & Researcher

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About

Ioana-Ruxandra Ioniță is a Lecturer at the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest. She holds a PhD in Statistics and a Master’s degree in Geopolitics and International Business from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. Since beginning her academic career in 2013, she has contributed to university-funded research on campus quality of life and performance factors, as well as projects focused on advancing green curricula in higher education, sustainable development, and ESG practices. She has also completed specialized training programs in innovative education and green skills supporting economic transitions toward sustainability. Ruxandra is a passionate educator, certified trainer and assessor in adult education, and certified translator to and from Spanish. Outside the classroom, she recharges through reading, traveling, and enjoying a good bar of chocolate.

Petra Kleindienst

Associate Professor

No bio available yet.

Janja Lozar

Researcher

No bio available yet.

Chloë Mentens

Researcher Education & Development

No bio available yet.

Katrien Dehaese

Researcher Education & Development

LinkedIn

About

Katrien Dehaese is a practice-based researcher in the Education & Development unit at UCLL and serves as Expert in Audiovisual Materials within the UCLL Libraries. With a background in teacher education and special needs education, and holding a Master’s degree in Educational Studies, she works at the intersection of applied research and educational innovation. At UCLL, she contributes to several European research projects, including PAIDEIA (focused on AI in education), GlobeSteamSS (promoting STEM and STEAM engagement among young women), and ImSteam, which leverages VR/AR technologies to contextualise STEAM learning and align it with PISA 2025. Her work centres on co-creation with educational practitioners, translating research insights into practical educational models and frameworks, and strengthening evidence-informed teaching practices. She has a particular interest in educational technology, multimodal learning resources, and inclusive learning environments, complementing her role as an audiovisual expert.

Gonzalo Santamaria

Executive Director

No bio available yet.

Selina Martin

President

About

Committed to Europe and passionate about education, she has been training international teams for more than twenty years in educational centres and third-sector organisations. Drawing on this extensive experience, she has developed her own methodology to support organisations in launching and managing projects funded by European Union programmes. Through comprehensive guidance and tailored internal development plans, she enables Spanish organisations to continue innovating, sharing knowledge, and building strong international partnerships. She holds a degree in Law with a specialization in European Community Law. She studied at the European School of Brussels (Baccalaureate) and earned a Master’s degree in Promotion and Management of Non-Profit Organizations and NGOs from the Complutense University of Madrid. Earlier in her career, she worked at the Council of the European Union (General Secretariat – Press Service) and at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the Americas. She has more than 20 years of experience in the management, monitoring, and development of EU-funded programmes. She previously served as Director of the International Department at the Spanish Confederation of Educational Centres (CECE). Her native language is Spanish, and she is fluent in English and French. She is currently President of the ITE_NETWORK association, where she provides training in European funding and promotes internationalization and innovation aligned with European policies. She also oversees the full management of cooperation projects, particularly within the framework of ERASMUS+.