Structured Upskilling for Teachers Facing Ever-Evolving Learning Technologies

Prof. Dr. Christina Gitsaki is an Apple Professional Learning Specialist and the Research Coordinator at the Center for Educational Innovation, Zayed University, UAE. She has served as the UNESCO Chair in Applied Research in Education and the Dean of the Foundations Program at the Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE. Before the UAE, she worked at The University of Queensland, Australia, educating teachers and supervising Ph.D. students in educational research. She worked with Education Queensland and The Learning Federation of the Curriculum Corporation, Australia on federal education projects such as the creation of digital Learning Objects for K-12 students. At the CEI, she oversees the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and the development of faculty for engaging in research on teaching and learning. Christina has a special interest in the use of technology in the teaching and learning process.

Nynke Kruiderink excels in bridging the realms of education and digital innovation. With a background in political science, a strong programming skillset, and a unique upbringing as a third culture child, Nynke possesses exceptional organizational sensitivity. She offers invaluable advice to educational management on 21st-century Learning Strategies, seamlessly integrating digital strategy.

Her expertise extends to formulating tailored advice and strategies for digital transformation within the learning sector, encompassing both the core processes of educational institutions and the cultivation of a thriving learning culture within schools. Nynke's adaptive approach to her digital workplaces, coupled with her hands-on learning methodology, has equipped her with profound insights into digital knowledge sharing, management, and strategic implementation.

Currently serving as the project lead for the Npuls national programme for Teaching and Learning Centers, Nynke applies her wealth of knowledge to drive impactful initiatives in the field. Her commitment to excellence and innovation makes her a valuable asset in any educational context.

Franca’s origin is in veterinary science where she lectured at the University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University. She then spent some time working in online education management for IDEXX, a leading veterinary technology company, before returning to the academic world. She currently works at TU Delft where she was instrumental in building the Teaching & Learning Services department that supports campus and online lecturers, education innovation and teacher training. She has over a decade of experience in education management and presented at numerous conferences in this capacity.
Franca’s personal passion is film and television studies, which she also taught and supervised thesis at Utrecht University.

Assistant professor Sandra Kučina Softić is the Assistant Director at the University of Zagreb University Computing Centre SRCE (Croatia). She is also the Head of the E-learning Centre at SRCE. She has 25 years of experience working in higher education. Her work is focused on monitoring and fostering e-learning in Croatian higher education and providing support and advice to institutions, teachers and students in implementation of new technologies in learning and teaching.
Her field of interest is strategic decision making related to digital education implementation in higher education and enhancement of digital skills of teachers. She is also active in field of open education. She is also author of training courses for teachers and speaker at conferences on these topics. In 2021, she authored the book on digital transformation in higher education (Digitalna transformacija: novi pristupi i izazovi u obrazovanju) published in Croatian.
She has a master’s degree in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom) and PhD in Information and Communication Technologies at the University of Zagreb (Croatia).
She was president of European Distance and E-learning Network EDEN 2019-2022 and at the moment she is Vice-President of EDEN DLE.

Vesa Paajanen is a senior lecturer in animal physiology. In current position as a facilitator of online and blended learning at University of Eastern Finland he is using 50% of the working load on teaching higher education and rest time helping his colleagues to turn their teaching online and to develop pedagogically useful online learning environments. In higher education his is focused in Flipped Classroom & learning analytics to support each student in a personal way.