Project collaborators
Selma Auala
Selma Auala is an Intern whose role is to co-facilitate co-design workshops with the Namibian University of Science and Technology and the children of People’s Primary School for the remote presence learning. Her interest in this project is the development and exploration of ways to improve remote presence learning using modern technologies such as HoloLens and Virtual Technology.
Magano Frietya
Namibia University of Science and Technology
Magano is assisting with administration tasks and the day to day duties, such as writing articles and press releases, as well as recording meetings and writing up minutes, Researching etc. Magano is fueled by her passion for understanding nuances of social connections, considering herself a ‘forever student’ eager to build both on her academic foundations and stay in tune with the latest communication technologies through continued coursework and professional development.
Doctor Naska Goagoses
Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
Dr. Goagoses is a postdoctoral researcher at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. Her research is embedded in the field of developmental and educational psychology, with a focus on motivation and social behavior while considering individual and contextual factors. Her role is to contribute expert advice on pedagogical and psychological constructs and theories. With experience in quantitative and qualitative research, she will also provide methodological support.
Personal Link: https://uol.de/en/naska-goagoses
Doctor Lauri Hooli
University of Turku
Dr. Hooli is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Turku Department of Geography and Geology. His research focuses on creative processes during social distancing and through his extensive industry contracts and background, he will be able to elaborate upon affordances, applications, features and needs for evidence that are the key questions being addressed by the proposal. He will contribute to all WP’s but especially WP3 and WP5.
Head of Education and Research Eero Linjama
Turku University of Applied Sciences
Mr. Linjama is the Head of Education and Research in Performing Arts. Performing Arts education has struggled to adapt to distance learning and its organization is to be involved in our co-creation processes to formulate their needs from our proposed technology. Further, he will organize our third case study by bringing in appropriate staff and students for our dance or Theater activity.
Doctor Nicolas Pope
University of Turku
Main technology developer.
Rector Erkki Rötkönen
Pääskyvuori School, Turku
Mr. Rötkönen is the Rector of Pääskyvuori elementary school which will host our research laboratory for the duration of the project. He will assist the project by engaging teachers and staff with the research, and by providing his own pedagogical insight given over 40 years of teaching experience. He is also a doctoral candidate with his PhD topic being on the formation of research laboratories in schools.
Doctor Calkin’s Suero Montero
University of Eastern Finland
Dr. Montero is a senior researcher in Joensuu with a strong background in leading projects to develop educational technologies. Her expertise with pedagogy and the design of such technologies will inform our WP3 and WP4. She will also lead our second case study by engaging with the Joensuu SciFest, bringing together key stakeholders for that event and participating in co-creation workshops.
Doctor Tomi “bgt” Suovuo
Project Coordinator
Ph.D.Suovuo is a researcher at the University of Turku Department of Computing. He defended his doctoral thesis “Reality Guides for Life Before Death” in June 2022, where he has investigated game design methodologies, gamification and virtual presence and the related perspective of people with a terminal condition. Suovuo is participating in studying the Theoretical user experience aspects related to BIT::TIP and coordinating the project.
blog: To All You Zombies
Professor Erkki Sutinen
Project Principal Investigator
Dr. Erkki Sutinen is Professor of Computer Science (Interaction design) at the University of Turku since 2015. He moved to Namibia in 2019 to set up the first Overseas campus of the University of Turku, located currently at the premises of the University of Namibia , in its main campus in Windhoek.Erkki has been Researching educational technology, Computing education, ICT4D, and co-design.
Personal Link: Future Technologies Laboratory
Professor Heike Winschiers-Theophilus
Namibian University of Science and Technology
Prof. Heike Winschiers-Theophilus is an expert in co-creation, especially with children and indigenous cultures.She will be the lead expert for our WP3 on the incorporation of co-creation methods, as well as their advancement. She will visit Turku once each year to plan and facilitate co-creation workshops with all of the projects’ stakeholders, and train all of us here in best practices for such workshops.
Helvi Itenge
Namibian University of Science and Technology
Helvi Itenge is an Instructional Technology Designer at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Namibia and a Ph.D. candidate at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia. Her research focuses on Exploring and co-designing Emerging technologies to enhance the reading experience of primary learners in Namibia. Through collective research, Helvi worked with young learners from primary schools. She ventured into co-facilitating online and in-person workshops. Her role is to co-facilitate, and co-design workshops, and she’s a local school project coordinator.