The members of InSSTER are involved in funded research under the umbrella of Innovative and Inclusive education with links to science, society and technology. Explore our dynamic portfolio of funded research projects, spanning both completed endeavours and ongoing initiatives.

  • INFINITE “artIficial iNtelligence For professIonal aNd pedagogIcal pracTices in Higher Education”

    • Start: 01/2023
    • End: 12/2026

    Local Principal Investigator
    Efi Nisiforou

    Coordinator
    University of Groningen, Netherlands

    Ref.
    ERASMUS +, Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

    Budget
    400000 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2023-1-NL01-KA220-HED-000155675

    Website
    https://infinite-erasmus.eu/

    INFINITE project aims to optimize the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Higher Education (HE), focusing on teaching, learning, and assessment. It seeks to prepare academics to employ AI for innovative teaching and assessment methods while helping students understand its interdisciplinary implications. Additionally, the project aims to equip students with the skills to utilize AI for learning through a tailored blended course. Ultimately, INFINITE aims to address skills mismatches and enhance learners' forward-thinking abilities for the future workforce and society. Its objectives include raising awareness about AI's potential and challenges, providing practical resources for HE academics, enhancing digital competences, and promoting the digital transformation of higher education institutions.

  • NBS Academy: A European Academy for integrating Nature-based Solutions (NBS) in teacher education

    • Start: 06/2023
    • End: 05/2026

    Local Principal Investigator
    Maria Evagorou

    Participants
    Iris Charalambidou

    Ref.
    ERASMUS-EDU-2022-PEX-TEACH-ACA

    Budget
    1500000 EUR

    Agreement No.
    101104412

    NBS Academy sets to create a European Community of Practice (CoP) of teacher education and training providers, teachers, policy makers and other education experts focused on developing and testing new professional learning programmes for improving teachers’ competences on Education for Environmental Sustainability by utilising Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). By creating a new NBS Education Framework, NBS Academy will acknowledge the innovative aspect of NBS Education and supplement the theoretical research on NBS’ educational potential. Innovative ITE and CPD programmes will be developed and pilot implemented by in six different countries, covering different geographical, cultural and linguistic areas of the EU. The cultural diversity and multilingualism will be celebrated by implementing the training programmes via a blended mobility approach (including a Summer School as well as distance VR mobility training). This will result in raising the appeal of the teaching profession and its internationalization by increasing the opportunities for both teachers and teacher trainers to interact and learn from peers across the EU.

  • SciLMi: Meta-Scientific Literacies in the (Mis-)Information Age

    • Start: 06/2023
    • End: 05/2026

    Local Principal Investigator
    Maria Evagorou

    Participants
    Maria Vrikki, Christiana Karousiou

    Coordinator
    University of Innsbruck

    Ref.
    ERASMUS-EDU-2022-PEX-TEACH-ACA

    Budget
    1500000 EUR

    Agreement No.
    101104523

    The SciLMi Teacher Academy is rising to the challenge. It will develop, pilot and evaluate cross-disciplinary blended intensive mobility programmes and trainings for pre- and in-service teachers that provide them with the required transversal competences, digital skills and inclusive teaching strategies to educate the future generation to critically engage with socio-scientific issues, and research and evaluate scientific claims and arguments for decision-making and action (PISA 2025 Science Competency 3). After the project’s lifetime, the programmes and trainings will be continued utilising Erasmus+ KA funding. Given the pan-European dimension of the challenge, the SciLMi Teacher Academy will build a pan-European Hub consisting of providers of initial and continuous education, schools, teacher associations, education authorities, foundations, NGOs, libaries, science centres and other stakeholders to actively involve in the process, to share the implications drawn from the evaluation and to facilitate the integration of meta-scientifc literacy skills into the education systems across Europe, ensuring the impact of the project is sustainable.

  • ICSE Science Factory: Combat a shortfall of scientists and citizens versed in science

    • Start: 01/2023
    • End: 12/2025

    Local Principal Investigator
    Maria Evagorou

    Participants
    Efi Nisiforou, Maria Nicolaou, Evi Kostantiniou, Maria Vrikki, Elena Papanastasiou, Myrtani Pieri, Iris Charalambidou

    Coordinator
    University of Education in Freiburg, Germany

    Ref.
    HORIZON/WIDERA/2022ERA01

    Budget
    1980000000 EUR

    Agreement No.
    101093387

    Website
    https://icse.eu/reported/icse-science-factory/

    The ICSE Science Factory supports the EU’s endeavor to combat a shortfall of scientists and citizens versed in science. It does so by offering a unique combination of different measures, each of them tackling the issue from a different starting point, thereby leveraging impact. The unique features of the ICSE Science Factory are, in a nutshell:
    • New high-capacity cross-sectoral partnerships in five partner countries consisting of science researchers, science education researchers and non-formal education providers, supported by attached schools, enterprises and community institutions.
    • Innovative concept to enlarge the number of scientists and scientific knowledge in the communities:
      1. To strengthen the partnerships, we organise local partnership conventions, where we share and apply research findings, and local public fairs to integrate communities in the scientific learning process.
      2. With the expertise of the local cross-sectoral partnership, in each country we offer collaborative and interdisciplinary lighthouse activities and open schooling activities for community members (on health, digitalisation, Green Deal), supported by mentoring.
      3. All activities are complemented by a series of interactive career talks, focussing especially but not only on female role models in science and on overcoming stereotypes.
    • An educational, research-backed concept for our lighthouse and open schooling activities which deliberately includes real-life problem-solving on issues relevant to society (including decision-making), and the concept of challenge-driven innovation, which integrates communities in overcoming challenges.
    The activities are supplemented by special features: The setting up of stimulating science labs in each country, a threefold system for encouraging mentoring across the partnership and a systematic approach to quality assurance by using design research, which strives for solutions tailored to local communities based on a joint European concept.  

  • NBS4S: Empowering students to act for climate through Nature Based Solutions

    • Start: 12/2023
    • End: 11/2025

    Ref.
    KA2, Erasmus+

    Budget
    400000 EUR

    Agreement No.
    KA220-BW-23-36-156685

    NBS4School aims to introduce the concept of Nature-based-Solutions as an educational tool to support climate change education. NBS is gaining more ground as a methodology to solve real life challenges caused by climate change. At the same time, it has high innovative potential as a teaching tool. By combining the concept with effective and modern pedagogical methods like Citizen Science, NBS4School aims to train teachers to educate the students of the future.

  • Up-STEAM:Upskilling Prospect Teachers in STEAM for elevating out of school learning for all

    • Start: 11/2023
    • End: 10/2025

    Local Principal Investigator
    Maria Evagorou

    Participants
    Agni Stylianou Georgiou

    Ref.
    KA2, Erasmus+

    Budget
    400000 EUR

    The Up-sTEAm project aims to provide university students studying to become teachers and/or science communicators with the skills and knowledge necessary to design effective and meaningful STEAM activities for non-formal learning contexts that are appropriate and adapted to school pupils’ needs and particularities. The goal is to increase access to non-formal STEAM education for these students.  

  • ProSTEM: European collaboration and mobility in professional development of pre- and in-service STEM Teachers

    • Start: 02/2022
    • End: 01/2025

    Local Principal Investigator
    Maria Evagorou

    Participants
    Evi Kostantinidou, Kyriakos Demetriou

    Coordinator
    University of Education in Freiburg, Germany

    Ref.
    Erasmus 2027

    Budget
    1495323 EUR

    Website
    https://icse.eu/icse-academy/

    ProSTEM supports the EU’s endeavours to minimize the amount of low-performing STEM learners. It does so by investing in a new era of a high-quality STEM teacher workforce by innovating based on existing best practices teacher education and transnational exchange strategies.

  • UNITY: UΝited in Inclusion for employabiliΤΥ

    • Start: 01/2022
    • End: 12/2024

    Participants
    Kyriakos Demetriou

    Coordinator
    Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

    Ref.
    ERASMUS +, Cooperation partnerships in adult education

    Budget
    37420 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2021-1-MK01-KA220-ADU-000035192

    UNITY project is intended for adults with disabilities and their support for transition into the labour market from education and training and making employment accessible by providing essential information and guidelines for employers, improving competences of educators and for the persons with disabilities as well. It also aims to help people with disabilities by creating innovative supporting employment methods and establishing them in the labour market. Additional priorities interconnected with the goal of the project are referring to extending and developing the competences of educators and other personnel working with adults with disabilities as well as enhancing access to training and qualifications for all.

  • Increasing Anxiety awareness in higher education during (post) Covid-19 pandemic (AWARE)

    • Start: 12/2022
    • End: 11/2024

    Participants
    Christiana Karousiou

    Coordinator
    SPOŁECZNA AKADEMIA NAUK, POLAND

    Ref.
    Erasmus+, KA220-HED - Cooperation partnerships in higher education

    Budget
    250000 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2022-1-PL01-KA220-HED-000087038

    Website
    https://www.awareformentalhealth.eu/

    AWARE aims to increase anxiety/mental health awareness among Higher Education Institutions’ staff and students. The main objectives are:
    • Equip staff with the needed tools, resources and knowledge to recognize, manage, and support students with anxiety.
    • Develop and improve anxiety management skills among students, while expanding emotional competence and positive attitudes.
    • Accommodate the anxious students in HE Institutions by increasing knowledge and skills among the rest of their surroundings

  • Empowering and Inspiring Higher Education students in the STEAM field (STEAM4LIFE)

    • Start: 12/2022
    • End: 11/2024

    Participants
    Christiana Karousiou

    Coordinator
    Fachhochschule des Mittelstands

    Ref.
    Erasmus+, KA220-HED - Cooperation partnerships in higher education

    Budget
    250.000 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2022-1-DE01-KA220-HED-000087805

    Website
    https://www.steam4life.eu/

    STEAM4LaIFE focuses on empowering Higher Education students (with a focus on women) to actively engage in the STEAM field, while promoting higher educational institutes in building their capacity to implement innovative STEAM activities and approaches. This will help to empower and encourage women in the STEAM field, enhancing their confidence and self-esteem and positively affecting their future career choices.

  • Active Citizenship Through Dialogue in Virtual teacher Communities

    • Start: 12/2022
    • End: 11/2024

    Participants
    Maria Vrikki, Maria Evagorou

    Coordinator
    Christiana Karousiou

    Ref.
    Erasmus+, KA2

    Budget
    250000 EUR

    Website
    https://actdiv.weebly.com

    Citizenship education became a highlighted priority within the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030) following the so called Paris Declaration. ACT-DI-V aspires to promote responsible citizenship through dialogic and argumentative pedagogies and offer opportunities to individuals to express their ideas freely, evaluate ideas critically and engage in meaningful discussions. Specifically, ACT-DI-V’s objectives are to:
    1. raise awareness about the importance of promoting active and responsible citizenship education through dialogue and argumentation
    2. build the pedagogic competences of teachers on active and responsible citizenship education
    3. develop hands-on resources on promoting active and responsible citizenship education to improve the students’ critical thinking and decision making skills
    1. support teachers in reflecting on their practices within a VCoP
     

  • Fighting the online post-truth conspiracy (NEWSPIRACY)

    • Start: 12/2022
    • End: 11/2024

    Participants
    Christiana Karousiou

    Coordinator
    Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM)

    Ref.
    Erasmus+, KA220-HED - Cooperation partnerships in higher education

    Budget
    250000 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2022-1-ES01-KA220-HED-000089608

    Website
    https://newspiracy.eu/

    NEWSPIRACY aims to raise public awareness of the existence of fake news and their influence, learning about their mechanism and their creation process, in order to be able to detect and analyze them in greater depth.

  • Supporting School Leaders to build a digital transformation strategy (DigiLEAD)

    • Start: 12/2022
    • End: 11/2024

    Participants
    Christiana Karousiou

    Coordinator
    Institute of Technology and Development Foundation, Bulgaria

    Ref.
    Erasmus+, KA220-SCH - Cooperation partnerships in school education

    Budget
    264.626 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2021-1-BG01-4KA220-SCH-000032711

    Website
    https://digilead-project.eu

    DigiLEAD aims to upskill the school leaders’ competencies to develop digital transformation strategies and support the teachers and students to improve their digital skills and competencies. Specific Objectives:
    • Support School leaders and staff to develop a digital strategy and their digital skills.
    • Develop school leadership teams’ competencies for leveraging free digital tools and resources for school improvement.
    • Develop a practical toolkit aligned with the DigCompEdu, with practical, step-by-step guides on how to design and deploy a strategy.
    • Help schools to adapt and use the SELFIE and TET-SAT tools to support the digital strategy development.

  • Democratic Dialogue at school: an online game based training tool on Democratic Dialogue for Teachers, (DD@S)

    • Start: 11/2021
    • End: 05/2024

    Participants
    Christiana Karousiou

    Coordinator
    Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts (EhB), Brussels

    Ref.
    Erasmus+, KA220-SCH - Cooperation partnerships in school education

    Budget
    395.917 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2021-1-BE02-KA220-SCH-000032794

    Website
    https://ddasproject.eu/

    The DD@S project believes in the strength of dialogue to tackle intolerance and discrimination at school to stimulate inclusive education all over Europe. Therefore, this project contributes in the professional development of teachers to acquire effective dialogue skills to cope with ethnic, religious and multicultural conflict situations at school. A gamification based online training in democratic dialogue, a toolkit with tools and good practices including content managed system and guide to help teacher teams in developing their own specific training cases, teacher modules and a guide for implementation and policy recommendations will be organized and implemented to tackle this challenge.

  • STEMkey: Teaching standard STEM topics with a key competence approach

    • Start: 09/2020
    • End: 08/2023

    Local Principal Investigator
    Maria Evagorou

    Participants
    Efi Nisiforou

    Coordinator
    University of Education in Freiburg, Germany

    Ref.
    Erasmus+, KA2

    Budget
    450000 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2O2O-I-DEO1.KA2O3.OO5671

    Website
    https://icse.eu/international-projects/stemkey/

    The main purpose of the project is to prepare pre-service teachers to teach STEM related topics with an emphasis on key competences (critical thinking, argumentation, digital skills). The research group will prepare specially designed professional development materials that will be tested with pre-service teachers in partner countries.

  • GEM: Empower Girls to Embrace their Digital and Entrepreneurial Potential

    • Start: 01/2020
    • End: 12/2022

    Local Principal Investigator
    Maria Evagorou

    Coordinator
    University of Education Freiburg

    Ref.
    Pilot Project Horizon 2030/ EU funded

    Budget
    300000 EUR

    Agreement No.
    LC-01380173

    Website
    https://www.girls4stemcyprus.com

    The purpose of this project was to engage girls in STEM activities and enable them to appreciate aspects of STEM and entrepreneurship in which girls usually do not participate in.

  • ENSITE: Environmental Socio-Scientific Issues in Initial Teacher Education

    • Start: 09/2019
    • End: 08/2022

    Local Principal Investigator
    Maria Evagorou

    Coordinator
    University of Education in Freiburg, Germany

    Ref.
    Erasmus+, Strategic Partnership

    Budget
    449738 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2019-1-DE01-KA203-005046

    Website
    https://icse.eu/ensite/

    The project aimed to develop pre-service teachers pedagogical skills to enable them to deal with environmental socioscientific issues.

  • DIALLS: DIalogue and Argumentation for cultural Literacy Learning in Schools

    • Start: 01/2018
    • End: 01/2021

    Local Principal Investigator
    Maria Vrikki

    Participants
    Maria Evagorou

    Coordinator
    Cambridge University, UK

    Ref.
    Horizon 2020/ EU funded

    Budget
    4400000 EUR

    Agreement No.
    770045

    DIALLS was a three-year project working with schools to understand and develop how children and young people make sense of Europe and its differing cultures. Schools in seven countries worked with researchers and teacher educators to develop a Cultural Literacy Learning Programme (CLLP), where young people of all ages learn the skills of ‘dialogue and argumentation‘ to be better able to communicate with each other, understanding each other’s perspectives and exploring the different cultural heritages and values of people who live in Europe.

  • VRnSight: “Boosting Virtual Reality Learning within Higher Business Management Education”

    • Start: 01/2018
    • End: 12/2020

    Participants
    Efi Nisiforou

    Coordinator
    Fachhochschule des Mittelstands FHM

    Ref.
    Erasmus+, KA3 Strategic Partnerships for higher education

    Budget
    292025 EUR

    Website
    https://www.vrinsight.org

    The project VRinSight aims to roll-out Virtual Reality learning in Higher Education and in the teaching of business management across Europe through a partnership between education and industry. The project runs over a 2 year period co-funded by the EU Erasmus+ program. An EU Survey of SMEs & Higher Education Institutes was conducted in an effort to understand the challenges involved in introducing VR learning techniques in business management education. The project will offer a complete VR integration guide to educators through a unique VR Training Program and accompanying VR Training Curriculum. Additionally, the project offers a comprehensive Green Paper on Virtual Reality Teaching & Learning giving educators, business and policy makers across Europe an insight on how VR technology can be embraced.

  • IncluSME: Intercultural learning in STEM (mathematics and science) initial teacher education

    • Start: 01/2016
    • End: 12/2019

    Participants
    Maria Evagorou

    Coordinator
    University of Education in Freiburg, Germany

    Ref.
    ERASMUS +, Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

    Budget
    448195 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2016-DE01-KA201-002910

    Website
    https://icse.eu/international-projects/prior-projects

    IncluSMe (2016-2019) is an Erasmus+ project focussing on intercultural learning in mathematics and science initial teacher education. IncluSMe (Intercultural learning in mathematics and science education) offers a constructive contribution for tackling one of Europe’s greatest challenges: education for an increasing number of refugee and immigrant youth, to integrate them into European educational systems and to provide for stable, socially cohesive societies. The project aims to increase the quality of higher education curricula for prospective maths and science teachers by linking maths and science education with intercultural learning – and thereby strengthening students’ social, civic and intercultural competences. Core to IncluSMe is the design and implementation of open access teaching modules on intercultural learning for prospective maths and science teachers.

  • INCLUSIVE HE: Designing and supporting inclusive practices in Higher Education

    • Start:
    • End:

    Participants
    Christiana Karousiou

    Coordinator
    Åbo Akademi University, Finland

    Ref.
    ERASMUS +1 KA2 - Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices KA203 - Strategic Partnerships for higher education

    Budget
    252660 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2020-1-FI01-KA203-066572

    Website
    https://inclusivehe.eu

    The InclusiveHE project focuses on developing practices that support the inclusion of people with different abilities, diverse ethnic, cultural and migration background in higher education institutions. OBJECTIVES
    • Support higher education providers to design, implement, and monitor effective inclusive policies and practices.
    • Improve the supply of high quality inclusive higher education opportunities for all.
    • Develop and offer a systems approach toolkit for administrators and policymakers.
    • Develop and offer a training course for HEI staff.
    • Offer an online platform and MOOC with gamification characteristics.
    • Raise general awareness concerning inclusive practices that foster inclusion.

  • InterED

    • Start:
    • End:

    Local Principal Investigator
    Maria Vrikki

    Participants
    Evi Konstantinidou

    Ref.
    KA2, Erasmus+

    InterEd is an Erasmus+ KA2 project which aims to integrate a pedagogical methodology for secondary education, utilizing interdisciplinarity and PhenoBL, in order to help students develop transversal skills. In parallel, it aims to develop ready-to-use resources of interdisciplinary teaching for teachers of History, STEAM, Culture & Economics classes. Both aims will be achieved via a number of activities, such as a Virtual Learning Lab, Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Micro-Unit Lesson Plans, roundtables, video podcasts and webinars. Relevant target groups will be engaged in the process of material development.

  • EUVHS

    • Start:
    • End:

    Participants
    Christiana Karousiou

    Coordinator
    Akademie Klausenhof Germany

    Ref.
    ERASMUS + KA2, Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices, KA226 - Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness

    Budget
    268565 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2020-1-DF03-KA226-SCH-093410

    Website
    https://euvirtualschools.eu/

    The aim of EUVHS – A framework for the design and implementation of European Virtual ScHoolS project (co-funded by the Programme Erasmus+ Key Action 2: Strategic Partnership for Schools) is to improve the quality and effectiveness of digital education in European secondary schools contributing to reach a standard level of preparedness and quality in virtual learning as set in the Digital Competence Framework for Educators and to contribute to the European Education Area. EUVHS develops innovative practice and methods for digital education and aims at creating a training course for school leaders, teachers, and students that will equip them with the knowledge and tools to effectively teach and learn through digital education.

  • OnlineHE: A practical toolkit for integrating elearning in Higher Education Curricula

    • Start:
    • End:

    Participants
    Christiana Karousiou

    Coordinator
    University of Pitești, Romania

    Ref.
    ERASMUS + KA2, Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices, KA226 - Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness

    Budget
    183680 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2020-1-RO01-KA226-HE-095434

    Website
    https://onlinehe.eu/

    A shift towards distance learning is evident worldwide, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, educational organisations, including Higher Education (HE) institutions, are asked to face the complexities and challenges emerged, such as the lack of digital skills and strategic planning. To address these issues, a consortium of 7 partners from 6 EU countries, including CARDET from Cyprus and Universitatea din Pitesti from Romania, participate in the project OnlineHE, under the ERASMUS+ KA2 programme of the European Commission. The project, aligned with the European Commission’s initiatives, aims at building the capacity of HE faculty, leaders, and learning designers in integrating eLearning in the design and delivery of courses. By producing valuable resources, such as a useful Toolkit, a training course, a MOOC, and policy recommendations, the project is expected to modernise HE curricula and practices across Europe, improving the quality of teaching and learning online.

  • VRinHE: Integrating Virtual and Augmented Reality in Higher Education Curricula

    • Start:
    • End:

    Local Principal Investigator
    Efi Nisiforou

    Coordinator
    UNIVERSITY OF RUSE ANGEL KANCHEV

    Budget
    259015 EUR

    Agreement No.
    2021-1-BG01-KA220-HED-000032128

    VRinHE aims to build the capacities of HE institutions and their staff, to integrate Virtual and Augmented Reality in teaching and learning, targeting key EU priorities. The project will sustainable promote digital transformation of the HE sector, by providing relevant stakeholders with innovative methods, approaches and guidelines to increase the participation rates, improve the quality of HE, and foster university learners’ digital, 21st century skills. A discussion on the importance of following coherent strategy and policy will also be initiated.

  • DRONE

    • Start:
    • End:

    Local Principal Investigator
    Kyriakos Demetriou

    Participants
    Maria Vrikki, Christiana Karousiou, Efi Nisiforou, Maria Evagorou

    Ref.
    KA2, Erasmus+

    DRONE is an Erasmus+ KA2 research project that emphasises the inadequacy of current one-size-fits-all digital literacy education for teachers and vulnerable adolescents. It proposes a threefold ecosystem approach: examining disinformation spread within digital and human ecosystems, exploring how young people's ecosystem parameters affect their digital literacy, and engaging school leaders and parents to integrate digital literacy into crisis management. The project aims to fill literature gaps, conduct field research, develop training materials, pilot test them, and scale up training across the EU and Ukraine. It seeks individual, organisational, and systemic impact by creating innovative materials, integrating them into curricula, offering policy guidelines, and establishing a network of ambassadors for sustainability. The project is coordinated by the Hellenic Open University and engages partners from Italy, Hungary, Netherlands, Greece, and Cyprus.