UNIC hosts international conference on virtual labs in biology education

The University of Nicosia hosted the international conference “Transforming the Future of Biology Education Through Virtual Labs” on October 30, 2025, bringing together educators, policymakers, and technology experts from 15 countries.

The hybrid event featured presentations, workshops, and demonstrations of virtual laboratory platforms for biology education. Participants included representatives from universities, secondary schools, education ministries, and technology companies across Europe.

The conference showcased the VHEalthLab program, a two-year EU-funded Erasmus+ initiative creating open-access virtual labs for STEM education. “Virtual labs represent a transformative opportunity to bridge educational gaps and provide equitable access to high-quality biology education across Europe,” said Dr. Stella Nicolaou, VHEalthLab Program Coordinator and Associate Professor of Immunology at the University of Nicosia. “Today’s conference demonstrates the collaborative spirit needed to revolutionize how we teach and learn biology.”

Morning presentations covered approaches to biology education, including Dr. Persoulla Nicolaou’s discussion of the Common Biology Curriculum for Europe and Dr. Eleni Dafli from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki’s presentation on virtual patient education using OpenLabyrinth.

Dr. Panayiota Mylona, Inspector of Biology for the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth discussed implementing open-access virtual labs in secondary schools, emphasizing the importance of making advanced educational technology accessible to all students.

The afternoon session focused on practical applications. Dr. Blanca Puig and Aurea Cadarso from Universidade de Santiago de Compostela presented strategies for inquiry-based learning with virtual labs both inside and outside the classroom. Dr Gabriel Lazar from demonstrated the VHEalthLab platform.

The conference concluded with a hands-on workshop by Dr. Mary Halebian (University of Nicosia), Aurea Cadarso, and Christos Maratheftis (Cyprus Ministry of Education).

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For more information about the VHEalthLab project, including virtual lab previews and project milestones, visit the newsletter page at www.vhealthlab.eu/newsletter

About VHEalthLab

The VHEalthLab program is funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships in Higher Education initiative (Project number: 2023-1-CY01-KA220-HED-000166031). The program’s main objective is to create high-quality, open-access virtual labs that align with STEM curricula and supplement traditional lab work, advancing virtual learning tools across health science education.

Website: www.vhealthlab.eu
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The VHEalthLab program is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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