Workshop Open Education & Science Practices 2026
13th edition
Friday, March 6, 2026, 10:00 - 15:00 EET (9:00 - 14:00 CET) | Hybrid
The event will be held in a hybrid format and participants can opt for ONLINE registration, via Zoom or physically, in the K1 Room – UPT Conference Center.
The 13th edition of the International Open Education & Science Practices Workshop is organized on Friday, March 6, 2026, by The Politehnica University of Timișoara, through the Digital and Distance Education Department, together with European Universities Alliance E³UDRES² and Accelerate Future HEI, with the support of IEEE Romania, within the Open Education Week 2026, supported by Open Education Global, in room K1, Conference Center of Politehnica University Timișoara (Vasile Pârvan Boulevard, no. 2 B, next to the UPT Central Library) and online.
Highlights
- Captivating presentations from international experts
- Interactive discussions and networking opportunities
- Key insights on integrating open science into university practices
- Introduction to projects E³UDRES² partners and Accelerate Future HEI
- Updates on European Open Science
- National and institutional perspectives on science and open access
- Demonstrations of open digital scientific tools
- Exploring open pedagogies, emerging technologies, and generative AI
Under the theme "Digital and emerging technologies in education and science”", the presentations will focus on how open science and open educational resources are applied in everyday life, especially in the context of universities, research projects, but also education in general. An emphasis will be placed on the response of educational and research systems to the challenges of emerging technologies of artificial intelligence, virtual reality and blockchain.
The workshop aims to bring together international speakers, preparing interactive sessions and discussions and is addressed to teachers, students, as well as actors in the field of education and training, IT trainers or human resources departments.
Participation is free, and attendees can choose between physical attendance at the UPT Conference Center or online participation. Participants will receive Open Education Workshop Participant Open Badges online and Certificates of Participation for physical attendance.
Jesus Alcober | ON-SITE
UNITE! European University Alliance, aUPaEU (Agora of acceleration services for Higher Education Institution), Alteraid SL
Jesus Alcober is a technology expert, holding a PhD and a Telecommunications Engineer degree. He currently works as a tenured professor in the Department of Telematics Engineering at the Political Science University of Catalonia (UPC), carrying out his teaching and research activities at the School of Telecommunications and Aerospace Engineering of Castelldefels (EETAC) and at the Institute of Educational Sciences.
His academic career is closely linked to innovation, being an active member of the BAMPLA research groups, where he focuses on broadband network design, and AGROTECH-UPC, a center dedicated to agri-food technology within the TECNIO network. He also collaborates with the i2CAT foundation in the development of the Internet of the Future and advanced communication services.
His extensive expertise covers essential areas such as audio-video systems, telematics and social networks, but Jesus Alcober particularly stands out for his contributions in the mHealth sector. He promotes patient-centered systems and digital solutions aimed at increasing user engagement and empowerment in modern healthcare systems.
Diana Andone | On-site
Director of the ID/IFR and Digital Education Department
Dr. Diana Andone is Director of the Department of Digital Education and Distance Education at Politehnica University Timișoara, coordinating the strategy and implementation of digital education and through the UPT Virtual Campus. Associate Professor in Multimedia and Web Technologies, she has extensive international research activity, with over 17 books, 150 scientific papers, 12 "Best Paper" awards and editorial roles in IEEE journals. She is an invited speaker at numerous conferences and has led over 30 international research and education projects. She is a member of the IEEE Education Society Board (2021-2023), Vice President of IEEE EdSoc (2024-2027), former Vice President of EDEN (2018-2021) and member of the EUA Digital Transformation Committee. She has received the EDEN Senior Fellow, IEEE Distinguished Chapter Leadership and IEEE Distinguished Lecturer distinctions, as well as various national distinctions for digital transformation. Promotes open education, OER and MOOCs through the UniCampus platform, as well as the responsible use of generative artificial intelligence in education.
Radu Vasiu | On-site
University professor, PhD engineer
Ro: Prof.Em.univ.dr.ing. Radu Vasiu is the former President of the Senate of Politehnica University Timișoara and the Director of the Multimedia Research Center. He is also a professor at the Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies of Politehnica University Timișoara. His recent research focuses on e-learning, multimedia, web technologies, open data and smart cities. He has published 12 books and presented over 100 papers at various international conferences. He has participated in 28 international research and cooperation projects and is part of 7 international professional associations.
Andrei Ternauciuc | PHYSICS
Developer and responsible for UPT Virtual Campus
Andrei Ternauciuc is Head of Works at the Department of Communications of the Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology. He teaches courses and supports practical activities with students in a variety of fields, including educational and information technology, online platforms and telecommunications equipment testing. He successfully defended his PhD in 2011 with a thesis in the field of educational web platforms and open-source platforms, eLearning technologies being among his core professional interests, along with modern internet technologies. He was responsible for UPT as a partner in 3 European projects and participated as a member of research and development teams in a series of national and international projects, with partners from academia and industry. He is also the head of the administration and development team of the UPT Virtual Campus, the e-Learning platform of Politehnica University of Timisoara. His research interests include e-learning, Open-source software and virtual laboratories. His publication list includes over 50 papers presented at various international conferences or published in scientific journals. He has almost 20 years of experience working with learning management systems and has contributed to the design and implementation of various e-learning platforms, including ViCaDiS - Virtual Campus for Digital Students, CVUPT, UniCampus.ro, OpenVM and many others.
Carmen Holotescu | On-site
Rector of the "Ioan Slavici" University of Timișoara
Carmen Holotescu is a professor, rector of the "Ioan Slavici" University in Timisoara, with a PhD in new technologies and open education. She has participated in many European projects and has extensive experience in the design and implementation of learning and collaborative platforms based on open pedagogies. She has written over 100 articles and chapters/books related to eLearning/Blended Learning, Social Media, Open Educational Resources (OER), Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), Blockchain, mentioned in over 2,500 citations. She is a certified online instructor of the University of Maryland University College, USA, facilitating online courses at this university for 12 years.
Silviu Vert | PHYSICS
he Politehnica University of Timișoara, Romania (UPT)
Assoc. Prof. Silviu Vert is an associate professor in the Department of Communications of the Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies, Politehnica University Timișoara. He has experience in supporting applied activities with students, in areas including object-oriented programming, multimedia technologies, as well as other modern information technologies. He obtained his PhD in 2015, and his professional interests include open data, augmented reality technologies and smart cities.
Vlad Mihăescu | PHYSICS
Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Vice-President of the Senate, Politehnica University of Timișoara, Romania, EDEN DLE Board Member
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Vlad Mihăescu has a PhD in educational and technological MOOCs models and has over 20 years of experience as a trainer in areas such as multimedia technologies, social media, e-tourism, e-learning, usability, programming, soft skills, leadership, entrepreneurship and project management. Author of over 50 scientific papers and book chapters published at international conferences and journals, Vlad is involved in several national and European research projects in the field of eLearning, digital culture, entrepreneurship, innovation and technology transfer. He is also an associate professor at Politehnica University Timișoara, associated with disciplines in the area of web technologies, digital services and digital entrepreneurship. For over 15 years, Vlad has been part of the technical support team of the UPT Virtual Campus (Moodle). Since 2020, Vlad has been a member of the NAP (Network of Academics and Professionals) of EDEN, holding the position of President of the Coordination Committee for the period 2020-2023. He was an ex officio member of the Executive Board of EDEN UK during the period 2020-2022, then elected as a member of the Management Board of EDEN DLE since 2022. Vlad was also the director of the Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer at UPT (2021-2024) and is currently the vice president of the UPT Senate.
Mark Frydenberg | ONLINE
Bentley University in the USA
Mark Frydenberg is a lecturer at Bentley University in the United States, a successful author of the Cengage Learning book series. Mark's professional interests include the use of technology in education. He is the Director of the CIS Learning and Technology Sandbox (http://cis.bentley.edu/sandbox) and is a frequent speaker at web 2.0 technology conferences.
Gabriela Grosseck | ON-SITE
West University of Timisoara
Dr. Gabriela Grosseck is a university associate professor in the Department of Psychology of the West University of Timișoara, Romania. With a large experience in the use of ICT in education (teaching, learning and research), she is particularly concerned with the training of students and teachers, both in face-to-face and online environments. For over a decade she has been editor-in-chief of the Journal of Social Informatics in Romania. Author of numerous articles in the field of e-learning she has a sustained presence as a speaker at different international events, organizer of workshops or member of different editorial committees (journals and/or conferences). Her research interests cover the main aspects of open education (OERs / OEPs and MOOCs), Web 2.0 tools and social media applications in higher education and, more recently, the digital literacy area.
Muguras Daniel Mocofan | PHYSICS
he Politehnica University of Timișoara, Romania (UPT)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Muguraș Daniel Mocofan obtained his PhD in Electronic and Telecommunications Engineering from the Politehnica University of Timișoara in 2003. His research interests are in the field of multimedia databases, image processing, dynamic textures, smart cities, mobile applications, e-learning, multimedia and web technologies.
Marina Marchisio | ONLINE
University of Turin
Marina Marchisio is Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Turin and Rector's Delegate for the Development and Promotion of the University's Digital Education Strategies. Her research focuses on digital education, in particular on the learning and teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects using digital methodologies and innovative technologies. She coordinates the DELTA (Digital Education for Learning and Teaching Advances) research group at the University of Turin. She is a member of the Working Group for Problem Formulation and Solving within the Italian Ministry of Education, which involves over 800 secondary schools, 2000 teachers and 30000 students across Italy. She is the President of SUISS and the coordinator of a PhD program in Strategic Sciences, coordinating several research and teaching projects. She has organized numerous conferences and is the author of several publications on digital education.
Diane Popa | Online
"Florin Fleșeriu" High School with Sports Program in Sebeș
Popa Diane is active in the field of education and European cooperation at the „Florin Fleșeriu” High School with Sports Program in Sebeș, Romania, where she contributes to the development and implementation of Erasmus+ projects focused on pedagogical innovation, digital transformation and international collaboration. Her professional activity focuses on promoting the principles of open education and open science in the school environment by integrating open educational resources (OER), collaborative digital tools and project-based learning approaches. She is involved in the KA120, KA122 and KA220 initiatives, supporting the development of proposals, the coordination of educational activities and the open dissemination of project results.
Angela Nistor | Online
Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara
Dr. Angela Nistor is a PhD student at the West University of Timisoara, Faculty of Sociology and Psychology, field of Social Work. She works in the field of medical social work, with an interest in integrating social intervention into emergency medical services and assessing the needs of vulnerable people, especially the elderly. She has participated in specialization courses, workshops and national and international conferences, contributing to the development of interdisciplinary practices and values-centered intervention in social work.
Diana Szekely | Physical
Timisoara Polytechnic University
Diana Szekely is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Politehnica University of Timisoara. Her research focuses on the role of emotional design in optimizing user experience (UI/UX) and digital interfaces, exploring how emotion-based design principles can improve usability, engagement and quality of interaction in digital environments. Having started her career in development before moving to design, Diana combines technical knowledge and user-centered thinking in her work. She currently works as a UI/UX designer on several digital projects, with her academic and professional interests focused on optimizing digital interfaces, user psychology and the interaction between technology and human behavior.
UPT Conference Center
It is located on Vasile Pârvan Boulevard no. 2 B, right next to the UPT Central Library.
The OPen Education & Research Practices workshop will be organized in K1 Amphitheater.
The K1 amphitheater has:
- 89 seats for the public;
- 4 seats in the presidium;
- 16:9 video projection system (projector + projection screen);
- sound system (4 microphones for the presidium, 2 mobile microphones, 2 lavaliers);
Timisoara
We are delighted to host you this spring in the heart of Timisoara. Also known as “Little Vienna”, Timisoara – a city with a rich history and impressive architecture. We invite you to discover its vibrant squares and the multitude of green parks:
- Visit Union Square – This is the central square of Timisoara and a great place to start exploring the city. The Union Square (Domplatz) was unusually large compared to the size of the fortress, which served to highlight the baroque appearance of this space.
- Brück Palace (located in Union Square) – On the southern side of the Union Square, in the immediate vicinity of the Baroque Palace, is one of the most recognizable buildings in Timisoara – the Salamon Brück Palace. Built according to the plans of the Timisoara architect László Székely, in the Secession style, the palace was completed in the summer of 1911.
- National Theatre and Opera (Union Square) – The building was built between 1872 and 1875 in the intra muros area of the fortress, according to the plans of architects Ferdinand Fellner Jr. and Hermann Helmer, in a historic eclectic style.
- Maria Theresa Bastion –, also known as the "Fortress Bastion", is the largest surviving part of the former citadel of Timișoara. Inside it is also National Museum of Banat.
- Explore the Rose Park – Formerly called the Rose Park, Rosarium, Ștefan Plavăț Culture and Recreation Park, it is one of the parks in Timișoara, located in the Cetate neighborhood.
- Orthodox Cathedral "Holy Three Hierarchs" – The Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral impresses both by its size and by the artistic value of the monument, combining elements of Byzantine architecture with those of old Romanian architecture.
- Bega Canal – enjoy a “cruise” on the Bega River by vaporetto. The canal runs through the entire city, connecting neighborhoods and historic areas.
>>> Discover more places to visit in Timisoara on the official page Spotlight Heritage Timisoara
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