Bárbara Cleto, a PhD student in Multimedia in Education, and a DigiMedia researcher, participated in the 24th annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference (IDC), which took place between 23rd and 26th June 2025, at Reykjavík University, in Iceland. As part of the doctoral consortium presentations, Bárbara presented the article ‘Planning a study on the co-creation and personalization of Immersive Web Environments by teachers and students’, which is available here. The main goal of this research is to investigate the impact of co-creation and personalization on students’ metacognition in immersive web environments (IWE). This work is supervised by Professor Mário Vairinhos and Professor Carlos Santos.
Project n. 13 – Inteligência Artificial Responsável: ética, transparência e impactos sociais / Responsible AI: ethics, transparency and social impacts
About the project
AI’s rapid advancement presents ethical challenges related to bias, privacy, job displacement, and security, particularly as AI systems become increasingly integral to healthcare, finance, and public safety. This project, conducted at DigitalOBS with Students@Digimedia, evaluates the alignment of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot with ethical principles and social responsibility.
The study was conducted in four main phases: i) Review of international ethical guidelines; ii) Analysis of platforms’ standards implementation; iii) 12-question ethical assessment of each platform; iv) Evaluation using Chatbot Framework examining coherence, utility, complexity, ethics, and credibility. While these platforms demonstrate progress in implementing ethical guidelines, compliance levels vary. Gaps remain in handling sensitive topics, such as electoral guidance, highlighting the need for stronger regulations. Platforms must strike a balance between addressing weaknesses and maintaining strengths to serve society effectively.
Participants
This project is coordinated by Oksana Tymoshchuk (DigiMedia researcher), with the participation of:
Lídia Oliveira (DigiMedia researcher) José Nunes (DigiMedia researcher) Mónica Silva (DigiMedia researcher) Beatriz Ponte (Biology) Sofia Cruz (Multimedia and Communication Technologies) Soraia Oliveira (Multimedia and Communication Technologies)
Project n. 15 – Design an accessible flyer to support people with disabilities
About the project
This project aims to develop two accessible and informative flyers with the aim of promoting inclusion and awareness about disability and incapacity. It aims to support people with disabilities, their families, caregivers and professionals, and the community in general, by providing clear information about the different types of disability, technological resources, support services and inclusion strategies available in the country and at the University of Aveiro. It also aims to foster a culture of equal opportunities and active participation in society.
Participants
This project is coordinated by Francisca Lourenço (PhD student), with the participation of:
Rita Oliveira (DigiMedia researcher) Oksana Tymoshchuk (DigiMedia researcher) Anda-Elena Covaci (1st cycle degree in Multimedia and Communication Technologies) Mariana Veiga (Master in Communication and Web Technologies)
What do you expect from participating in the initiative?
“I hope to give visibility to the community of people with disabilities, acquire useful tools and knowledge for my academic life, and contribute to inclusion through a practical and impactful project” (Mariana)
“May this initiative bring more autonomy where it makes all the difference” (Anda-Elena Covaci)
Project n. 6 – WebPage to insert data collected from Immersive Web Environment
About the project
The aim of this project is to develop a web page to publish a video analysis model for Immersive Web Environments (IWE). This model emerged from the analysis of videos of 12th grade students in the science and technology course, who carried out an immersive experience in a Portuguese language class, in an AWI about José Saramago, available at: https://framevr.io/josesaramago. The students, represented by avatars, carried out activities for 70 minutes in this AWI, about the life and work of the writer and Nobel Prize winner in Portuguese Literature. This experience was recorded in 46 videos of approximately one hour. A data repository was developed in Microsoft Access and it was decided to develop a web page to disseminate the video analysis model for AWI, in which all researchers have access to complete information about the video analysis model, viewing of stored data and videos.
Participants
This project is coordinated by Maria de Jesus Ferreira (PhD student), with the participation of:
Beatriz Pinho (Industrial Engineering and Management) Gabriel Azevedo (Multimedia and Communication Technologies)
What do you expect from participating in the initiative?
“Collaboration between students from different areas and backgrounds strengthening our knowledge and research” (Maria Ferreira)
Francisco Regalado, a PhD student in Information and Communication in Digital Platforms at DigiMedia, DeCA, UA, participated in the ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences (IMX 2025), held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 3 to 6, 2025.
During the conference, Francisco presented his full paper, “Co-creating with Older Adults is a Challenging Task! Lessons Learned from Real-Life Experiences and Challenges at an Ageing Lab” — available at https://doi.org/10.1145/3706370.3727865. The paper was co-authored with professors Ana Isabel Veloso and Carlos Santos.
The research explores a key part of Francisco’s thesis, based on insights gained through a series of activities conducted with older adults at the Laboratório do Envelhecimento (Ageing Lab). Based on these real-life experiences, the study presents a set of practical recommendations for effectively conducting co-design sessions with older participants.
Project n. 3 – Let’s talk about students@Digimedia#04
About the project
This project aims to gather and consolidate data and analyze results from the current cycle of students@Digimedia, identifying successes achieved and opportunities. The team is developing a framework of good practices based on their previous experience, and establishing guidelines and processes that ensure the continuity and evolution of the next editions of this initiative.
Participants
This project is coordinated by Raquel Magalhães Cabral (PhD student), with the participation of:
Gabriel Ribeira (MCTW / Campus-Digimedia) Rita Gomes Programa Doutoral em Novos Media Mariana Coronha (DigiMedia)
What do you expect from participating in the initiative?
“As we reflect on this journey, we realize how much the event has grown in its organization and the importance of this educational program for our entire community. As a group, we have noticed the importance of mixing our different experiences, which create a valuable networking for our careers. In the end, we see this project as a learning experience”.
Beatriz Vieite, a PhD student in New Media and researcher at DigiMedia and at CESAM, attended the PCST 2025 Conference in Aberdeen, Scotland (UK) from 27th to 29th May 2025. The conference is promoted by the Public Communication of Technology Network (PCST) and this year was organized by the University of Aberdeen.
Beatriz presented a poster and a 3-minute talk on Portuguese biological collections and their potential for science communication. This study mapped the existing natural history museums and biological collections in Portugal, as well as the challenges and opportunities from science communication and public engagement of science, according to museums and collections staff (curators, managers, museum educators).
This work is part of Beatriz’s PhD thesis, supervised by Pedro Beça (DigiMedia/DeCA), Ascensão Ravara (CESAM/DBio) and Marina R. Cunha (DBio).
Project n. 11 – Mapping the Landscape of Women’s Digital Health Literacy Interventions
About the project
The team is currently updating a systematic review focused on women’s digital health literacy interventions, comprehensively mapping how digital health tools and interventions are -directly or indirectly- supporting women’s health and ehealth knowledge and decision-making globally. This project serves dual purposes: it is a critical component of the lead researcher’s doctoral dissertation while also addressing an important gap in the published literature. Their goal is to produce two scholarly publications: a detailed review protocol paper outlining their methodological approach, and a comprehensive scoping review that synthesizes current evidence and identifies emerging trends.
Through this work, they aim to inform the development of more effective and accessible digital health literacy interventions that empower women in their health journeys. They are grateful for the opportunity that the students@digimedia initiative provides in fostering cross-level academic collaboration while advancing meaningful research.
Participants
This project is coordinated by Jennifer Bueno-Rocha (PhD Student), Dalila Martins (PhD Student) and Jo Matos (BSc. Biotechnology).
What do you expect from participating in the initiative?
“I hope to expand knowledge and drive discoveries in this area of research” (Jo)
“I hope to contribute my experience and learn new approaches that are useful for research” (Dalila)
“To create a space for the collective development of new research skills while contributing to the area of women’s health research” (Jennifer)
Project n. 14 – Comunicação Audiovisual do Projeto de Investigação AlmeidAR / Audiovisual Communication of the Research Project AlmeidAR
This project is coordinated by Cátia Silva, a DigiMedia PhD student, with the participation of Inês Barbosa (Master’s student in Design), Constança Parracho and Leonor Rodrigues (students in Multimedia and Communication Technologies).
The project’s research team is producing a video about the AlmeidAR application, aiming to make it accessible and engaging to a broad audience, thereby contributing to the demystification of science communication in scientific research projects.
What do they expect from participating in the initiative?
“To deepen my knowledge of scientific communication, based on the prototype developed during my doctorate, collaborating with undergraduate students with different perspectives” (Cátia Silva).
“I hope to deepen my audiovisual knowledge, establishing a deeper connection with research and autonomous work incorporated in the area of Communication Sciences and Technologies” (Leonor Rodrigues).
“I hope to apply the knowledge I acquired throughout the course in practical and collaborative contexts, while developing my technical and creative skills” (Constança Parracho).
Sofia Almeida, a PhD student in New Media and researcher at DigiMedia and at Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), presented her latest study at the 18th Global Brand Conference (GBC), which took place at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa – Porto, from 7th to 9th May 2025.
Sofia presented the paper “Designers’ Perspectives of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Visual Identities and Contemporary Branding”, which pioneers how design professionals are integrating Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) into the creation of visual brand identities. The research discusses the impacts of this technology on creative processes, co-creation practices and brand personalization, contributing to emerging debates on the future of design practice in AI-mediated contexts. This work is part of Sofia’s PhD project, supervised by Catarina Lélis (DeCA) and Diogo Gomes (DETI, IT).
GBC is recognized as one of the world’s leading meetings of the scientific community dedicated to branding, bringing together experts, academics and internationally renowned researchers. The acceptance of this study at a prestigious international event such as GBC represents an important academic and scientific recognition of the current status and relevance of the research developed within DigiMedia and IT.
