News
A Special issue of Heritage is calling for papers on AI Innovation in Cultural Heritage Preservation: Bridging Technology, Image, and Tradition, with the DigiMedia researchers Lídia Oliveira, Ana Carla Amaro and Carmen Silva as Guest Editors, as well as Vittoria Guglielmi.
The deadline for submission is 31st May 2025.
More information here.
The University of Aveiro (UA) will participate in the project “VRChem: Innovative Integration of Virtual Reality in Chemical Engineering Education”, from 2024 to 2027, which is financed by the Polish National Agency of the Erasmus+ Program, within the scope of Action 2 of the Cooperation Partnerships, and coordinated by the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology of the Krakow Technological University, in Poland.
The VRChem project aims to respond to the needs of contemporary education, by stimulating innovative learning and teaching practices, as well as supporting the digital and sustainable transformation of higher education. In this context, Virtual Reality (VR) technology has a significant potential as a tool that students and members of the academic community can use to simulate equipment and processes.
Mário Vairinhos e Rui Raposo, DigiMedia Researchers, and Vera Silva (from the Department of Chemistry and Associated Lab LAQV) are the UA team, part of an international consortium of 5 universities:
• Krakow Technological University (Poland) – Coordination;
• Technological University de Lodz (Poland);
• University of Aveiro (Portugal);
• Polytechnic of Milan (Italy);
• University of Cadiz (Spain).
The UA team, at Digimedia’s XR laboratory, in partnership with the VOXEL Research Lab at the Technical University of Lodz, will be responsible for the creation of the functionalities of the VR platform that will be made available, on an open basis, so anyone can freely explore the materials.
Find out more about this project here.
A special issue of Information (ISSN 2078-2489) is calling for papers on “Artificial Intelligence“.
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30th June 2025
More information here.
João Batista is one of the authors of the recently published article “Generative AI and Higher Education: Trends, Challenges, and Future Directions from a Systematic Literature Review” in the Information, in open access.
The article can be read here.
Francisco Regalado, a PhD student at DigiMedia, was a finalist and received an honourable mention in the Innovation in Longevity Award, during the 1st International Congress Innovation for Longevity, held at the Fundão Business Centre on October 18 and 19, 2024.
Francisco, a PhD student from the Doctoral Program in Information and Communication in Digital Platforms at the University of Aveiro, competed for the prize in the Prototype category, with the project “Social Digital Games in the miOne Online Community: The Impact on Older Adults’ Digital Competences”. The selection process identified three finalists per category, who were submitted to a new assessment after the presentation of the projects at the Congress.
In particular, it concerns a digital game prototype that has been co-designed and developed as part of the aforementioned PhD project, under the scientific supervision of Professor Ana Isabel Veloso and co-supervision of Professor Carlos Santos.
This recognition emphasizes the research carried out at DigiMedia, crossing the areas of active and healthy ageing and digital technologies, reinforcing the innovation of the products developed.
On October 18th, the Aveiro Media Competence Center (AMCC), in collaboration with the Aveiro
Science and Innovation Park, the Portuguese Press Association, and the University of Aveiro,
launched a new game – Data Defenders – that aims to help young people (from age 11 to 16) to
better understand and evaluate the media they consume. With fun gameplay and a unique story, the
game focuses on media literacy and the way social media influences our understanding of events.
Data Defenders is a tower defense game where players can step into roles like politicians, journalists,
scientists, or influencers. The game introduces young players to media-related challenges and
teaches them to spot credible information.
In Data Defenders, players protect global data servers from an alien invasion during a pandemic,
where AI-powered alien robots try to spread misinformation. Players must think strategically to defend
the servers. This setup introduces young players to the importance of trusted sources.
Besides this, the game combines a fun mix of learning and competition, allowing players to make
critical decisions and analyze media credibility through its Data Analyzer tool. Another feature,
the Crisis Impact, brings urgency by highlighting the spread of misinformation, encouraging players to
stay alert while developing media literacy skills.
This project is part of YO-MEDIA, a European initiative born out of recent events, like political and
health crises, which have flooded the media with mixed messages. These experiences showed the
need for young people to develop skills to better understand what they read and see online. YOMEDIA,
aims to give educators, journalists, and young people tools to recognize reliable sources and
spot misinformation.
Led by the University of Aveiro, with scientific support from Professor Nelson Zagalo at DigiMedia,
the Data Defenders game will be available free on October 18th on the YO-MEDIA project’s site
(https://yomedia.a-mcc.eu/) and on the AMCC website. It’s a valuable resource for educators,
journalists, and anyone interested in media literacy, designed to be used in schools and other learning
spaces.
Carla Leite, a DigiMedia PhD student, gave the talk “A vida académica são dois dias, e a vida profissional são três”, at the PCI – Creative Science Park, in Ílhavo, as part of an event organized by the Geek Girls Portugal.
Carla talked about the time she lived in Finland during her Doctorate, the challenges, the difficulties and advantages of what she considers a successful stay at Turku University. This stay in Finland was an opportunity to discover different mindsets at the Research Unit, to explore what is considered the best education system in the world and to create new relationships there.
More information on social networks here:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/hFSkrXbSGW3NWB5u/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/DA3uno0BVA7/?igsh=aW0yanM1NzNtbncw
The article Artificial Intelligence at the Interface between Cultural Heritage and Photography: A Systematic Literature Review, has recently been published by Lídia Oliveira, member of the Scientific Comittee of DigiMedia, and Carmen Silva, a Visiting researcher at DigiMedia.
The article is published in the Journal Heritage, a Q1 in Arts and Humanities, indexed to Scopus.
The article can be read here.
Catarina Feio and Lídia Oliveira published the article “News consumption and political participation of young people in new media – a narrative literature review” in The Communication Review, a Q1 Communication journal.
The article can be read here.
“Navigating News in the Digital Age: Exploring Content Trends and Youth Engagement Tactics” is the title of the 8th Booklet edited by DigitalOBS, which explores digital news consumption trends, analyzing content from eight major newspapers across social media platforms. It investigates how media outlets adapt to changing consumer behaviors, particularly among younger audiences. Using an analysis grid, the research identifies key trends in news content shared on various digital platforms.
The findings emphasize the importance of tailoring content to platform-specific features and audience preferences. The study also highlights the need for engaging communication strategies to enhance news visibility and maintain journalism’s relevance in today’s digital, personalized media landscape.
This booklet can be accessed here.
The ‘Data Defenders’ game, developed under the Yo-media project, was presented at Aveiro TechDay by project members Ana Paços, Laura Martins, Frederico Proença, Liliana Costa, Maria Antunes, and Oksana Tymoshchuk. This game aims to promote media literacy among young people during crises, such as political, military, or health-related adversity times. The game has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both young people and their parents.
The UAInclusive team conducted the workshop “Digital Technologies for Promoting Inclusive Education”, on October 18, 2024.
The workshop aimed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to create more accessible and inclusive educational experiences using digital technologies. PhD students in Education from the University of Aveiro attended the workshop, exploring the practical application of various assistive technologies in their research and teaching practices.
This workshop aligns with the UAInclusive’s commitment to promoting inclusive education and harnessing technology to enhance learning outcomes for all students, regardless of their abilities or backgrounds.
