Invited Speakers
Prof. Rustam Shadiev
Zhejiang University, China
Prof. Rustam Shadiev is a Tenured
Professor at the College of Education, Zhejiang
University, Hangzhou, China, specializing in
advanced learning technologies for language
learning and cross-cultural education. He earned
his Ph.D. in Network Learning Technology from
National Central University in 2012. Prof.
Shadiev is a Fellow of the British Computer
Society (BCS), a Senior Member of the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE),
and a member of the Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM). He also serves as a Graduate
Faculty Scholar in the College of Graduate
Studies at the University of Central Florida,
USA.
In 2019, Prof. Shadiev was honored with the
title of Distinguished Professor of Jiangsu
Province, China. He has published over 200
academic studies, with more than half appearing
in journals indexed by the Social Sciences
Citation Index. Additionally, he has been
recognized as one of the most cited Chinese
researchers in the field of education by
Elsevier, Scopus, and Shanghai Ranking for four
consecutive years, from 2020 to 2023.
Prof. Shadiev serves on the Editorial Board of
several prestigious journals, including the
Journal of Educational Technology & Society, the
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, and Smart
Learning Environments. He also guest edits
special issues for various esteemed journals,
such as the Journal of Educational Technology &
Society, Sustainability, and Frontiers in
Psychology.
Assoc. Prof. Celina da Silva
York University, Canada
Celina da Silva, MN/ Collaborative Bioethics,
PhD holds the position of Associate Professor at
York University in Toronto, Canada. Her research
is centered around virtual serious games (VSGs)
and virtual reality. She has received grants
from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council (SSHRC) of Canada and eCampus Ontario to
support her work in this area including a recent
SSHRC grant received in 2024.
Dr. da Silva’s recent study, backed by SSHRC
funding focuses on developing open-access VSGs
tailored for International Educated Nurses
(IENs). She is collaborating with IENs using a
co-design approach and leveraging the Morai
open-access framework to create culturally
relevant VSGs. These immersive virtual
experiences aim to tackle the challenges faced
by IENs as they transition into the Canadian
healthcare system. Additionally she has
partnered with research teams to explore the
transitional needs of post-secondary students
and mid-career workers with disabilities. The
objective of these initiatives is to develop
engaging digital tools customized for the unique
needs of marginalized communities, through a
person-centered approach.
Leveraging her multifaceted expertise in game
design, virtual reality, and community-engaged
scholarship, Dr. da Silva occupies a pivotal
role in harnessing the power of transformative
digital tools for positive social impact. Her
innovative projects aim to enhance learning,
wellbeing, and accessibility in the virtual
world by centering the “lived experiences” of
end-users and prioritizing social good.
Prof. Fahriye Altinay
Near East University, Cyprus
Prof. Dr. Fahriye Altinay
graduated from the Faculty of Communication. She
completed her master degree in educational
technology in the field of educational sciences,
in the field of distance education. She
completed his master's thesis subject as the
subject of "communication barriers in distance
education". In 2008, she graduated from the Near
East University PhD program in Educational
Management. The doctoral dissertation subject is
referred to as the adaptation of learning
organizations and distance education
institutions. Later, she completed his doctorate
program in Education Technologies at Middlesex
University in 2010. In her doctoral
dissertation, she focused on the subject of
interaction in distance education, and worked on
how student and teacher participation can be
achieved in the learning and teaching process.
In the field of educational technologies,
especially in the field of distance education,
since 2002, she has been carrying out academic
studies in this field within the framework of
international cooperation by sharing scientific
studies with the academic world. She has over
1000 citations. Prof. Dr. Fahriye Altınay, since
2002, has been teaching undergraduate courses
such as school experience in the field of
Educational Sciences, instructional technologies
and material design, classroom management,
ethics and ethics in education, social
responsibility, scientific research methods, she
teaches postgraduate courses such as project
management, education management, contemporary
education supervision, society, culture and
education.
Full-time faculty member at Near East
University, Prof. Dr. Fahriye Altinay works
scientifically and administratively on issues
such as higher education board, multicultural,
quality studies, strategic planning, unimpeded
informatics, and smart society. Prof. Dr.
Fahriye Altınay is the Vice Director of the
Graduate Education Institute, the Chair of the
Center for Social Research and Development, and
the head of the Education Entrepreneurship and
Innovation department and Computer Education and
Instructional Technologies. He also works as an
editor and referee in international journals and
books. Currently, she has been editor of books
on online learning pedagogy and management,
narratives in online education.
Current scientific studies; Developing critical
friends and skills online with international
perspectives and practices, participation in
online learning, online learning readiness of
higher education institutions, education and
distance education practices of disabled
individuals in the pandemic period, open
education resources, MOOCs, barrier-free tourism
and education. The current projects she has been
working on are the national database on the
disabled, inclusive education practices,
entrepreneurship, community analysis in the
pandemic period.
Co-Presenter: Zehra Altınay gained a master degree in the field of Educational Technology, Distance Education in Educational Sciences. Further to this, she completed PhD degree in Educational Administration and Management at Near East University. Then, she completed another doctorate programme in the field of Educational Technology at Middlesex University. She became a full time lecturer at Near East University. Zehra Altınay is Vice Director, Institute of Educational Sciences. She is also board member of Distance Education Center. Further to this, Prof. Dr. Zehra Altınay is the Director of Societal Research and Development Center. Zehra Altınay has national academic content book published by reputable publishing houses. Further to this, she has international academic content books. In addition, she has articles which were indexed at Social Sciences Index (SSCI), international book chapters and international articles that were indexed at the Educational field indexes (British Education Index, ERIC, Science Direct, Scopus, etc.). She has editorial role in respected journals and she is the reviewer over ten (10) journals. She is the member of E-learning Association, Association of Educational Communication and Technology, Global Universities in Distance Education Association, etc.
More speakers will be updated soon...