Keynote Speakers on Intelligent Applications

Professor Jean Larson

Research Associate Professor
School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Associate Director of Instructional Effectiveness and Innovation
Learning and Teaching Hub, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
Arizona State University, Tempe, U.S.A.

Short CV:
Jean S. Larson, Ph.D., is a Research Associate Professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, and Associate Director of Instructional Effectiveness and Innovation in the Learning and Teaching Hub, both within the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Technology and has postgraduate training in Computer Systems Engineering, along with extensive experience in teaching and curriculum development across a range of learning environments. Dr. Larson has taught K-12 students locally and internationally, prepared pre-service teachers and university faculty to integrate technology into their instruction, and delivered professional development for business and industry partners. Her expertise includes instructional design, delivery, and evaluation, with specialization in eLearning technologies for workforce training and development. Her research centers on pedagogical innovation, systems-level curriculum and program design, interdisciplinary collaboration, and strengthening the global engineering workforce through AI- and technology-enabled education. She recently presented her work through the IEEE Education Society Seminar Series.

Title:
Redesigning Education for the AI Era: A Systems Engineering Imperative

Abstract:
Artificial intelligence is advancing at an exponential pace, reshaping industries, economies, and the nature of work. Education, however, continues to evolve incrementally, largely within an industrial-age framework defined by standardized curricula, credit hours, and lecture-centered instruction. The widening gap between exponential technological innovation and linear educational reform is increasingly unsustainable. Examining this divergence through a systems engineering lens highlights how educational institutions once adapted to technological transformation and why they must do so again. During the Industrial Revolution, emerging technologies redefined workforce requirements, and the Prussian model of mass education arose as a scalable, standardized response to new societal demands. Education successfully aligned with technological change once before. Today, higher education represents a legacy system operating under constraints misaligned with rapidly evolving AI-driven ecosystems. Education must therefore be reimagined as an adaptive intelligence system: continuous, data-informed, interdisciplinary, and workforce-aligned. A systems approach treats learning as an integrated ecosystem of stakeholders, feedback loops, and co-evolving capabilities. An ecosystem model exemplified by the SenSIP Center integrates NSF-funded Research Experiences for Teachers and Undergraduates, industry collaboration, and authentic research spanning sensors, machine learning, and quantum computing. AI will continue to accelerate. The question is not whether intelligence systems will evolve, but whether our educational systems will evolve with them.

Professor Vangelis Marinakis

Associate Professor
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

Short CV:
Dr. Vangelis Marinakis is an Associate Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece. He is an Electrical and Computer Engineer of NTUA and holds a PhD in the research domain of decision support systems for sustainable energy planning (ECE, NTUA). His research focuses on the design and development of advanced methodologies and decision support systems that leverage cutting-edge information and communication technologies, including IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Data Spaces, to enable intelligent energy management across multiple scales (smart buildings, districts, cities and mico-grids). His work also addresses energy efficiency, renewable energy integration and climate resilience pathways for urban and regional systems. Dr. Marinakis has 20 years of professional experience in these fields and has been involved as Project Coordinator or Project Manager in more than 45 European and nationally funded research and innovation projects. Since January 2024, he has been President of key development organizations of the City of Athens, including DAEM S.A. and Develop Athens S.A. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the international journal ‘Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning and Policy’ and co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications. His authored several books, including ‘Energy Management and Environmental Policy’ and ‘Artificial Intelligence for Energy Systems: Driving Intelligent, Flexible and Optimal Energy Management’, along with numerous book chapters and conference papers.

Title:
Building Smart and Sustainable Cities: The Athens Paradigm

Abstract:
This keynote explores how cities can accelerate their transition toward sustainability and climate resilience, using Athens as a living case study of integrated urban transformation. The presentation highlights how strategic planning, digital tools, energy efficiency policies, renewable energy deployment and climate adaptation measures can be combined into a coherent urban model. Drawing on concrete examples, including smart energy management in municipal buildings, large-scale urban tree planting and micro-climate interventions, energy community initiatives, sustainable mobility actions, and data-informed decision-support platforms, the talk illustrates how Athens is addressing heat stress, energy vulnerability and infrastructure pressures in a dense Mediterranean context.

Beyond technology, the keynote emphasizes governance, institutional coordination and citizen engagement as key drivers of sustainable urban change. It reflects on how local authorities can align climate neutrality, resilience and social equity objectives within a unified strategy, while leveraging European frameworks and partnerships to scale impact. The central message is that smart cities are not defined by digitalization alone, but by their capacity to integrate environmental ambition, policy innovation and human-centered design into a resilient urban ecosystem.