Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce
Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce
We are delighted to invite you to our upcoming international conference on “Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce”. The conference is interdisciplinary, it will cover a diverse range of fields and perspectives on the development of critical thinking skills in different academic fields at universities and labour market institutions. Showcasing the holistic approach, the conference aims to explore the vital role of critical thinking in diverse academic disciplines and its significance in the ever-evolving landscape of labour market institutions.
The conference aims to bridge the gap between universities and labour market institutions, fostering a culture of critical thinking that thrives in the classroom and enhances professional growth in the workplace. This conference will serve as a platform for educators, researchers, and labour market professionals from diverse fields to explore innovative strategies, and share best practices and collaborate on integrating critical thinking skills into educational curricula.
Keynote speakers
Alistair Starling
Co-Founder and Managing Director of the European Diplomats
Luís Sebastião
Associate Professor in the Department of Pedagogy and Education, Director of the Center for Research in Education and Psychology, University of Évora
Dimitris Pnevmatikos
Professor in the Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Western Macedonia
Erika Vaiginienė
Associate professor in the Department of Business, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vilnius University
Inga Jončienė
Head of Business Development at Alliance for Recruitment
Adam Mastandrea
Assistant Professor in the Department of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, Institute of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University
Daiva Penkauskienė
Director of Modern Didactics Center, Associate Professor in the Institute of Educational Sciences and Social Work, Mykolas Romeris University
Sandra Kairė
Associate Professor, Director of the Institute of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University
Kay Hemmerling
Dr Kay Hemmerling, Chairman at the Institute for Moral-Democratic Competence (IMDC e.V.)
Programme
Programme
Dimitris Pnevmatikos
Professor in the Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Western Macedonia
Dimitris Pnevmatikos, PhD, currently serves as the Vice-Head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Western Macedonia in Greece, a department he founded in 2019. Additionally, he holds the position of head of the Lab of Cognitive Science and is a prominent member of the Primary Education Department, where he has made significant contributions to various graduate and postgraduate courses. Throughout his career, Prof. Pnevmatikos has been deeply involved in academia and research. He served as the head of the Post-graduate Program in Educational Sciences and has supervised an impressive number of theses, including 14 PhDs and three postdoctoral projects. His scholarly contributions extend to over 130 articles and books, covering diverse topics within psychology and education. Notably, he authored the Greek national books for 1st-grade mathematics, demonstrating his impact on education at a foundational level. Prof. Pnevmatikos is highly engaged in professional organizations and committees. He has held key positions, such as Executive Committee member and SIG Coordinator, within the European Association for Research in Learning and Instruction (EARLI) and the Hellenic Psychological Society. Moreover, he served as President of the Association for Values and Knowledge Education (AVaKE) from 2018 to 2022. His expertise is widely recognized within the academic community, as evidenced by his involvement in reviewing for numerous scientific journals and serving on their editorial boards. He also guest-edited a Special Issue on Critical Thinking for the Journal of Education Sciences in 2023. Prof. Pnevmatikos has led several pivotal national and European projects as the principal investigator. These projects, including FP6, Thales, ARISTEIA, and HORIZON2020, as well as ERASMUS+, have contributed significantly to advancing STEM education, understanding cognitive mechanisms in children, designing teacher training courses, fostering critical thinking skills education, and developing Social Assistive Robots (SARs) and digital platforms for schools.
Presentation title: Creating Critical Thinking Professionals: Challenges for Higher Education and Strategies for Enhancing Critical Thinking
