EMPOWER
Design and evaluation of technological support tools to empower stakeholders in digital education
Description

EMPOWER will focus on education for children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Children with NDDs can experience difficulties with language and speech, motor skills, behaviour, memory, learning, or other neurological functions. Technological solutions that can respond to such individual needs have the potential to both improve the quality and inclusiveness of the education of these children and support teachers in carrying out their educational vocation. From a technological perspective, the challenge is not only to deliver the resulting educational program but also to do so accurately and to the benefit of the child. From an ethical perspective, several challenges come together in the trade-off between the potential educational benefits and the necessity to process relevant information regarding the children via measurements and algorithms that shape the educational program. In the proposed AI regulations of the EU (Artificial Intelligence Act, EC/2021), this is a high- risk endeavour. Together, this application domain is therefore a challenging one in that it unites sensitive cases of the obstacles one is likely to encounter in digitizing education. Addressing these challenges is therefore also an opportunity to shed more light on the future of technology and AI in education as the ability to address these challenges in their extreme form will lead to insights that are relevant more generally.

Challenge

EMPOWER is a multidisciplinary pursuit, at the interface between education, psychology, special education, technology, and software development. The EMPOWER consortium possesses the required multidisciplinary expertise to carry out the project, ranging from software development and wearable devices integration, cognitive systems architectures, assistive technologies for children with NDDs, psychological assessment and intervention, to ethical issues in technology for education.

The core objective of EMPOWER is to develop and deploy a unique learning platform for personalized education for children with NDDs that goes beyond current approaches and paradigms, and empowers teachers to support children with NDDs in reducing their emotional and behavioural problems. By using a game-based approach, children will improve their learning and emotional skills, better integrate into the educational system, and therefore improve their quality of life. All of this can lead to better inclusion in society and the job market. This platform will, through the nature of the requirements of this use case, require the development of new educational tools that can be used in education more widely, thereby allowing the assessment of these tools to inform future endeavours in digitizing education, including identification of limitations and challenges, whether these are technological, ethical, or legal (e.g. concerning the proposed EU AI regulation).

Approach

In this project we will combine the expertise of the EMPOWER consortium on systems design, eye tracker and wearable sensor usage, and algorithm design. Moreover, we will consider a methodological approach considering reliability, engagement, and effectiveness as parameters for evidence and testing the evidence-based model of technology developing for educational settings; equipping teachers, educational leaders and learners with the skills necessary for the use of technology by providing the necessary training to be used to their full potential.

Academic Research Impact

An evidence-based model of how technology can be developed and tested in educational settings

The project outcomes inform future educational public policies

Knowledge regarding the importance of executive functions and emotion regulation strategies in the educational process

A non-intrusive support system that enables an increased understanding awareness of cognitive and emotional skills that underlie children’s school performance

Testing the impact of the technological tool in reducing emotional and behavioural problems in children with NDD

Smart training for teachers for sharing good practices regarding the use of emerging technologies

Internal Partners
Research Centre Research Group Role in Project Begin Date End Date
BRU-Iscte Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources Group Partner 2022-10-01 2025-09-30
External Partners
Institution Country Role in Project Begin Date End Date
Universitat de València (UVEG) Spain Leader 2022-10-01 2025-09-30
STICHTING RADBOUD UNIVERSITEIT (RU) Netherlands Partner 2022-10-01 2025-09-30
UNIVERSITATEA BABES BOLYAI (UBB) Romania Partner 2022-10-01 2025-09-30
UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICA CLUJ-NAPOCA (UTC) Romania Partner 2022-10-01 2025-09-30
HOGSKULEN PA VESTLANDET (HVL) Norway Partner 2022-10-01 2025-09-30
AUTISME-EUROPE AISBL (AUTISME-EUROPE AISBL) Belgium Partner 2022-10-01 2025-09-30
Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores:Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Lisboa (INESC-ID) Portugal Partner 2022-10-01 2025-09-30
ITDATA TELECOM (ITC) Romania Partner 2022-10-01 2025-09-30
Project Team
Name Affiliation Role in Project Begin Date End Date
Aristides I. Ferreira Professor Associado (com Agregação) (DRHCO); Integrated Researcher (BRU-Iscte); Local Coordinator 2022-10-01 2025-09-30
Sara Lopes Professora Auxiliar Convidada (DRHCO); Associate Researcher (BRU-Iscte); Researcher 2023-03-01 2025-09-30
Project Fundings
Reference/Code Funding DOI Funding Type Funding Program Funding Amount (Global) Funding Amount (Local) Begin Date End Date
101060918 -- Contract European Commission - Horizon Europe 3629496 256024 2022-10-01 2025-09-30
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With the objective to increase the research activity directed towards the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the possibility of associating scientific projects with the Sustainable Development Goals is now available in Ciência_Iscte. These are the Sustainable Development Goals identified for this project. For more detailed information on the Sustainable Development Goals, click here.

Design and evaluation of technological support tools to empower stakeholders in digital education
2022-10-01
2025-09-30