Conference Agenda

Internships are widely recognized for enhancing graduate employability, yet limited attention has been given to those embedded in computational and technology-driven research environments. This paper examines how IT-enabled research internships, particularly those involving artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC), function as learning ecosystems within higher education. Drawing on qualitative case studies and semi-structured interviews from the N8 Centre of Excellence in Computationally Intensive Research (N8 CIR), UK, the study explores their impact on student skill development, employability, and institutional research capacity. Findings highlight the role of internships in fostering advanced technical skills, self-directed learning, and interdisciplinary collaboration, while also accelerating research productivity and innovation. The paper contributes to understanding how technology-enabled internships can bridge the gap between academic learning and contemporary research and industry demands.

This article examines the transformative potential of metaverse technologies, specifically virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), in chemistry education and food technology laboratory training. In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, these immersive tools create interactive environments that enhance engagement, conceptual understanding, and collaboration among students. A qualitative research approach is applied, combining a systematic literature review and comparative analysis of leading platforms such as Labster, VictoryXR, VRLab Academy, and HoloLAB Champions, as well as university initiatives such as CLEVR (MIT) and Virtual Human Interaction Lab (Stanford). On this basis, the design and initial implementation of a desktop-immersive module in Moodle for Food Technology students is presented, which integrates web-based 3D models (NaCl lattice, metal and diamond structures, VSEPR geometries and coordination complexes) to support the understanding of the structure-property relationship. Initial feedback from students is collected through online questionnaires targeting perceived usefulness, clarity, and relevance to the major. The results of the literature review and the implemented module show that metaverse and immersive environments can significantly improve learning outcomes, stimulate inquiry-based and game-based approaches to learning, and provide safe and cost-effective simulations of complex laboratory phenomena. At the same time, key challenges remain, such as high technical requirements, unequal access, and the need for high-quality, learning-oriented content. The article concludes that VR, AR, and desktop-immersive solutions should be applied as complementary tools to physical laboratories, providing an accessible path to inclusive, sustainable, and pedagogically meaningful innovations in chemistry and food technology education.

This paper presents a case study of an interdisciplinary blockchain education initiative at Tallinn University of Technology, where a 24-hour hackathon served as the culminating assessment for a course on smart contracts and decentralized finance. The course followed a progressive three-phase structure from blockchain fundamentals through Solidity programming to an applied hackathon which is grounded in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and experiential learning principles. To achieve genuine interdisciplinarity, finance master’s students from a separate course were invited to participate in the hackathon alongside the enrolled IT students, creating cross-faculty teams that worked on industry-validated blockchain problems. Mixed-methods evaluation drawing on official course evaluations (n=25, mean 4.78/5.0), a post-hackathon survey (n=20), and structured instructor reflections reveals that students valued the hackathon format significantly over traditional exams and rated cross-disciplinary teamwork as the most beneficial aspect. The findings suggest that hackathons can serve as effective PBL capstones in technical education and that interdisciplinarity may be more effectively achieved through structured event-based collaboration than through open cross-faculty enrollment alone.

This research investigates the application of bio-inspired and humanoid robots in educational settings. Robots are soon to be piloted by Daring to Dream, the Welsh charity supporting the emotional health of the 1.2 million adults in Wales living with illness and the School in the Hospital at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre to support the emotional well-being of patients and underprivileged students. Initial findings show that robotic cats, dogs, pandas, and humanoid robots positively impact emotional health by giving companionship and enthusiasm and reducing anxiety. These implementations align with the growing need for AI and robotics in education, responding to calls from organisations like UNESCO and the Welsh government for education equality. This research highlights improvements to educational experiences and suggests future work focused on detailed data collection and framework development to enable wider implementation and validation.