Keynotes

Cynthia Solomon

Cynthia Solomon stands as a pivotal figure in both computer science and educational computing, appreciated for her commitment to crafting engaging and expressive learning environments for children. Her foundational work with Lisp programming directly paved the way for the creation of Logo in 1966, the pioneering programming language tailored specifically for young learners, developed in close collaboration with Seymour Papert and colleagues.

Beyond her role in Logo's inception, Solomon's expertise propelled her into significant leadership positions. She served as Vice President of R&D at Logo Computer Systems, Inc. during the development of Apple Logo, and later as Director of the Atari Cambridge Research Laboratory. Complementing her leadership, she also contributed directly to education as a computer science teacher. Today she is part of a growing international consortium developing projects for computerized embroidery machines using the TurtleStitch programing environment.

 

Valentina Dagiene

Valentina Dagiene is a professor and principal researcher at the Vilnius University Data Science and Digital Technologies Institute. With over 300 scientific articles, 3 monographs, and 60 textbooks dedicated to computing education, her contributions to the field are substantial. Notably, she serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the esteemed international journals "Informatics in Education" and "Olympiads in Informatics". Her leadership extends to organizing over 20 international conferences.

Beyond her academic publications and editorial roles, Professor Dagiene's impact is further exemplified by her pioneering work in establishing the International Challenge on Informatics and Computational Thinking, BEBRAS. Launched in 2004, this initiative has since expanded to engage students in over 60 countries, fostering computational thinking skills globally. Her involvement in over 30 international projects focused on informatics education, STEM, and teacher training underscores her commitment to advancing educational practices.

 

Tobias Kohn

Tobias Kohn leads the Chair of Computer Science and its Didactics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). His research interests primarily lie in the field of computer science education, as well as programming languages and compilers.

Before his academic career, Professor Kohn spent about ten years teaching mathematics and computer science at Swiss high schools. During this time, he developed TigerJython, a widely used programming environment now utilized by thousands of students worldwide. His academic journey took him through institutions such as ETH, Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh before bringing him to KIT. He also contributed to the introduction of Pattern Matching in Python.