Meet the team
Prof. Dr. Elske Ammenwerth – Project Manager
Professor for medical informatics, expert in nursing informatics and its education, expert in online-based teaching. Co-author of the IMIA Recommendations on Health Informatics Education and of German recommendations on Bachelor Education in Health Informatics. Has successfully established an international online-based master programs in health informatics at UMIT TIROL. She regularly organizes certificate courses in nursing informatics. She has experience in managing large project groups, working groups, and teams.
Renate Nantschev – Researcher
Holds a Bachelor and a Master in Nursing Sciences. Worked as nurse and nursing teacher. Now researcher at UMIT TIROL. Lead of a project to implement nursing informatics education for nursing professionals in Austria. In this role, she is in close contact with Austrian nurses’ association, Ministries, and other universities. Long experience as trainer in nursing informatics in professional and academic context in nursing. She is the vice president of the Austrian Nursing Informatics Association (ÖGPi).
Armend Berisha – Researcher
Armend holds a Master of Arts on Higher Education Policy and Administration from the University of Iowa. He completed his BA on Political Science at the University of Prishtina and another BA on Business and Administration at Universum College. Armend the head of Projects Office at Universum International College and is a leader of the team for projects and international cooperation. Armend currently is also lecturing a Student Success seminar at the Universum College. Armend has an extensive experience on project implementation which were mainly funded by USAID and EU Commission and has a three year experience on senior management by being a Campus Coordinator of Universum College in Gjakova. Armend is primarily interested on increasing student success in higher education and measuring the effectiveness of innovative and unconventional pedagogical methods
Redon Jashari – Researcher
Lecturer of Anatomy and Physiology in Nursing
Department at Universum College. Has encouraged
and inspired his students with using new technology
such as Virtual Reality. As a frontliner during COVID 19
pandemic, he has responded to the Ministry of Health
request to joining Immunization Task Force and has
vaccinated almost six thousand people in two-month
period. Redon’s mission is blending theory with
practice, and supporting students to achieve the best
outcome.
Tevide Shabani – Researcher
Holds a Bachelor and Master in Nursing Science.
Academic director of Nursing & Dental Hygiene
department. Great experience on Non Communicable
Diseases where her role as researcher nurse was collecting data and reporting the health condition of
patients. Is focused in helping and increasing the
quality of teaching in Nursing Departament. The
involvement of students in various research projects
and the focus of students in nursing research.
Shkendije Shala – Researcher
Holds a Bachelor in Nursing and Master of Medical
Sciences in Nursing. Great experience in lecturing at
UC. Primarily interested in increasing the success of
students in higher education and in their success in
nursing practice also in scientific research.
Bashkim Hyseni – Researcher
Director of the Vocational School Center of
Competence (COC) in Ferizaj which is administered
with by AVETAE. Holds a Master degree in Nurse,
Nurse Management and VET Management. Leadership
skills, provide guidance and direction to a large staff
which comprises academic advisers, instructors and
enrollment councillors Aims at enhancing the quality of
education offered in the institution. Conducts internal
curriculum reviews to ensure content is current and
relevant and meets quality standards. Involved in the
development of new academic programs and oversee
the integration of learning technologies into teaching
Bashkim Mehmeti – Researcher
Holds a Bachelor in Nursery and a Master in Medical
Management. Works as a teacher at COC. He
manages student learning through effective teaching,
consolidate and extends learning, and encourages
students to take responsibility for their own learning. He
is developed professionally and possesses relevant
qualifications. He also plays an important role in gaining
the students’ skills labor market not only at the National
level but also at the International level. Realized the
professional practice/internship of the students.
Sanije Murati – Researcher
Holds a Bachelor in Midwife and Master in Medicine
Management and in Education in Health care. Works as
a teacher at COC. She manages students learning
through effective teaching, consolidate and extends
learning, and encourages students to take responsibility
for their own learning. She is developed professionally
and has relevant qualifications. She is capable to make
agreements between companies for students’
professional practices and other private sectors.
Persuasively she has achieved success in preparing
students at the International level of the Labor Market.
Albulena Mehmeti – Researcher
Holds a Bachelor in Nursing and a Master in Pedagogy
for Vocational School. Holds additional certificates. She
is rewarded with certificate in Medial Education and its
Role in Social Democratic Development. She is capable
to make agreements between companies for students’
professional practices and other private sectors.
Ilirjana Mehmeti – Researcher
Project manager and Communication officers at a
recent Vet to Vet – Capacity Building Project. Also
working as a teacher.
Hadas Lewey – Researcher
Senior lecturer and head of Digital Health Ventures at at HIT. Responsible for strategic collaboration with healthcare organizations and industry, establishment and management of research & development infra- structure in digital medical technologies. Formerly Director of Innovation and Business Development in Clalit Health Services, the larget HMO in Israel, director of the International Centre for Research & Development at Maccabi Health Services, and CEO of a SME that develops technologies for healthcare. Received her Ph.D. from Tel-Aviv University. Postdoc Fellowship in France. Experiences in many multinational collabo- rations including EU funded projects.
Refael Barkan – Researcher
Neurologist (M.D.) and Brain Scientist (Ph.D.). Master’s degree (M.Sc.) in Computer Science. Has been collaborating in various national and international R&D projects that focus on active and healthy living and technologies for the elderly. Has founded several multidisciplinary R&D centers and labs at HIT and innovative programs for education in the field of digital health. Founder of the new academic program in Digital Medical Technologies (B.Sc.) and HealthTech High School, as well as education programs in the field of healthtech in HIT also for industry.
Nissim Harel – Researcher
Senior lecturer at the Department of Digital Medical Technologies at HIT. Ph.D. in Computer Science and a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. Extensive experience in industry and in co-founded ClickFox (today BryterCX) a customer journey analytics platform, where he served as a CTO for 6 years. For the past 15 years his research interests have moved to health informatics and education. Dr. Harel was one of the initiators of the iTEM Ersamus+ capacity building project for innovating the study of mathematics in first year engineering schools.
Gad Segal – Researcher
Specialist in Internal Medicine. Research and
development of telemedicine applications in the realm
of hospital-at-home
Vered Robinzon – Researcher
Specializes in establishing learning centres and e-
learning programs for healthcare professionals. PhD
candidate.
Anat Peles – Researcher
Long term experience in teaching programs’
development in the setting of on-the-job training for
nurses in SMC
Tomas Karpati – Researcher
Head of the Multidisciplinary Healthcare Analytics Lab, senior lecturer and head of the Data analysts program at HIT for life sciences graduates. MD and a specialty in Research Methodology. Served as biostatistician and BI expert in health care, being involved in the development of the “Hanit” medical intelligence system. Served as a data scientist in Clalit Research Institute. His academic experience includes the development of the curricula on Biotechnology in Hadassah Academic College (HAC) and lecturing data science and health informatics both for a formal degrees (HAC, HIT) and vocational training in the continuous education unit of the Technion and Bar Ilan University.
Fabio D’Agostino – Researcher
Associate professor in nursing science, BSc nursing dean, director of specialization courses in healthcare professions and nursing at UniCamillus. He holds Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees in Nursing and Nursing Science and Midwifery. With extensive experience in nursing research, his focus areas include eHealth and nursing informatics, self-care in heart failure patients and elderly persons. Over a decade ago, he developed a clinical nursing information system that has been successfully implemented in a major Italian hospital. Senior Researcher of the European Project TEC-MED. Principal investigator of several national and international research projects. He has contributed to the recent book “Nursing and Informatics for the 21st Century”.
Noemi Giannetta – Researcher
Assistant professor in nursing science, programme director of BSc nursing at UniCamillus University. She holds Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees in Nursing and Nursing Science and Midwifery. She is experienced in nursing research. Her research focus is on patients’ safety and medication adherence, with a specific focus on the evaluation and development of digital technologies for improving medication adherence in elderly and
telenursing for cancer patients. Principal investigator of several national and international research projects. She currently teaches in undergraduate nursing classes.
Ilaria Erba – Researcher
Research Fellow in Nursing Sciences at Unicamillus University. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Nursing and Nursing Science and Midwifery and she is a PhD candidate in Nursing and Public Health at University of Tor Vergata (Italy, Rome). She is experienced in nursing research. Her research focuses on self-care and understanding the caregiver’s role in self-care for individuals with multiple chronic conditions. She investigates the use of voice analysis as a tele-monitoring method for managing chronic conditions in older adults. She currently teaches in undergraduate nursing classes.
Manos Vakondios – Researcher
He is currently a Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD candidate at Utrecht University, where his research delves into the history of art and architecture in European palaces, with a particular focus on religious spaces. Additionally, he serves as the project manager and researcher at Creative Thinking Development (CRETHIDEV), a non-profit organization dedicated to research and the development of studies and action plans spanning various fields including lifelong learning, environmental protection, innovation, employment, local development, health, sports, and culture. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in History and Archaeology and earned his Master’s degree from the University of Saint Andrews in Art History.
Mr. Dimothensis Papakonstantinou – Researcher
Dimosthenis Papakonstantinou, before founding CRE THI DEV in 2012, worked in ELKEDE Technology & Design Centre, an RTO under the authority of the Ministry of Development, as its Managing Director (1985-2004) and as Board Advisor (2004-2009). During this period, ELKEDE LTD, which was founded initially as a Quality Control Laboratory for leather and footwear. During his years in ELKEDE, he has been member (or President) of European Industry and Research, Training and Technology Associations. From 2002 2004, he has also been Managing Director of HELLENIC SILVER & GOLDSMITHING CENTER S.A. As an active member of local administration since 2003, he has gained experience in introducing, organizing and executing projects for the social, environmental and economic benefit of the local communities.
Sofia Papakon-Stantinou – Researcher
Project manager in CreThiDev active in the field of EU
projects since 2013; has experience in research, social
inclusion, dissemination and stakeholders’ engagement
activities; has been working in more than 15 projects in
the field of innovation, societal transformation,
employment, training, including blending learning
approaches for the development of new skills such as
digital skills, especially for vulnerable groups (young
women, NEETs) to increase their participation in the
social and economic life.
Maria Gianna-Courou – Researcher
Psychologist and Human Factors Specialist. Holds a
Bachelor in Psychology, a Master in Industrial
Psychology and a PhD in cognitive psychology,
decision making, and ergonomics. Extensive
professional experience in distance learning
methodologies and customization of IT products to their users, business consulting collaborating with
international bodies. Has been Project Coordinator and
Project Manager in various national and European
research projects. Project Manager in CRETHIDEV,
responsible for the quality assurance of Erasmus+
projects, including blended learning approaches for the
development of new skills such as digital skills as well
as for mapping digital needs in European level.
Ilias Tsapogas – Researcher
Has graduated from the EIMC Department of the
University of Bradford, UK in 2008. Since then he is
working as a freelancer Computer Graphic Artist. Has
established a small personal business for Graphic Arts
and Video Games Design. He has cooperated with
CreThiDev in various projects and by 2021 he is a
regular member of the CreThiDev team. He is
experienced with Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, In
Design, After Effects), various 3d modelling and
animation softwares like Blender and Zbrush and game
engines such as Unreal Engine and Unity.
Walter DeCaro – Researcher
President of CNAI Italian Nurses Association and
Nursing Now Italy Group Leader and Executive Board
Member of European Forum of Nursing and Midwifery,
and of HIMMS Steering Committee for nursing in
Europe. Holds an MBA in Health and a Master in Social
Research/Data Mining and a Ph.D in Nursing Science.
Leads projects related to Social media and Behavior
Change/Health Literacy and Health informatics and
Digitalization. Large experience in dissemination and
participating as the Italian representative in a number of
Italian and European-granted projects connected to
nursing development strategies.
Nuric Project 