- Michael Kölling – University of Kent
- Barbara Demo – University of Turin
- Walter Gander – ETH Zürich
- Michael Kölling – University of Kent
Title of speech: “From Lego to Java – Interfaces for discovery and motivation”
Michael Kölling is a Professor at the School of Computing, University of Kent, in Canterbury, UK. He holds a PhD in computer science from Sydney University, and has worked in Australia, Denmark and the UK. Michael’s research interests are in the areas of object-oriented systems, programming languages, software tools, computing education and HCI. He has published numerous papers on object-orientation and computing education topics and is the author and co-author of two Java textbooks. Michael is the lead developer of BlueJ and Greenfoot, two educational programming environments. He is a UK National Teaching Fellow, Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, Oracle Java Champion, and a Distinguished Educator of the ACM. In 2013, he received the ACM SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education.
- Barbara Demo – University of Turin
Title of speech: “The many facets of Scratch”
G. Barbara Demo is Associate Professor at the Department of Informatics of the Università of Torino, Italy. After her degree in Informatics in 1975, she worked with an Olivetti team at a project for a database system on minicomputer, and did research in data modelling and information systems. Since the early ‘90s she has been active introducing computing science in k-12 education, where she recommended the use of Logo, “unplugged” experiences, educational robotics and, recently, open access to open data. She coordinates the Department’s Working Groups on Informatics Education in Primary and Secondary Education as well as the homonymous Working Group of GRIN, the National Group of Academic Researchers and Professors of Informatics. She has participated to the joint working group of the ACM-Europe and Informatics Europe which in April 2013 issued the report “Informatics Education: Europe cannot afford to miss the boat”. She was also a member of the 2013 and 2014 committees for the Best Practices Informatics Education Award. She created a series of workshops named Teachers for Teachers (T4T), held in the Department’s laboratories, which aim at bringing together experienced teachers of informatics in secondary schools with less experienced or newly recruited ones, in cooperation with academics an researchers, so as to take advantage of the competences and teaching excellences present in our schools to stimulate the growth of the educational system as a whole, in a fruitful exchange with the scientific competences from the University
- Walter Gander – ETH Zürich
Title of Speech: “Informatics And General Education”
Diploma 1968 in mathematics at ETH. Then assistant of H. Rutishauser in his new institute of computer science. PhD in applied mathematics 1973, supervisor P. Henrici. From 1973 to 1987: Professor for numerical analysis and computer science at the University of Applied Sciences Neu-Technikum Buchs. 1977/78 Visiting Scientist at Stanford University. 1979 Habilitation and Privatdozent for numerical analysis at ETH. 1984, 1993 and 2006 sabbatical leaves again at Stanford University. From 1987 to 1991 associate, since 1991 full professor for computer science at ETH Zurich. 1989 founder and head of the Institute of Scientific Computing. 1990 to 1992 head of the faculty of computer science. 1989 to 1991 head of the Swiss Supercomputer Initiative for acquiring the national supercomputer in Manno. From 1997 to 2001 CS department head and director of education of computer science. Since 2009 emeritus of ETH, working half a year as guest professor at Baptist University in Hong Kong.