Patricia Santos

Patricia Santos is an Associate Professor in Human-Centred Learning Technologies at the Department of Engineering, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain, appointed in July 2026. She is a senior member of the TIDE (Interactive and Distributed Technologies for Education) research group and a member of the coordination team of the TESI (Technology, Society and Interactions) research unit. She also serves as Head of Teaching Innovation and Quality at UPF's School of Engineering and is a member of the university's Teaching Innovation Committee.

Her research focuses on Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL), particularly the application of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Learning Design, and Human-Centred Learning Analytics to the design and evaluation of innovative, inclusive, and responsible learning technologies. Her recent work explores human-centred Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in education, responsible AI adoption, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), digital well-being, and the alignment of educational technologies with pedagogical objectives, human values, and sociocultural contexts.

Patricia holds a PhD in Information, Communication and Media Technologies from UPF (2011), awarded Summa Cum Laude and recognised with the Best PhD Thesis Award. She conducted postdoctoral research at the University of the West of England (Bristol, UK), before returning to UPF in 2017. In 2021, she was awarded a competitive Ramón y Cajal research fellowship, followed by a tenure-track professorship in Human-Centred Learning Technologies in 2023 and her appointment as Associate Professor in 2026. She also holds the R3 Researcher Certification from the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) and Associate Professor accreditation from AQU Catalunya.

Throughout her career, she has contributed to numerous competitive European and national research projects, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, academic institutions, public administrations, and industry partners across Europe and beyond. She has held leadership roles as Principal Investigator (PI), co-PI, work package leader, scientific coordinator, and project manager.

Her most recent research projects include:

• AILA – Student Learning Agreements to Foster Participation in Defining and Evaluating the Responsible Use of Generative AI (2025–2027), an Erasmus+ project coordinated by UPF, with Patricia as Principal Investigator. The project promotes the responsible integration of GenAI in higher education through participatory approaches, involving teachers and students in co-designing Learning Agreements that establish shared expectations and guidelines for AI use aligned with educational objectives and ethical considerations.

• GENIELearn – Human-Centred Generative AI-Enhanced Smart Learning Environments (2024–2027), a nationally funded research project in which she serves as co-PI at UPF, investigating how GenAI can support the development of human-centred Smart Learning Environments aligned with pedagogical and human needs.

• H2OLearn – Hybrid and Human-Oriented Learning (2021–2024), a nationally funded research project in which she served as co-PI at UPF, focusing on trustworthy and human-centred Learning Analytics for hybrid education.

Other significant projects include D-TIPS (Erasmus+, scientific leader and project manager), CS-Track (H2020, co-PI and work package leader), COURAGE (Volkswagen Foundation, work package leader), TROMPA (H2020, task leader), Learning Layers (FP7, work package leader), and TENCompetence (FP6, task leader). These projects demonstrate her experience in coordinating interdisciplinary research, developing educational technologies, and translating research outcomes into practical applications.

An important dimension of her research is knowledge and technology transfer. She has contributed to the design, development, and evaluation of educational technologies, including QuestInSitu, a mobile learning and assessment platform recognised as a finalist at the BDigital Global Congress; the TENCompetence Learning Design Toolkit, recognised with an IMS Global Learning Consortium award; Confer, a collaborative platform; ILDE/ILDE+, an integrated learning design environment; Empatheia, a game supporting Design Thinking in primary education; and SOELE, a tool for evaluating socio-emotional learning designs. She has also coordinated the Makers a les Aules educational initiative, supported by Barcelona City Council, and managed the technological development of STEMarium, a digital community platform for STEM educators supported by the Government of Catalonia and EduCaixa.

Her scientific contributions include publications in JCR-indexed journals, as well as international conference papers, book chapters, and collaborative publications with more than 100 researchers worldwide. She serves as a reviewer for leading journals in educational technology and related fields, including Computers & Education, the British Journal of Educational Technology, and Thinking Skills and Creativity. She was Workshop Chair of EC-TEL 2022 and Program Co-Chair of CollabTech 2024. She also co-leads the Human-Centred Learning Analytics (HCLA) initiative, contributing to international workshops and serving as guest editor of a special issue in the British Journal of Educational Technology.

Her teaching experience spans undergraduate and postgraduate education in Computer Science, Engineering, and Educational Technologies. At UPF, she coordinates courses including Introduction to Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms, and Person–Machine Interaction, and has taught subjects related to HCI, Interaction Engineering, and Learning Technologies. Her pedagogical approach incorporates active learning methodologies, including Project-Based Learning, Design Thinking, collaborative learning, and technology-supported learning activities.

Patricia has extensive experience in academic supervision and mentoring, having supervised or co-supervised seven PhD theses (four completed and three ongoing), more than 50 bachelor's theses, and numerous master's theses. Her doctoral supervision covers areas such as Learning Design, socio-emotional interactions in collaborative learning, digital well-being, citizen science, and responsible and inclusive GenAI in education.

She is also actively involved in teaching innovation and academic leadership. She has secured funding as PI or team member for more than ten teaching innovation projects. Recent initiatives include CLAIRE – Co-designing Learning Agreements for Inclusive and Responsible Engagement with Generative AI in the UPF PhD Programme (2025–2026), which develops participatory approaches and guidelines for responsible GenAI use in doctoral education, and PROG+ (2026–2027), which investigates programming and algorithmic competencies in the era of GenAI. Through her leadership of the Teaching Innovation and Quality Unit at UPF's School of Engineering, she contributes to educational quality assurance, curriculum enhancement, pedagogical innovation, and the responsible integration of emerging technologies in higher education.