Colloquium: Research Advancements in Tangible User Interface Architectures

Title: Research Advancements in Tangible User Interface Architectures

Abstract: The colloquium presentation shall seek to present and discuss the research activities undertaken over the past years towards the development of Tangible User Interface (TUI) architectures for enhancing the learning experience of abstract and complex STEM concepts within higher education. The presentation will seek to outline a series of TUI design and development frameworks embodying innovate interactive paradigms through table-top peripherals, graphical design factors, and active tangible manipulatives. The presentation will conclude with providing insights into experimental methodologies adapted to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning threshold concepts through this research.

Bio: Dr. Ing. Clifford De Raffaele was conferred an electrical engineering degree from the University of Malta, a Masters in ICT from the department of Computer and Communications Engineering and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Middlesex University. Dr. Ing. De Raffaele held senior management roles in Higher Education, whereby he served as the Associate Director for Academia and Research at Middlesex University Malta, and recently held the post of Director for Research and Innovation at the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology, whereby he was responsible for leading all research and innovation initiatives stemming across the organization as well as setting the strategic direction of MCAST towards pursuing research opportunities. Following his management career, he undertook a more active role in academia and currently holds a senior lecturing position in computer science at Middlesex University. Dr. Ing. De Raffaele has participated in numerous national and EU funded research projects in the capacity of collaborating partner, lead researcher and principal investigator. He serves on various strategic boards at national level on academia and research and is currently an executive member of the IEEE Malta Section. His current research interests include Biomedical Devices, Innovative User Interfaces, Image/Video Processing and Emerging Technologies.