Konstantinos Kokkinos

emissions in city centers, according to a McKinsey report. The growth of consumer deliveries has generated an exponential rise in packaging waste. Plastic, such as plastic bags that package individual products and Styrofoam packaging are particularly harmful to the environment, with both taking at least 500 years to decompose. Transporting perishable goods is even more environmentally harmful than transporting non-perishable items because perishable products must be stored at a particular temperature, which requires refrigeration. Refrigeration uses more energy, so a refrigerated delivery truck creates more emissions than a non-refrigerated one, with about 40% of a temperature-controlled vehicle's total emissions coming from refrigeration. Consumer demand for fast delivery is so overwhelming, that speed is often prioritized over ecofriendliness. However, as climate concerns rise exponentially, Green delivery must become a priority. Couriers Go Green project will develop a Certifiable Training Course as well as a Green Strategy step-by-step process model to assist the major players in the Transportation sector to make a Green shift into their operations contributing thus to environmental protection and fight against climate change. To this direction, COURIERS GO GREEN project's results and outcomes will be built around the needs of the main target population. Increased flexibility can be more effective for individuals who are less likely to be admitted and complete a standard VET track. To this extent, in order for the Project to cover the needs of certain groups such as Courier and Transportation Workers, Drivers and low skilled employees as well as digital illiterate individuals who might have different backgrounds and starting points and therefore meet challenges in completing the training, all Project results will be tested against criteria like comprehensibility, effectiveness, terms understanding, plain language, to produce a tailor made and adapted VET program.

EMERALD takes a unique, holistic approach to patient-specific predictive modelling and MDSS development by extracting and integrating knowledge from new research, clinical tests and EHR using advanced analytic techniques. ICT technologies (such as Data Mining, Deep Learning (DL) and Advanced Fuzzy Cognitive Tools) will play a key role in EMERALD enabling the analysis simplification of large patient data collections, explainability of decisions made and thus allowing the development of personalized predictive MDSSs. Additionally, dynamic FCMs as a soft computing technology, will play a major role in EMERALD concerning the model-driven data analytics to support decision-making focusing on data interpretability and modelling complexity (i.e., personalized treatment and health technology assessment). Knowledge obtained from EHR and FCM-based models will be combined with experts’ knowledge concerning other risk factors (e.g., social, environmental, occupational and economic factors) to build high-level FCM-based MDSSs. EMERALD will further introduce the new concept of DeepFCMs as the innovative and structural component of an XAI-MDSS. DeepFCMs can fuse the multitude of medical data spanning from text to images and they can be executed as typical deep neural networks, but they can be presented visually as FCMs to provide visual explanations and reasoning. Moreover, DeepFCMs are primarily FCMs thus, they can be endowed with self-explanatory capability (as other fuzzy models) providing non-expert users with linguistic descriptions and explanations in Natural Language that facilitate the comprehension of the given visual explanations. Finally, EMERALD aims to create a medical science ecosystem that will optimize physician decision making through NM and AI. To this direction, a multimodal repository of heterogeneous EHR will be orchestrated via a unique, holistic approach to patient-centred predictive modelling that incorporates dynamic risk assessment capabilities at every step of DL.

INVEST4EXCELLENCE aims at developing an integrated and long-term joint strategy on research and innovation in line with the education strategies from the INVEST EU University Alliance. The thematic focus of the INVEST Alliance is in Sustainable development as one of the most important global challenges. INVEST4EXCELLENCE will create the background for the development and implementation of research and innovation ideas through model development for institutional transformation at research and innovation dimension; developing of European Innovation Ecosystem for Academia-Business & Society; developing of Capacity Building Tools; and implementing and promoting the I-EDUC8EU tool. Involving and engaging the main actors in the regions – civil society, local citizens, local enterprises, public authorities, education institutions (including an academic sector) and NGOs, will be the basic precondition for conducting the research and bringing the innovation into regions. Considering the importance of such stakeholders ́ engagement, dedicated involvement tool describing the process and methods of thematic dialogue and promotion of innovations will be developed. This will lead to reinforcement of human resources in the research and innovation of the INVEST Alliance contributing to achieving the knowledge-based civic society, engaged in creation and benefitting of the high quality research and innovation outputs. The project comes with several key enabling educational and digital technologies that can optimize all research and innovation aspects promoted by the INVEST Alliance. The project will influence the interactions between institutional adaptation and the transformation of research and innovation systems by analysing change and adjustment within the whole alliance. INVEST4EXCELLENCE brings together a large European educational community that will actively cooperate and maximize the learning impact of the project.

Member of the primary research group. Lead by the idea of strengthening the link between teaching, research, innovation and knowledge transfer, encouraging mobility and enhancing the high quality and excellence in education and research, the five European universities unite their efforts based on their previous cooperation in European educational, research and mobility projects to achieve their common goal - to establish a European university alliance, called INnoVations of REgional Sustainability: European UniversiTy Alliance - INVEST, targeting their cooperation for developing joint and innovative education and research study programs and curricula, as well as the implementation of multilingual learning, blended and work-based learning and European mobilities. The INVEST alliance will target its activities at students at all 3 study cycles - bachelor, master and doctoral, together with the academic and non-academic staff of the alliance partners. The alliance builds its essence on the four strategic pillars: (1) Competitive education and valuable learning outcomes, (2) Collective excellent research and innovation, (3) High mobility level beyond the Europe, and (4) Networking as the platform for future education and research, covering the three main focus areas - Water, Energy Food and Environment Nexus, Quality of Life and Entrepreneurship. Establishing the Living Lab's as innovative platforms for the quadruple helix (research, education, companies/NGO’s and GO’s) collaboration with the stakeholders from the regions, together with innovative solutions, such as Virtual Campus or the EDUC8EU integrated platform, the INVEST alliance will create perfect conditions to build a modern European University, satisfying needs and requirements of the new generation of Europeans as the leaders of introducing sustainable life in regions across the Europe, responding current global challenges determined within the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Member of the primary research group. SMS delivers a novel automated networked system that will enable real-time in situ monitoring of marine water chemical and ecological status in coastal areas by the detection of a series of contaminants regulated by the MSFD. SMS designed a multi-modular apparatus that will host in a single unit—the Main Box (MB)—a Sampling Module and an Analysis Module. The former contains sample collection and treatment components, whereas the latter includes four biosensor sub-modules that enable detection and measurement of algal toxins and their associated algal species; several hazardous compounds (tributyltin, diuron and pentaBDPE); sulphonamides and a series of standard water quality parameters. The MB is equipped with a communication module for real-time data transfer to a control center, where data processing takes place, enabling alarm functionality to Health Warning Systems, whenever some critical value exceeds a pre-defined threshold. It is placed on a floating platform or buoy positioned in loco at defined locations. SMS also developed a Specific Marine Pollution Metric that combines real-time data of pollutant concentrations and water quality parameters, to produce a quantitative assessment of marine water quality.

The NOVELOG Evaluation Tool formulated a multi-criteria multi-stakeholder decision making process, which facilitates the establishment and combination of objectives, performance criteria and indicators, and relevant weights to reveal stakeholders’ preferences. The Tool was composed of 140 indicators that are grouped into seven impact areas of a life cycle-based sustainability framework. The goal was to promote and support the selection of sustainable measures/policies in logistics within urban areas. Each stakeholder selects the indicators that fit to each city case and perform a holistic assessment of the proposed measure/policy. Pre-defined weights stimulate the stakeholders’ engagement in the decision-making process and result in consensus building within each city. The overall contribution to the project was the development of the Evaluation Tool into a web application according to the multi-criteria set.

The project focused on the full-scale monitoring study of Microcystis aeruginosa and relevant environmental, hydrometeorological factors and water quality parameters in the reconstructed lake Karla. Lake Karla is a ‘new’ lake which is already characterized as an ‘aged’ lake due to eutrophic conditions and dense occurrence of toxic cyanobacteria. The main objective of LAKEREMAKE was to conduct integrated mathematical modeling to include area hydrology, Lake Hydrodynamics, lake ecology and nutrient cycling in order to simulate the dynamics of nutrients, microcystins and Microcystis in Lake Karla under different hydrological scenarios. Moreover, LakeRemake is going to evaluate the effectiveness of microcystin breakdown and removal techniques in Lake Karla. The overall contribution to the project was the development of all the used models into a framework of software components as well as the development of all the web applications related.

The project was an interdisciplinary effort of specialists from water management and ICT research respectively to develop an intelligent Integrated Support System for Efficient Water Usage and resources management. The project developed several innovative ICT methods aiming to exploit the untapped water-saving potential in EU. The overall goal was achieved by developing an innovative, multi-factor system capable to optimize water management and reduce water usage. At household level: a) an information system for gathering data about water usage was planned to increase the awareness of water consumption; the data was interpreted and presented to household consumers in an understandable way using mobile devices (smartphones, tablets); b) a household Decision Support System (DSS) was developed for mobile devices to reduce water consumption. Recommendations regarding water-saving devices and behaviour were produced; c) a social-media platform was developed to reinforce water-saving behaviour of consumers via the social interactions among users (and between consumers and experts of water-saving techniques). At urban level: a) an innovative decision support system for reducing leaks in the water delivery system was built based on the dynamic modifications of pumping schedules to reduce leakages at municipal level; b) an adaptive pricing policy was developed as the economic instrument to induce water-saving behaviour and reduce peaks in water and energy distribution loads.

The project addressed issues related to sustainable use of water in Mediterranean irrigated agricultural systems, with the overall aim of optimizing irrigation water use. The project’s strategies included innovative and more efficient irrigation techniques for improving water productivity and allow savings in water consumption. SIRRIMED will consider the development, test and validation of new deficit irrigation strategies, the sustainable and safe use of poor-quality waters and the improvement of precise irrigation scheduling using plant sensors.

Development of an integrated monitoring, simulating and managing system of aquatic resources with environmental and socio-economical Dynamics- Case study: The watershed of Lake Karla. Research Project ARCHIMEDES III of the Operational Programme “Education and Lifelong Learning”.   Development of an integrated system for monitoring and managing the quantity and quality of water resources in rural catchments under climate change. Application in the basin of Lake Karla "YDROMENTOR". This project is funded by the Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Action" COOPERATION ACT I: Collaborative Projects small and medium scale ", in Sector 3 Research-Environment-Climate.  

The OpenMI-LIFE project's rationale lied in the Water Framework Directive, which demands an integrated approach to water management. The purpose of the OpenMI-LIFE is to transform the OpenMI from research output to sustainable operational product.

Using the Semantic Web Infrastructure, development of a Personalized Learning Assistant and a Learning Object Editor for Educational Institutes to provide Distance Learning Courses with the use of intelligent agents.