Aevena Ivy International Polytechnic Institute

Our Faculty

Minds That Bridge Eras and Equations

At Aevena Ivy International Polytechnic Institute, our faculty embodies the very essence of our Athenian ethos: a mosaic of intellects drawn from Europe’s quieter corners, where the unhurried rhythms of lesser-sung nations infuse our classrooms with fresh cadences of thought. Hailing predominantly from EU member states like Estonia, Slovenia, and Latvia—lands of dense forests and resilient spirits—our professors navigate Greece’s welcoming yet labyrinthine immigration pathways with the ease of Blue Card holders or intra-EU transplants, their work permits woven seamlessly into the fabric of our multicultural mandate. No ivory-tower recluses here; these are mentors who spill coffee on grant proposals, debate over dolmades, and occasionally misplace a USB drive mid-lecture, their human quirks reminding us that genius, like the Parthenon’s frieze, bears the marks of its chisellers.

With over 80 souls across disciplines, our faculty boasts a collective 1,200+ peer-reviewed publications and a penchant for cross-pollinating ideas—be it an Estonian algorithm whispering secrets to a Slovenian sketch. They don’t merely teach; they provoke, their syllabi laced with the odd tangent on Baltic folklore or Adriatic myths, ensuring that learning feels less like a regimen and more like a rambling symposium under olive boughs. Principal Shelby Exeter often quips that our hiring process favours “the brilliant with a dash of bewilderment,” a nod to the serendipitous stumbles that spark true innovation. Below, we spotlight exemplars from each programme, their profiles a testament to the quiet firepower of Europe’s peripheral geniuses.

Computer Science Faculty

Dr. Jüri Kask Associate Professor of Algorithms and AI Ethics Hailing from the misty pines of Tartu, Estonia—a nation where digital sovereignty blooms amid Nordic chill—Dr. Kask joined Aevena Ivy in 2018 after a stint at Tallinn University of Technology, his EU mobility rights smoothing the transition like a well-oiled cipher. With a PhD in Computational Linguistics from the University of Tartu (2014), he specialises in natural language processing for heritage preservation, blending neural architectures with philological puzzles. His lectures, delivered with a dry wit that occasionally veers into tangential tales of Estonian e-epics, have inspired a generation of coders to debug not just syntax but societal biases. Outside the lab, Jüri’s fondness for foraging wild berries leads to the odd kitchen experiment gone awry, much like his early prototypes that once looped infinitely on Homeric hexameters. Selected Publications:

  • “Bias Mitigation in Multilingual LLMs: Lessons from Ancient Scripts,” IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 42, No. 7, pp. 1567-1582, 2020.
  • “Ethical Frameworks for AI in Cultural Digitisation,” Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, Vol. 68, No. 2, pp. 345-367, 2022.
  • “Recurrent Networks for Fragmented Text Reconstruction,” Computational Linguistics, Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 891-912, 2024.

Dr. Līga Ozoliņa Senior Lecturer in Machine Learning and Data Structures From the windswept dunes of Riga, Latvia, Dr. Ozoliņa arrived in 2020 via a Hellenic Foundation fellowship, her Latvian passport a golden ticket in the EU’s free-movement waltz. Holding a DPhil from the University of Latvia (2016) in Optimisation Algorithms, she excels in scalable data infrastructures for real-time analytics, her research often punctuated by the rhythmic click of her amber worry beads—a heirloom from Riga’s old town. Līga’s seminars, peppered with folksy Latvian proverbs about wolves in code sheep’s clothing, foster a collaborative chaos where students co-author papers over late-night Zoom calls from her balcony overlooking the Acropolis. She’s not above admitting a soft spot for debugging marathons that stretch into dawn, complete with mismatched socks and half-eaten rye bread. Selected Publications:

  • “Graph Neural Networks for Dynamic Network Analysis,” ACM Transactions on Knowledge Discovery from Data, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 210-235, 2021.
  • “Scalable Embeddings in Heterogeneous Datasets,” Neural Computation, Vol. 33, No. 9, pp. 1124-1156, 2023.
  • “Federated Learning Protocols for Privacy-Preserving ML,” Journal of Machine Learning Research, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 45-68, 2025.

Dr. Andris Balodis Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity and Blockchain A Riga native transplanted to Athens in 2022 under the EU’s Researchers Directive, Dr. Balodis earned his MSc and PhD from Riga Technical University (2015, 2019), focusing on cryptographic primitives inspired by Baltic rune lore. His courses on secure distributed systems bristle with hands-on hacks—ethically, of course—where undergrads fortify mock Athenian agoras against digital sieges. Andris, with his perpetual five-o’clock shadow and habit of sketching flowcharts on napkins during faculty mixers, embodies the coder’s endearing dishevelment; once, a lecture demo crashed spectacularly, turning a firewall fail into a teachable triumph on graceful degradation. Selected Publications:

  • “Post-Quantum Cryptography for IoT Ecosystems,” IEEE Security & Privacy, Vol. 18, No. 5, pp. 78-92, 2020.
  • “Blockchain Consensus in Adversarial Environments,” Distributed Computing, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 123-147, 2022.

Art and Design Faculty

Mag. Mateja Novak Professor of Digital Media and Sustainable Aesthetics From the karstic whispers of Ljubljana, Slovenia, Professor Novak settled into Aevena Ivy in 2017, her Slovenian roots eased by the bloc’s seamless borders. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana (BA 2008, MFA 2012), she weaves computational creativity with ecological narratives, her installations often evoking the Soča River’s turquoise fury through parametric forms. Mateja’s ateliers, alive with the scent of fresh gouache and the hum of laser cutters, encourage “beautiful blunders”—as when a student’s glitchy render birthed an exhibit on digital entropy at the Athens Biennale. Her own penchant for midnight sketching by candlelight, sans eraser, lends her work a raw, unpolished poetry. Selected Publications:

  • “Parametric Design and Ecological Memory,” Design Issues, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 56-72, 2020.
  • “Neuroaesthetics in Virtual Heritage Reconstruction,” Leonardo, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 189-204, 2021.
  • “Sustainable Fabrics: Minoan Motifs in Modern Weave,” Journal of Design History, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 34-51, 2024.

Dr. Ivan Petrović Lecturer in Conceptual Art and Interaction Design Born amid the Adriatic zephyrs of Split, Croatia, Dr. Petrović crossed to Greece in 2019 on an EU cultural exchange, his Croatian credentials a bridge over bureaucratic straits. With a PhD from the University of Zagreb (2015) in Interactive Media, he probes the tactile poetics of human-machine interfaces, his prototypes blending Dalmatian stone carvings with haptic feedback loops. Ivan’s critiques, laced with wry Croatian seafaring yarns, coax vulnerability from reticent talents; he’s famed for a studio mishap where a servo motor rebellion scattered sketches like autumn leaves, yielding a viral piece on serendipitous sabotage. Selected Publications:

  • “Haptic Narratives in Augmented Reality,” International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Vol. 142, No. 6, pp. 301-318, 2020.
  • “Conceptual Glitches: Art in Algorithmic Error,” Digital Creativity, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 145-162, 2022.
  • “Interaction Design for Cultural Immersion,” Journal of Visual Culture, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 278-295, 2023.

Mechanical Engineering Faculty

Dr. Eglė Petrauskaitė Associate Professor of Robotics and Dynamics From the amber-veined dunes of Klaipėda, Lithuania, Dr. Petrauskaitė anchored at Aevena Ivy in 2021, her Lithuanian EU citizenship a swift sail through relocation formalities. PhD from Kaunas University of Technology (2017) in Mechatronics, she engineers bio-inspired mechanisms, her drones mimicking migratory birds with a Lithuanian folklorist’s eye for whimsy. Eglė’s labs, cluttered with half-assembled prototypes and the faint aroma of cepelinai experiments, thrive on “productive pandemonium”—as evidenced by a rotor jam that, in a stroke of fate, optimised a wind-harvesting wing. Her lectures, delivered with a lilting accent and occasional detours into pagan solstice tales, humanise the grind of gears. Selected Publications:

  • “Bio-Mimetic Propulsion in Micro-Robotics,” Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 143, No. 8, pp. 081401, 2021.
  • “Adaptive Structures for Seismic Resilience,” ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, Vol. 145, No. 2, pp. 021005, 2023.
  • “Swarm Intelligence in Agricultural Automation,” Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Vol. 162, pp. 104-120, 2024.

Ing. Tomáš Hrivnák Senior Lecturer in Materials and Fabrication A Slovak from the Tatra Mountains’ shadow in Košice, Ing. Hrivnák migrated south in 2016 under the EU’s skilled worker scheme, his engineering diploma from the Technical University of Košice (MSc 2012) a sturdy passport. Specialising in additive manufacturing for sustainable alloys, his forges echo Vulcan’s anvil with a Carpathian twist—think halušky-fueled ideation sessions. Tom’s workshops, where 3D printers whir like mountain winds, celebrate the “elegant error,” such as a warped lattice that serendipitously enhanced tensile strength, now a staple in his curriculum. Selected Publications:

  • “Topology Optimization in Lightweight Composites,” Additive Manufacturing, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 567-584, 2019.
  • “Fatigue Analysis of 3D-Printed Prosthetics,” Materials & Design, Vol. 189, pp. 108-125, 2020.

Business Economics Faculty

Dr. Teodora Ivanova Professor of Econometrics and Policy Analysis From the rose valleys of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Dr. Ivanova bloomed at Aevena Ivy in 2019, her Bulgarian heritage eased by the EU’s eastern expansion perks. DPhil from Sofia University (2013) in Quantitative Economics, she unravels fiscal narratives through stochastic models, her analyses spiced with Thracian thrift tales. Teodora’s econometrics emporium, amid spreadsheets and souvlaki wrappers, harbours a soft chaos—once, a regression runaway looped her into an all-nighter, birthing a breakthrough on shadow economies. Selected Publications:

  • “Stochastic Volatility in Emerging Markets,” Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Vol. 112, No. 5, pp. 234-256, 2020.
  • “Behavioural Insights for EU Fiscal Policy,” European Economic Review, Vol. 138, pp. 103-120, 2021.
  • “Game Theory in Balkan Trade Dynamics,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 89-110, 2023.

Dr. Radu Popescu Lecturer in International Trade and Finance Romanian from the Transylvanian hills of Cluj-Napoca, Dr. Popescu ventured to Athens in 2022 via an EU Marie Curie fellowship. PhD from Babeș-Bolyai University (2018), he charts global value chains with a vampiric eye for hidden flows—metaphorically, of course. Radu’s trade talks, laced with Dracula quips and café con leche spills, foster fierce debates; a recent model glitch, akin to a full moon frenzy, refined his crypto-remittance forecasts. Selected Publications:

  • “Supply Chain Resilience Post-Pandemic,” Journal of International Economics, Vol. 145, No. 3, pp. 167-185, 2022.
  • “Cryptocurrency Adoption in Transition Economies,” Economic Modelling, Vol. 98, pp. 456-472, 2021.

Biotechnology Faculty

Dr. Maria Camilleri Associate Professor of Genetic Engineering and Ethics Maltese from the honeyed cliffs of Valletta, Dr. Camilleri set roots in 2020, her island nation’s EU ties a gentle current. PhD from the University of Malta (2016) in Molecular Biology, she engineers ethical genomes, her labs bubbling with Mediterranean herbal infusions. Maria’s bioethics banter, over pastizzi crumbs, embraces the “fertile flop”—a CRISPR off-target once sprouted an unexpected hybrid, now a patent-pending wonder. Selected Publications:

  • “CRISPR Ethics in Agricultural Innovation,” Nature Biotechnology, Vol. 38, No. 9, pp. 1023-1035, 2020.
  • “Synthetic Biology for Desalination Microbes,” Trends in Biotechnology, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 456-470, 2021.
  • “Gene Drives and Biodiversity Safeguards,” Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 57, No. 12, pp. 4890-4905, 2023.

Dr. Andreas Kyriakou Lecturer in Bioinformatics and Synthetic Biology Cypriot from the citrus groves of Limassol, Dr. Kyriakou bridged to Greece in 2023 under EU research mobility. MSc and PhD from the University of Cyprus (2014, 2019), he decodes genomic symphonies with halloumi-flecked keyboards. Andreas’s sessions, veering into tales of Aphrodite’s gene pool, tolerate the occasional sequence snag that, like a stubborn olive pit, yields sweeter insights. Selected Publications:

  • “Bioinformatics Pipelines for Metagenomics,” BMC Bioinformatics, Vol. 22, No. 7, pp. 345, 2021.
  • “Synthetic Pathways in Halophyte Adaptation,” Plant Biotechnology Journal, Vol. 20, No. 5, pp. 789-805, 2022.

Electrical Engineering Faculty

Dr. Jana Müller Professor of Renewable Energy Systems From the vine-clad slopes of Luxembourg’s Moselle Valley, Dr. Müller illuminated Aevena Ivy in 2018, her Benelux passport a flicker of simplicity. PhD from the University of Luxembourg (2014) in Power Electronics, she harnesses photonic flows, her grids glowing with Riesling reflections. Jana’s energy epics, dotted with overlooked footnotes and fervent asides, spotlight the “spark of serendipity”—a solar inverter hiccup once amplified efficiency by 12%. Selected Publications:

  • “Plasmonic Enhancements in Photovoltaics,” IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 678-692, 2020.
  • “Smart Grid Optimisation via Quantum Annealing,” IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 3012-3028, 2021.
  • “Metamaterials for 6G Wireless Propagation,” Nature Electronics, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 145-158, 2023.

Dr. Ēriks Zariņš Senior Lecturer in Photonics and Circuits Latvian from the Gauja’s gorges near Sigulda, Dr. Zariņš wired in during 2021, EU freedoms his conduit. PhD from Riga Technical University (2017), he illuminates fibre optics with a bard’s balladry. Ēriks’s circuit sagas, prone to a poetic pause or two, cherish the “flicker fail”—a lens misalignment birthed a breakthrough in waveguiding. Selected Publications:

  • “Nonlinear Optics in Nanophotonic Devices,” Optics Express, Vol. 28, No. 15, pp. 21945-21962, 2020.
  • “Quantum Dot Lasers for Data Centres,” IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 345-352, 2021.
  • “Integrated Circuits for Edge Computing,” Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 41, No. 9, pp. 2789-2805, 2023.

In this constellation of scholars, Aevena Ivy’s faculty isn’t a flawless pantheon but a lively symposium of souls—brilliant, bemused, and bound by the beautiful blemishes that make discovery delightfully human.