Digital Culture

 

Specialization/Track "Digital Culture"


The Specialization/Track "Digital Culture" aims to educate and train professionals from various disciplines in theoretical, scientific, and technological fields to promote the emergence, protection, promotion, and management of cultural assets with the contribution of advanced digital technologies. It equips students with the necessary knowledge of the latest global trends in the emerging interdisciplinary field of digital culture and ensures the development and shaping of a new digital strategy in culture. It promotes the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage in our country, highlighting new ways of effective management of cultural organizations within the broader framework of social and educational policy. It incorporates modern knowledge fields, including 3D modeling, the application of mixed reality technologies (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Virtual Worlds), mobile communications, internet and social media technologies, signal processing and multimedia, with the ultimate goal of optimal digital management, documentation, and curation of cultural heritage as well as aspects of contemporary culture. As our country possesses a rich cultural heritage in a continent (Europe) that is itself a cultural powerhouse, the strengthening of interdisciplinary collaboration will contribute to the enhancement of the Creative Industry, the protection of our cultural heritage, and the promotion of contemporary creation.

Who is the "Digital Culture" specialization of the M.Sc. program aimed at?
 

In the specialization of "Digital Culture" of the M.Sc. (Master of Science) program, holders of a bachelor's degree from Greek or foreign universities are eligible to apply, in accordance with the provisions of Law 4957/2022. The indicative specializations include: Civil Engineering, Urban Planning, Humanities, Natural Sciences or Technological Sciences, School of Philosophy, Pedagogy, Fine Arts, Engineering, Departments/Schools of Information and Communication Technologies, Agricultural Sciences, Theology, Economics and Social Sciences, Polytechnic Engineering or Polytechnic Schools, Environmental Engineering, Law, Departments of Computer Science, Sound and Image Arts, Cultural Technology and Communication, Cultural Environment and New Technologies Management, Informatics, Media and Communication, Digital Media, Communication and Cultural Management, Art Conservation and Restoration, History and Archaeology, Graphic Design, Informatics and Mass Media, Management-Economics and Communication, Cultural and Touristic Units, Archives, Libraries and Museology, Photography and Audiovisual Arts, Greek and European Culture, Maritime Studies, Technological Engineering of Informatics, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Spatial Planning and Regional Development, Civil Engineering, Production and Management Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering, Pedagogical Departments, Special Education, History-Archaeology and Social Anthropology, Political Science and Public Administration, Communication and Mass Media, Media Communication and Culture, Theater Studies, Philosophy, Pedagogy, and Psychology, History and Philosophy of Science, Public Administration, Economics and Regional Development, Social and Political Sciences, Social Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Technological Educational Institutes (TEI), or equivalent institutions in Greece, as well as equivalent foreign universities (the above list is indicative and not exhaustive) (for more information about each specialization/track, you can contact the Secretariat of the M.Sc. program via email: dcsciot@unipi.gr or phone: +30 210 4142451 (Monday to Friday, 12:00-14:00 & 16:00-18:00).

 

Course Schedule

The courses will start in October 2023. The teaching hours are from 18:00 to 21:00, four days a week.

Applications
Interested individuals can submit their applications until October 30, 2023, electronically on the website http://www.cs.unipi.gr/registration/dicul.php and send their application and relevant documents to the Secretariat of the Postgraduate Studies Program (M.Sc.).


For further information, please refer to:
Email: dcsciot@unipi.gr,
https://www.facebook.com/dcsciot, 
http://www.cs.unipi.gr/dcsciot

 

Track Courses

Intelligent Mixed Reality and e-Culture

This course deals with the presentation of the modern applications of Mixed Reality in culture. Mixed Reality is the scientific area that includes all the digital information multiplexing degrees in the continuum between the real and the virtual/digital world. It is mainly a combination of the Augmented and Virtual Reality research areas, as in Augmented Reality (AR) the elements of the digital world (e.g. 3D models) interact with the real environment, while in Virtual Reality (VR) the user is fully immersed in digital worlds. Various applications of Virtual or Augmented Digital Worlds for Electronic Culture will be analyzed (e.g. VR, AR, 3D Printing) as well as the creation of 3D models through photogrammetry and their management using appropriate software.

 

 

 

Learning Results

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

●    Recognize the basic principles of 3D graphics and mixed reality technology.
●    Determine the fundamental parameters of photogrammetry techniques.
●    Familiarize themselves with new technologies for capturing (small-scale) monuments and artifacts.
●    Generate digital environments using open-source software and available libraries.
●    Create serious games and applications with a focus on cultural content.
●    Transmit the acquired knowledge in a creative way to their peers within the course with the aim of creating applications in cultural informatics.

Professors

Name Position Office Telephone Email
Anagnostopoulos Christos-Nikolaos Professor 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 canag@unipi.gr
Koilias Aleksandros Teaching Staff

Advanced Information Technologies for Monument Management

In the context of this course, digital curatorship issues will be discussed and analyzed in terms of recording, rescuing, documenting and promoting of cultural monuments and assets. The technological part of the course includes the latest advanced technologies for achieving the above goals, such as: 3D modeling using terrestrial and aerial scanning devices (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/drones), fundamental principles of organizing the pipeline of 3D monument scanning, managing, registering and combining various formats of 3D models and point clouds, as well as basic issues of managing data bases.

 

 

 

Learning Results

At the end of this course, students will be able to:
●    Recognize basic principles of capturing and representing cultural heritage using advanced techniques.
●    Understand the fundamental techniques of televisualization.
●    Familiarize themselves with new technologies for capturing large-scale monuments.
●    Prepare the necessary steps for capturing large-scale monuments using appropriate equipment (terrestrial scanners, UAV/drones, portable scanners).
●    Manage multiple point cloud data (point cloud registration).
●    Generate 3D models in digital environments using software and available libraries.
●    Transmit the acquired knowledge in a creative way to their peers within the course with the aim of creating applications in cultural informatics.

Professors

Name Position Office Telephone Email
Anagnostopoulos Christos-Nikolaos Professor 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 canag@unipi.gr
Sotiropoulos Dionisios Assistant Professor 543/ΚΕΚΤ +30 210 4142314 dsotirop@unipi.gr
Koilias Aleksandros Teaching Staff

WWW and Digital Collections Management

This course will cover advanced issues in web technologies. The educational framework aims to provide postgraduate students with the necessary knowledge in contemporary topics that govern the Internet, particularly web applications, with an emphasis on modern communication applications, multimedia content transmission, and support of culturally-oriented services. Special attention will be given to the management of digital collections and/or digital exhibitions using internet technologies (display, promotion, design, hosting, security), as well as data analytics methodologies and ontologies for optimal metadata management of digital collections and their content (e.g., culturomics).

The purpose of the course is to present contemporary and innovative digital tools in such depth that website operators (users or administrators) can develop and organize digital collections and leverage the digital data from their research.

Additionally, the course addresses the following topics:
 -   World Wide Web, hypertext, hyperlink, web page, site, Uniform Resource Locator (URL), home page, browser, browsing programs, web surfing, Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
 -   Construction principles of internet technologies and construction formats (custom HTML, Cascading Style Sheets/CSS, JavaScript, Hypertext Preprocessor/PHP). Introduction to Content Management Systems (CMS). Presentation of Blogs and Web Builders.
 -   Presentation and integration of digital multimedia tools in the design and organization of web pages. Highlighting cultural material through digital tools and presenting data to enrich reports and communication. Familiarization with the basic principles of web design, implementation, and evaluation of web pages and online activities using digital tools.
 
 

 

Learning Results

Upon successful completion of this module, students will be able to implement web constructions and activities of digital collections of their choice, in which they will be able to:

●  Identify and utilize digital tools that can be integrated into a web reference site and construct web units in their preferred digital formats (Custom HTML, CMS, Blog, Web Builder) for presenting cultural material.
●  Organize new forms of collaboration within and outside the web reference site through digital tools.
●  Properly handle digital tools to enrich digital collections and present cultural assets.
●  Present research findings and communicate them online.
●  Apply digital storytelling structures in their own web constructions.
●  Function as users and administrators of the digital tools proposed in the course.

Professors

Name Position Office Telephone Email
Anagnostopoulos Christos-Nikolaos Professor 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 canag@unipi.gr
Kotsifakos Dimitrios Teaching Staff 302/ΚΕΚΤ +30 210 4142137
Razis Gerasimos Teaching Staff 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 makisraz@unipi.gr

Cultural Analytics- Signal Processing and Services for Cultural Applications (multimedia)

This course mainly focuses on signal analysis applications (visual and auditory) for cultural purposes. This course covers the principles of signal processing (image, video, and audio) for extracting and processing relevant features (image, video, and audio feature extraction) with the aim of supporting research in the field of culture and managing the abundance of cultural (meta)data that is generated. Additionally, it will address issues related to services for cultural applications.
 
 
 
 
 

 

Learning Results

Upon completion of the two lectures, the student will be able to:

●   Understand what sound is, the basic categories of sounds, and the most popular applications and tools related to sound.
●   Comprehend the concept of digital audio signal and its stages (sampling and quantization).
●   Understand the basic principles of sound production and perception and acquire some fundamental knowledge of psychoacoustics.
●   Know the fundamental signal transformations and how they are applied to audio, with a focus on the DFT transformation and the resulting spectral measurements.
●   Understand the basics of audio compression, storage, and transmission.
●   Implement basic functions in Matlab for managing audio signals, applying the acquired knowledge.

Professors

Name Position Office Telephone Email
Michalas Angelos Professor in University of Western Macedonia 208/ΚΕKΤ amichalas@unipi.gr
Pikrakis Aggelos Assistant Professor 505/ΚΕΚΤ +30 210 4142128 pikrakis@unipi.gr
Kakoulidou Aliki Teaching Staff, Graphic designer 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 akakoulidou@unipi.gr
Kotsonis Ioannis Teaching Staff, Composer of electronic music, sound artist, and improviser. 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 ykotsonis@unipi.gr
Vergados Dimitrios Professor 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 vergados@unipi.gr

ΙοΤ and Mobile Applications for Digital Culture

This course deals with issues related to mobile media applications in the field of culture and, by extension, applications that have the potential to enhance and support side activities such as "experience tourism," which involves the creation of e-services and e-content that can be used by mobile devices to support forms of tourism.

Indicatively, some applications mentioned are:

            1. Guides for archaeological sites
            2. Presentation of monuments of particular cultural value
            3. Digitization of tourist and cultural resources, designing routes on digital maps, etc.

 

 

Learning Results

On successful completion of this unit students will be able to:
 ●   Understand the principles of User Experience (UX), its relationship with User Interface (UI), and the role of both UX and UI in designing interactive systems.
 ●   Learn the significance of usability evaluation for an interactive system, and be able to apply the heuristics methodology in order to evaluate the usability of interactive systems.

Professors

Name Position Office Telephone Email
Michalas Angelos Professor in University of Western Macedonia 208/ΚΕKΤ amichalas@unipi.gr
Skondras Emmanouil Teaching Staff, Postdoctoral Researcher 208/ΚΕΚΤ +30 210 4142458, +30 210 4142127, +30 210 4142060 skondras@unipi.gr
Alepis Efthimios Associate Professor 540/ΚΕΚΤ +30 210 4142311 talepis@unipi.gr
Stefanou Vasileia Teaching Staff 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 vstefanou@unipi.gr
Vergados Dimitrios Professor 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 vergados@unipi.gr

Administration and Management of Cultural Units and Organizations

This is an introductory course on financial management and control. The aim of the course is to familiarize the students with the process by which managers insure that the effective and efficient administration of financial resources achieves a cultural organization’s public policy objectives. Cultural organizations include not only government agencies but also nonprofit organizations such as colleges, museums and arts organizations, and foundations.

The course provides the basic concepts, fundamental approaches and key tools for aspiring decision makers who do not necessarily hold financial positions or backgrounds. It will equip students with the state-of-the art tools, methodologies and ideas needed in making and analyzing the two key decisions in finance concerning Investments and Financing.

 

 

Learning Results

By the end of the course, students will be able to:
●    Understand the key issues affecting finance decisions.
●    Have a broad knowledge of issues related to the key goals, concepts, stakeholders, problems, decisions, variables, imitations and tools involved in the financial management of an organization managing cultural heritage.
●    Prepare capital budgets, evaluate capital investment projects, and proceed to capital budgeting decisions.
●    Identify the various financing options, sources and procedures that are available for funding Cultural Organizations and non-for-profit organizations.
●    Prepare proposals for grants

Professors

Name Position Office Telephone Email
Siountri Konstantina Teaching Staff 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 ksiountri@unipi.gr
Psychogios Dimitrios Associate Professor 319/Δεληγιώργη 107 +30 210 4142399 dpsycho@unipi.gr
Karamitsanis Vasileios Teaching Staff, President of Animasyros and ASIFA Hellas 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479
Panos Pantelis Teaching Staff, General Director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA) 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479

Sustainable Cultural Development and ESG for Digital Cities

The concept of future digital cities aims to promote economic development and improve the quality of life for people by leveraging technology, enabling sustainable and environmentally friendly development in local areas. Given that the people of a city and their cultural heritage are closely connected to the present and future of the city, any effort to change the quality of life should consider the cultural needs along with the economic and social expectations of its residents.

This course addresses issues related to the promotion of cultural heritage, urban composition, and the character of the city. It also covers topics related to contemporary forms and expressions of culture and new trends in the cultural industry, such as methodology and experience of multimedia spectacle/narration (transmedia storytelling, cross-media circulation, multi-platform distribution), user-generated content, and social networking.

Additionally, the following topics are taught in the course: Conceptual approach to cultural routes, European Cultural Routes, projection and promotion of cultural routes, digital media promotion, Trails, European Long Distance Paths, digital trails, Creation of Digital Cultural Routes, Case Studies.

 

 

Learning Results

On successful completion of this unit students will be able to:
●   Identify the key concepts of cultural paths.
●   Understand the techniques of promoting cultural paths.
●   Analyse and propose techniques for designing digital cultural paths.

Professors

Name Position Office Telephone Email
Siountri Konstantina Teaching Staff 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 ksiountri@unipi.gr
Katapoti Despoina Assiociate Professor in University of the Aegean

Copyright, Personal Data and Regulatory Issues

The development of digital technologies, particularly the Internet of Things (IoT), raises a number of legal issues related to intellectual property law, privacy protection, consumer protection, free access to information, regulation of data rights (especially in the case of Big Data), as well as information security and cybercrime issues. This course examines all of the above and additionally explores the legal aspects of artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain technology, and smart contracts.

The purpose of this course is to enable students to identify and address the legal issues arising from the rapid development of digital technologies, particularly the new reality of the Internet of Things (IoT).

 

 

 

Learning Results

Upon completion, students are expected to be able to:
●    Identify potential third-party rights infringement in the development of digital applications in the context of the Internet of Things and Advanced Digital Technologies
●    Realize the legal boundaries in developing relevant applications
●    Negotiate their position and responsibilities in the context of relevant actions
●    Form their own opinion about the respective business strategies of private or public entities

Professors

Name Position Office Telephone Email
Vagena Evangelia Teaching Staff, IT & IP Law Expert and lecturer, CIPP/E, vice president of HADPP 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 evagena@unipi.gr
Vergados Dimitrios Professor 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 vergados@unipi.gr

Urban Design of Digital Cities

This course aims to create interdisciplinary teams of experts who can design innovative solutions to ensure the sustainability of future cities. We will explore technological trends and tools that support the digital transformation of our communities and delve into the environmental and social impacts that need to be considered when reimagining the future of a city.

Additional concepts covered in this course include: Basic Principles of Geographic Information Systems, Selection of Spatial Data Models (vector/raster depending on the nature of the study), fundamental concepts and cartographic techniques, basic principles of geographic database management systems, spatial analysis concepts and techniques, cartographic visualization of spatial data at regional and urban levels.

 

 

 

Learning Results

Upon completing this course, students are expected to be able to work on new principles of urban planning and digital feedback technologies that enable the creation of distributed and dynamic urban systems, significantly reducing resource consumption. They will learn that being "smart" does not necessarily imply the automation or artificial intelligence of these different systems but also refers to how designers, artists, theorists, engineers, and city officials approach the urban environment. They will understand that being "smart" in urban planning means understanding the economy, density, networks, social characteristics, and the unique profile of a place.

Additionally, students will be able to:
●   Identify the fundamental concepts of geographic information systems.
●   Analyze different spatial levels and scales and choose an appropriate spatial data model.
●   Analyze demographic and general statistical data at the national/regional/district level and map them.
●   Analyze data at the urban/urban planning level and map them.
●   Formulate spatial queries and interpret their results.

Professors

Name Position Office Telephone Email
Siountri Konstantina Teaching Staff 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 ksiountri@unipi.gr
Vasilara Archontoula Teaching Staff 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 avasilara@unipi.gr
Tsigkas Epaminondas Teaching Staff, Teaching and Research Staff (TRS) NTUA 104/Lam.126 +30 210 4142479 etsigkas@unipi.gr

Advanced Media Technologies and Applications in Contemporary Culture and Heritage

This course addresses issues related to forms and expressions of contemporary culture and new trends in the cultural industry, such as: Methodology and experience of spectacle/narration through multiple media (transmedia storytelling, cross-media circulation, multi-platform distribution), contemporary digital arts, serious games, user-generated content, social networking, and second life.

 

 

 

 

 

Learning Results

Professors

Name Position Office Telephone Email
Siountri Konstantina Teaching Staff 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 ksiountri@unipi.gr
Kakoulidou Aliki Teaching Staff, Graphic designer 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 akakoulidou@unipi.gr
Kotsonis Ioannis Teaching Staff, Composer of electronic music, sound artist, and improviser. 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 ykotsonis@unipi.gr
Rappas Panagiotis Teaching Staff 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479
Vergados Dimitrios Professor 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479 vergados@unipi.gr
Tsiftsian Vasilliki Teaching Staff 104/ΓΛ126 +30 210 4142479

MSc Thesis

Learning Results

Professors

Name Position Office Telephone Email
M.Sc. in "Digital Culture, Smart Cities, IoT and Advanced Digital Technologies" Department of Informatics University of Piraeus 80, Karaoli & Dimitriou St. GR-185 34, Piraeus, Greece
tel: +30 2104142451 email: dcsciot@unipi.gr

© 2018-2024 M.Sc. in "Digital Culture, Smart Cities, IoT and Advanced Digital Technologies"