CONNECTING project

08/04/2026

The Europeana Network Association (ENA) is one of Europe’s most influential communities in digital cultural heritage—bringing together thousands of professionals who shape practices, drive innovation, and influence policy across the sector. It is not just a network, but a space for real impact and collaboration.

📅 On Monday the 25th of May 2026 at 14.30, at the Papadopoulos Building of the Cyprus University of Technology, Themidos str. 1, 3036-Limassol.

Through ENA and the wider Europeana ecosystem, professionals gain access to opportunities for collaboration, training, and increased visibility of their collections and expertise.

For Cyprus, with its rich heritage at the crossroads of three continents, active participation is essential to ensure a strong presence in Europe’s digital cultural landscape.

🛎 Open to librarians, archivists, museologists, archaeologists, historians, educators, fellows, students and researchers.

👉 All about the Event: https://unescochair-dch.net/Europeana_Network_Association_Event_Cyprus

👉 All about ENA:
https://pro.europeana.eu/europeana-network-association

Read Library Library of Cyprus University of Technology
CUTing Edge Σχολή Μηχανικής και Τεχνολογίας fans Τμήμα Αρχαιοτήτων Κύπρου/ Department of Antiquities Cyprus Cyprus Computer Society Ίδρυμα Πολιτιστικής Δημιουργίας - Larnaca Cultural Foundation Ιστορικές Μνήμες ΕΟΚΑ 1955-1959
Σύνδεσμος Κυπρίων Αρχαιολόγων - Association of Cypriot Archaeologists Cyprus Computer Society
Κυπριακή Ένωση Βιβλιοθηκονόμων και Επιστημόνων Πληροφόρησης (ΚΕΒΕΠ) Παγκόσμιο Γεωπάρκο Τροόδους UNESCO - Troodos UNESCO Global Geopark Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO Υφυπουργείο Πολιτισμού - Deputy Ministry of Culture CY Europeana.eu Παττίχειο Δημοτικό Μουσείο-Ιστορικό Αρχείο-Κέντρο Μελετών Λεμεσού Στέγη Γραμμάτων και Τεχνών Λεμεσού. / House of Arts and Letters.

07/04/2026

Research titled “Introducing AI Chatbots for Remote Sensing Archaeology” was presented at the Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) conference in Vienna. The work forms part of Nikolas Melillos PhD and is also supported by the Connecting project, of which he is a member. The study explores how computer vision and conversational AI can be combined to support archaeological remote sensing, moving beyond detection towards interpretative reasoning and more interactive analysis. The project is ongoing, and valuable feedback was received during the presentation, supporting its further development.

09/02/2026

05/02/2026

Η πολιτιστική κληρονομιά δεν είναι απλώς ένα σύνολο υλικών καταλοίπων του παρελθόντος. Είναι η μνήμη μας. Είναι η ταυτότητά μας. Είναι ο τρόπος με τον οποίο κατανοο....

22/01/2026

📢 New Publication in MDPI – Heritage

A new article by Nikola Melilo has been published in Heritage.

📝 Title: AI Chatbots and Remote Sensing Archaeology: Current Landscape, Technical Barriers, and Future Directions

🔍 Abstract (short):
Chatbots are increasingly used to access complex datasets through natural language, while remote sensing technologies (LiDAR, drones, satellites) are reshaping archaeological research. Despite rapid progress in multimodal conversational AI in other scientific fields, archaeological applications remain largely text-based and experimental. This review traces the development of chatbots, examines their use in remote sensing, and identifies key challenges—data scale, limited training datasets, computational costs, and user adoption. The study concludes that domain-specific adaptation is essential for multimodal chatbots to become effective analytical tools in archaeology.

📖 Citation:
Melillos, N.; Agapiou, A. AI Chatbots and Remote Sensing Archaeology: Current Landscape, Technical Barriers, and Future Directions. Heritage 2026, 9, 32.
🔗 https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage9010032

Chatbots have emerged as a promising interface for facilitating access to complex datasets, allowing users to pose questions in natural language rather than relying on specialized technical workflows. At the same time, remote sensing has transformed archaeological practice by producing vast amounts....

19/01/2026

🌍 Global interest. One shared future.

Join the conversation on 3D digitisation and cultural heritage.

👉 Register now and be part of it.

🌍 When small islands speak, the world listens !!! 🌍

When two small islands in the world 🇪🇺🇨🇾 Cyprus and 🇲🇹 Malta - are shouting together, more than half of Planet Earth can hear them... and the world is responding.

📊 With almost 900 registrations already from 85 countries, interest is soaring in one of the most crucial areas of our time: data acquisition and in .

📢 Join us for the midday webinar presenting the final results of the 2025 Worldwide Survey on 3D Data Acquisition and Digitisation in Cultural Heritage:

🗓 Thursday, 22 January 2026
🕜 13:30–14:30 CET
💻 Online | Free of charge

🤝 The webinar is presented in cooperation with , the International Image Interoperability Framework ( ), the Initiative, the Heritalise Project EU , and the newly established Research Centre on Digital Cultural Heritage Unesco Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage at the Cyprus University of Technology / Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου.

🔗 Register here:
https://unescochair-dch.net/Webinar-about-Survey-on-Digital-Heritage-Results

✨ Be part of the global conversation shaping the future of digital cultural heritage.

19/01/2026

Proud to contribute to this important discussion through the CONNECTING project. During the meeting, CONNECTING’s activities were presented, highlighting its role as a Research and Innovation Knowledge Centre for Engineering in Heritage, supported by a cloud Data Centre, advanced sensing platforms, and open research infrastructures that promote interdisciplinary research, innovation, and the digitisation and monitoring of Cyprus’ cultural heritage.

A successful and forward-looking meeting took place on Monday, 12 January, between the Board of the Research Center and the Deputy Ministry of Culture, with the participation of Minister Prof. Dr. Lina Kassianidou, and Permanent Secretary Giorgos Papageorgiou.

Discussions focused on the upcoming research agenda of our Center as well as on the CY–EU Council Presidency, identifying concrete opportunities for collaboration and active contribution to Presidency agenda and events. reaffirmed its commitment to support the Ministry in all possible ways related to the of .

In alignment with the Presidency’s agenda, MNEMOSYNE and the Ministry are jointly organising the EuroMed2026 Digital Heritage Summit, designed with a clear mission and targeted agenda to contribute meaningfully to the achievement of the Presidency’s objectives.

Υφυπουργείο Πολιτισμού - Deputy Ministry of Culture CY Τμήμα Αρχαιοτήτων Κύπρου/ Department of Antiquities Cyprus Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering Europeana.eu CONNECTING project

18/01/2026

29/12/2025

🎄 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the CONNECTING Project Team! 🎄

As we reflect on this past year, we are proud of the strides we've made in advancing the study and preservation of cultural heritage. 🌍💡

Here’s to a new year filled with more exciting discoveries and breakthroughs! 🚀✨

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a prosperous year ahead! 🎉

19/12/2025

🎉 Congratulations to Dr. Argyro Argyrou! 🎉

We are delighted to congratulate Iro Argyrou, member of the CONNECTING Project, on the successful defence of her PhD dissertation, presented yesterday during an open lecture.
Her doctoral research, entitled:

“Addressing the Accuracy Paradox in Archaeological Ceramic Surface Detection Using Low-Altitude, High-Resolution Remote Sensing Data”,
offers a significant contribution to the field of archaeological remote sensing and computational archaeology.

Through the integration of UAV-based high-resolution and multispectral imagery with advanced machine learning techniques, her work addresses the well-known accuracy paradox in imbalanced archaeological datasets. By applying boosting algorithms (AdaBoost, XGBoost), decision-threshold optimisation, and tailored evaluation metrics, the research substantially improves the detection of ceramic surface remains—enhancing both accuracy and survey efficiency.

The dissertation is grounded in extensive empirical research across three Mediterranean case studies (Alampra and Kofinou in Cyprus, and Megara in Greece), demonstrating real-world archaeological impact. Notably, the work introduces a new metric, Sensitivity Archaeological Detection (SAD), providing a robust framework for future research in cultural heritage and remote sensing.

👏 We warmly congratulate Argyro on this outstanding achievement and wish her every success in the next steps of her academic and professional journey. The CONNECTING Project is proud to have her as part of the team!

04/12/2025

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Lifelong Learning Center of the Cyprus University of Technology/ Κέντρο Δια Βίου Μάθησης Τεχνολογικού Πανεπιστημίου Κύπρου for providing us with this opportunity.

The three educational cycles of the Continuing Professional Education and Training Program “Data Collection and Processing with Unmanned Aircraft Systems” were successfully completed for this year.

🔗 https://www.cut.ac.cy/.../data_collection_and_processing/

We would like to warmly thank the Rector’s Office of the Cyprus University of Technology / Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου for their continuous support in implementing the training programs of the University’s Lifelong Learning Center.

Special thanks to all participants, trainees, and the teaching team:
Dr. Dimitrios Skarlatos (Professor)
Dr. Apostolos Papakonstantinou (Assistant Professor)
Dr. Athos Agapiou (Assistant Professor)

We are also truly happy that our project, CONNECTING, was part of this educational activity and that we had the opportunity to contribute actively by providing and utilizing our equipment throughout the training process.