Urtza Garay Ruiz

Curriculum Vitae

PhD in Psychodidactics from the UPV/EHU, assistant lecturer (accredited for senior lecturer) with two 6-year research periods (2009-2014 / 2015-2020). Currently, Dean of the Faculty of Education - Bilbao (UPV/EHU), from 2017 to 2020 Head of Methodological Innovation of the UPV/EHU and from 2020-2021 Secretary of the Bizkaia Campus (Deputy Vice Chancellery of the Bizkaia Campus).

She is the principal investigator of the consolidated WebLearner research group (IT1685-22) and her field of research is educational technology. She is the author of over 200 scientific publications (papers, books, book chapters, etc.) and has given papers and presentations at 156 national and international congresses. She has supervised 6 PhD theses in the field of education, two of them with International Mention. She has participated, as principal investigator and researcher, in 49 funded research projects at regional, national and international level, among which stands out the Horizon project (“European coordination network and activities to embrace a sustainable and inclusive STEAM educational system: the blend of artistic and creative approaches in STEM education, research & innovation“) in the area of STEAM and Education.

She directs the University Master's Degree in Technology, Learning and Education at the UPV/EHU, and is a member of the Academic Committee of the Interdisciplinary PhD Programme Globalisation under examination: interdisciplinary challenges and responses.

She has two stretches within the Docentiaz teaching staff evaluation programme recognised with a rating of excellent, and has taught on the Undergraduate Degree courses in Education and the Master's Degree in Secondary Education. In 2024, she received the 2nd STEAM Euskadi Award with the interdisciplinary project “Apps Fair for Education”.

Prominent in the field of knowledge transfer is the project “Closing the digital divide by integrating technology into the teaching-learning process in the Dominican Republic” in collaboration with UNICEF, and funded by the AECID, which she is currently leading. She is also the director of the first society-university classroom set up at the UPV/EHU in collaboration with the Association for Down Syndrome and other Learning Disabilities of the Basque Country.