https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4541-961X
Current Activities
International programs, strategic initiatives, and research focus.
International Studies
International degree programs, global doctoral coordination, and joint academic offerings.
BSc in Information Technology
Director
Director of the international undergraduate program BSc in Information Technology at Harokopio University of Athens.
- Approved by the Senate and submitted for certification to the National Council for Higher Education and Training.
- Expected to be operational with student registration in September 2027.
- Includes collaboration for course delivery with the State University of New York (SUNY).
Department International PhD Program
Coordinator
Coordinator for the Department's international PhD program, exclusively for foreign students.
- Currently includes 4 active doctoral candidates in the program.
Erasmus Mundus European Master on Sustainable Systems Engineering (EMSSE)
Course Instructor & Research Partner
Participation in the Erasmus Mundus European Master on Sustainable Systems Engineering (EMSSE).
- Teaching of course 'Software Engineering for System Modelling', focusing on SysML Language.
- Research activities in the field of Sustainable Computing Engineering.
RCIS 2027 International Conference
General Chair
General Chair for the organization of the 21st International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science (RCIS 2027) at Harokopio University of Athens.
- Hosting RCIS 2027 in Athens with a focus on information science and software engineering.
Strategic Initiatives
Strategic research initiatives
Ethical and Regulatory Transparency as well as Sustainability in Artificial Intelligence
Supported by CERTAIN project
The initiative explores the creation of models and methodologies for assessing the compliance of distributed infrastructures and AI models and systems with ethical and regulatory frameworks, as well as the sustainability of these systems. Emphasis is placed both on the evaluation of AI models and the data they use or produce, and on the distributed ecosystem that is created for their integration into workflows for the provision of services to end users, utilizing data spaces technology.
Key Contributions & Focus
- Assessment of the sustainability of the software (both the distributed ecosystem and the AI models), by introducing metrics and their assessment in the components of the project ecosystem.
- Assessing the compliance of the workflow for providing services to end users against ethical and regulatory frameworks, by introducing methodologies for the transformation of ethics into design requirements and their assessment in the components of the AI ecosystem.
- IEEE 7000 Ethical Design standard series is utilized as the basis to explore ethical requirement assessment.
Smart Campus Initiative of Harokopio University
Universities of Excellence – Recovery and Resilience Fund
Using funding from the 'Universities of Excellence' project of the Recovery and Resilience Fund, Harokopio University has installed over 250 sensors of different types in all its building facilities to monitor them centrally through the ThingsBoard platform. Over 650,000 measurements are collected on a daily basis. The system has been fully operational since the summer of 2025, and is the basis for the production of research papers as well as degree/diploma theses and courses, which bring students into contact with real IoT systems, transforming the University into a living lab.
Key Contributions & Focus
- In the current phase, Smart Campus services to promote Sustainability in University, as well as the sustainability of the Smart Campus itself are explored.
- Fault tolerance and self-healing of smart environments and the development of adaptive services is explored using the Smart Campus as a test bed.
OmiLab International Network Node
Hosted at the Center for Responsible and Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Head of the OmiLab international network node hosted at the Center for Responsible and Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation since 2024. OmiLaB network is focused on Modeling and Innovation using open-source technology. The Harokopio University Node is focused on Sustainability.
Key Contributions & Focus
- Exploitation of SysML 2.0 to model sustainability.
- Creation of domain specific model libraries towards sustainable and responsible computing.
- Gamification of sustainability exploitation and assessment.
IntOps & ISCA Research Groups
Integrated Systems & Operations Research
Head of the IntOps research group and member of ISCA research group at Harokopio University.
PhD Positions Open in All Initiatives
Doctoral research positions are available across all these initiatives. Please contact Prof. Nikolaidou via email for further information.
Diploma Theses
Diploma Theses are all available across these initiatives and also Cloud Systems Design and FinOps for Cloud and AI. Check the Diploma Thesis list announced by the Department Secretariat or contact me via email.
Research Focus
Key research domains currently explored
Responsible and Sustainable Computing
Human-centric system design, ethical requirements engineering, Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) & healthcare systems governance, and energy-aware sustainable computing architectures.
Research Topics & Focus
- Responsible Computing
- Ethical requirements and the IEEE 7000 series standards
- Ethical and Sustainable AI
- Regulatory Conformance
- Sustainable Computing and Software
- Green IT
Related Research Highlights
- Energy-aware cloud/edge execution architectures
- Energy-aware management in Smart Campus
- Sustainable Software metrics and evaluation
- Human-centric system design & ethical requirement modeling in SysML
- Healthcare systems governance under regulatory frameworks
Cloud and AI FinOps - System Engineering
Cloud cost governance, FinOps frameworks, GenAI & LLMaaS adoption cost optimization, Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), SysML cost-aware modeling, and Quality of Service (QoS) engineering.
Research Topics & Focus
- Cloud FinOps
- AI FinOps
- LLMaaS Governance
- MBSE
- SysML Cost Modeling
- QoS Engineering
Related Research Highlights
- FinOps governance & dynamic cloud/AI cost optimization frameworks
- MBSE & SysML profiles for early-stage cost and resource trade-off analysis
- SLA and Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees in multi-cloud environments
- Case Studies: E-government, Health informatics, transportation
Autonomous Systems and IoT
Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), smart farming and aquaculture sensor telemetry, fog/edge computing architectures, event-driven microservices, and autonomous drone delivery systems.
Research Topics & Focus
- Cyber-Physical Systems
- Smart Environments and Smart Campus
- Self-healing and self-optimized IoT Systems
- Data Imputation in IoT
- Edge and Fog Computing
- Autonomous Systems
- Microservices
- Adaptive Services
Related Research Highlights
- Edge-cloud telemetry & sensor processing for smart environments (AFarCloud, IMPAQT)
- Event-driven platforms for autonomous systems
- Cyber-physical human-in-the-loop design and monitoring
- Self-managed and self-healing edge architectures
IT Assessment and Modelling - Modelling Languages
Domain modelling languages, SysML 2.0 extensions, CMMN case management, human-centered modelling, language assessment, collaborative and exploratory modelling, AI-driven model generation, and OMIlab ADOxx platform tools.
Research Topics & Focus
- Domain Modelling Languages
- SysML 2.0
- CMMN
- Human-centered Modelling
- Modelling Language Assessment
- Collaborative and Exploratory Modeling
- AI and Automated model generation and transformation
- ADOxx platform
- Use cases
- data-driven and user-driven IT assessment
Related Research Highlights
- SysML 2.0 assessment and extension
- Case Management and CMMN
- Running an OMIlab node
- Participation in OMG SysML and Responsible Computing standardisation working groups
- IT system and service assessment
Material and Links
Useful platforms, research project portals, academic degree links, and key open-source resources.
Smart Campus Harokopio University Portal
Central IoT platform monitoring 250+ sensors and collecting 650,000+ daily measurements across university buildings.
OMiLAB Node at Harokopio University
International network node focused on conceptual modeling, SysML 2.0 sustainability extensions, and open-source tool creation.
BSc in Information Technology (International Degree)
Official portal for the international undergraduate program in Information Technology developed with SUNY collaboration.
EMSSE Erasmus Mundus European Master
Erasmus Mundus European Master on Sustainable Systems Engineering offering specialized software engineering for system modeling courses.
Engineering Smart Cyber-Physical Systems
Keynote presentation by Prof. Mara Nikolaidou covering smart aggregators in CPS, quality-aware service transformation, and human engagement in CPHS.
Making Model-Based System Design Aware of Design Requirements: Challenges in Using and Extending SysML
Tutorial and keynote presentation by Prof. Mara Nikolaidou and Dr. Christos Kotronis exploring SysML requirement extensions, QoS integration, and automated decision-making.
SysML v2
Systems Modeling Language (SysML) v2 specifications and official community resources for next-generation system modeling.
FinOps
Cloud Financial Management framework and open standards for cost optimization and cloud financial accountability.
IEEE 7000 standard series for Ethical design
Standard model process for addressing ethical concerns during system design, responsible computing, and artificial intelligence regulation.
Software Sustainability Initiative
Resource guide and initiatives promoting green computing, sustainable software engineering, and environmental footprint management.