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Biography

After completing a PhD in Classical archaeology in the Faculty of Classics, Cambridge I worked as a temporary Lecturer in Greek Art and Archaeology at Birkbeck College London. I also held a postdoctoral position at the Freie Universitat in Berlin. Previously I studied in Greece, at the Universities of Ioannina and Crete from where I hold a first degree and an M. Phil. in History and Archaeology and in Classical Archaeology respectively. My research is on Household architecture and Use of Space in Early Iron Age Island Greece. I have been involved in a number of archaeological projects in Greece and Cyprus over the past 7 years.  

What motivated you to engage the public with your work?

I am currently an Outreach officer for the Antiquities department of the Fitzwilliam Museum. I am very keen to develop new educational activities for the public in relation to the Antiquities collections. The recent refurbishment of the Greek and Roman galleries and the associated AHRC research project in Antiquities led by Dr. Lucilla Burn has opened new ways of communicating ideas and knowledge about the Ancient Greek and Roman world to the wider public. We are particularly keen to:

• disseminate the results of new research into our collections to various groups of the public
• work into making the collections more 'attractive' to under-represented groups of the public such as ethnic minority or immigrant groups in Cambridgeshire, and new members of the University community in Cambridge. 

Describe the public engagement work you have done

Apart from my recent experience as a lecturer in Greek Art and Archaeology, I was involved in a project jointly organised by the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth and the departments of Classics and Education in Cambridge. It involved implementing innovative educational methods for distance learning aimed at school students aged 11-17 years old. I designed courses on Classical Greek, Etruscan and Roman architecture, the Aegean Bronze Age and a forum providing personalised support and feedback to students' enquiries in Ancient Greek language and Classical Archaeology.

I have also worked in collaboration with the Cambridge Admissions Office of the University of Cambridge organising and leading presentations to A level school groups during the university's open days.

I served as a Public relations officer with the Cambridge University Hellenic Society for over two years. The Hellenic Ministry of Education and the Cyprus High Commission employed me as a teacher for the Greek school in the Cambridge Greek and Cypriot Community. My responsibilities in this role often involved teaching sessions in local museums in Cambridge. Both my experiences with the Greek community and the Hellenic student Society shaped my awareness of the needs and interests of ethnic communities in the UK as well as of their expectations from a museum environment.

Throughout my doctoral degree I was always interested in contributing to make research into classical archaeology available to the wider public. My recent appointment in the Fitzwilliam museum puts this into practice. I investigate ways of promoting and incorporating museum research into the classical past into a range of educational programmes addressed to schools and specific groups of the community.