Nine talented undergraduate students successfully completed the prestigious Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) internship at the KIOS Center of Excellence, University of Cyprus, during the Summer 2025 session.
For these students, UROP offered far more than just a summer internship. They gained hands-on research experience, developed technical skills in areas such as machine learning, computer vision, robotics, and network optimization, and strengthened their problem-solving and analytical abilities. Beyond technical expertise, the program also nurtured their collaboration, communication, and presentation skills, while providing them with a clearer understanding of what academic research truly involves. Perhaps most importantly, many participants discovered new career directions, whether pursuing graduate studies, embarking on research-focused careers, or applying their knowledge to real-world challenges—highlighting the lasting impact of early exposure to research.
Reflecting on these experiences, the students shared their personal perspectives on what motivated them to join UROP, the skills and insights they gained, and how the program has influenced their future career paths.
Axel Dobloug, a 2nd year Electrical and Computer Engineering student at National Technical University of Athens, joined UROP to gain hands-on research experience and apply his theoretical knowledge to real-world problems. “The program offered me a unique opportunity to collaborate with experienced researchers and work on cutting-edge projects. This deepened my understanding and help me develop valuable skills for my future career”. Alex worked on developing routing algorithms for elastic optical networks, with a focus on using network coding to provision both confidential and non-confidential calls. According to Alex, he gained knowledge on advanced algorithms, optical fiber technologies and obtained practical experience in designing and implementing routing and capacity allocation solutions.
Orestes Hadjicostis, a 1st year Computer Science and Mathematics student at Imperial College London, worked on a project related to computer vision, that is UAV-based vehicle detection under adversarial weather conditions. Orestis said that he enjoyed learning throughout his internship. “Working on a new and interesting topic, motivated me to research and learn as much as I could. It has also made me consider a more academically oriented career path—perhaps in research or even becoming a professor”, he said.
Evangelia Ioannou, a 2nd year Electrical and Computer Engineering student at the University of Cyprus worked on a machine learning project focused on forecasting power generation. “I gained valuable skills in machine learning, coding in Python, and presenting research findings”, she said. Referring to her overall UROP experience, she said that the program solidified her interest in pursuing graduate studies and a career in research.
Dedalos Kypris, a 2nd year Engineering student at the University of Cambridge, joined UROP because of KIOS’s international reputation. He worked on developing a Bayesian UAV route planning algorithm for monitoring traffic on major highways. Through his internship he learned essential skills in coding with MATLAB as well as operating the traffic simulator software SUMO. As Dedalos said, “UROP has been a major part of my career in engineering so far, as it is one of the most sought-after internships in Cyprus. It allowed me to explore areas such as traffic management, which I had never experienced before, and I really enjoyed it”.
Lefkios Mavroudi, 3rd year Electrical and Computer Engineering student at the University of Cyprus saw UROP as an opportunity to learn what is research about. “I didn’t fully know what working on research meant, but I was curious and eager to learn”, he said. Lefkios was involved in the project “Exploring Platooning and Adversarial Robustness in Mobile Robotics”, developing both technical and problem-solving skills. After completing the internship, Lefkios said that program has made him seriously consider continuing his career in research. “I really enjoyed the environment at KIOS, it was collaborative, supportive, and full of opportunities to learn and grow”, he added.
Vasilis Skoufaridis, a 3rd year Mathematics and Statistics student at the University of Cyprus, viewed UROP as a unique opportunity to work at KIOS Center of Excellence and contribute to impactful projects in water systems management. His project was related to modeling and optimization of water networks under uncertainty. “Through the program I gained valuable experience in data analysis, and in applying the Kalman filter for real-time system monitoring. I also developed technical skills in MATLAB and strengthened my ability to analyze noisy environmental data to support better decision-making,” he stated.
Eleftherios Samouel, a 1st year Computer Engineering student at the University of Cyprus, joined UROP because it offered him the opportunity to work with experienced researchers. He worked on a project related to connection provisioning with link failure protection in elastic optical networks. The internship helped him strengthen his programming skills, explore new programming languages, and improve problem-solving abilities. “Overall, UROP has given me a valuable insight into research work and encouraged me to consider pursuing a research-oriented career”, he concluded.
Antrea Kokkinou, a 2nd year student in Science, Technology and Society Program at Stanford University in the USA, worked on analyzing survey responses given by COVID-19 patients in Cyprus. Through her internship, Antrea practiced R programming, debugging, data categorization, and building visualizations to identify common themes. She also developed presentation skills tailored to specific audiences. As Antrea said: “This program greatly influenced my academic career and even personal plans. When I first started studying at Stanford, I was determined to pursue graduate studies and build a career in the U.S., particularly in Silicon Valley. However, this internship helped me see the impactful work conducted at KIOS, leading me to reconsider my future”.
Georgios Takoushis, a 5th year Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences student at the National Technical University of Athens, saw the UROP program as an opportunity to experience real-world challenges, while also learning how research is conducted in practice. “Moreover, I wanted to experience what being part of a research group is like, and to better understand the day-to-day dynamics of academic research in a collaborative environment”, he said. George worked on estimating power system inertia using PMU measurements, by developing a tool for dynamic inertia monitoring. Through UROP, George gained technical skills and improved his problem-solving abilities, while learning how to work independently as well as part of a research team. As George said: “Participating in UROP has strengthened my interest in pursuing research in the future. The experience also helped me develop a greater sense of confidence in navigating research environments, which I believe will be invaluable in my academic and professional journey.”
On July 25th 2025, all UROP students presented their research work to the KIOS researchers and faculty and received their certificates from the KIOS Acting Director, Prof. Christos Panayiotou.
