Over the past 2 years CERIDES – Excellence in Innovation and Technology at European University Cyprus had been working hard to organize WOS2026 that took place in Nicosia and Limassol! Between 15 – 18 September representatives from 36 countries gathered to discuss the latest developments in Safety Science.
The conference kicked off at our EUC premises with an opening speech by our Rector Professor Loizos Symeou and on behalf of the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Mr Marinos Moushiouttas, a speech by the Director of the Department of Labour Inspection Dr Tasoula Kyprianidou Leontidou.
Opening Speech by Dr Tasoula Kyprianidou Leontidou
Rector Prof Loizos Symeou opening WOS 2026
We then moved to Limassol and we had 3 full days of keynote speeches and 4 parallel sessions continuously, with dozens of presentations on safety science. Keynote speeches complemented the programme, allowing participants to hear from internationally recognised experts and explore current research and perspectives across the conference themes.
- Guido Micheli from Politecnico di Milano presented “Emerging Risks, Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence at Work”, addressing the rapidly changing technological landscape and its implications for workplace safety.
- Frank Guldenmund presented “Safety Education, Training and Research”, highlighting the importance of education, training, and research in developing effective approaches to occupational safety.
- Gerard I.J.M. Zwetsloot presented “Vision Zero: Opportunities and Challenges”, examining the opportunities and challenges associated with the Vision Zero approach and its role in occupational safety.
- Maria Albin from Karolinska Institute presented “In the pursuit of health and wellbeing”, focusing on the relationship between occupational environments, health, and wellbeing.
- Michael B. Blayney from UL Research Institutes & UL Standards & Engagement presented “Three Organizations, One Vision: Advancing the Science of Prevention”
WOS 20206 in Nicosia and Limassol
The conference was sponsored by UL Research Institutes and UL Standards and Engagement and CRM Consultants . UL kindly sponsored a number of Young Scientists Awards, recognising emerging researchers and their contributions to Occupational Safety and Health.
- Tatiana Mendes received the WOS 2026 Young Scientist Award – First Place (€3000) for her paper on “Artificial Intelligence in OSH: The Impact of Chatbots on the Teaching-Learning Process”.
- Agata Kmiecik received the WOS Young Scientist Award 2026 – Second Place (€2000) for her research on “Clothing with enhanced protection against ionizing radiation – challenges and prospects”.
- Antonino La Monica received the WOS Young Scientist Award 2026 – Third Place (€1000) for his paper on “Beyond Workers’ Performance: Systematic Literature Review of Cognitive Ergonomics in Industrial Human-Robot Collaboration”.
- Eden Li received the WOS Young Scientist Award 2026 – Forth Place for the paper titled “Emerging risks and interventions in digitalising work: lessons from Western Australia’s mining industry”.
- Lena Schwerdt received the WOS Young Scientist Award 2026 – Fifth Place for her paper on “They will sort it out down there somehow: Occupational safety and health cooperation in complex supply chains”.
- Aslihan Memisoglu-Güngör received the WOS Young Scientist Award 2026 – Sixth Place for her research on”Occupational Safety in Global Textile Supply Chains – Development and Empirical Evaluation of a Participation-Oriented Remote Training Concept”.
Elsevier sponsored one Award to celebrate 50 years of Safety Science, the global leading journal in the area of safety. The award of €1000 was received by Alexander Kruse & Lazaros Papachristodoulou for their paper.
Dr Cleo Varianou Mikellidou closing WOS 2026
Pierantonios Papazoglou presenting
CERIDES in action
WOS 20206 in Limassol