Dermentzi Athena (PhD Candidate)
Mrs Athena Dermentzi is a PhD Candidate in Higher Education at the University of Greater Manchester specialising in student retention, first-year student experience, and dropout prevention in the Greek Higher Education context. Her research focuses on evidence-based intervention frameworks that promote student engagement, wellbeing, belonging, and academic progression. Mrs. Dermentzi has been teaching in diverse educational contexts for more than 20 years and she currently serves as Lecturer in Higher Education where she teaches Academic Writing, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)-related courses, collaborating with American and European Universities. In Higher Education, she has supervised undergraduate dissertations and served as a Module Leader for Bachelor’s degree programmes. She has presented and published her research at national and international conferences across Europe and Asia and have served as a proofreader for national journals. She has also received three national distinctions in Greece for ‘Innovation in Teaching’ and ‘Inclusion in Academic Writing’. Mrs. Dermentzi has extensive experience in inclusive education practices, bilingual education, academic skills support, and digital learning environments and has also long-standing experience as an Oral Examiner and Supervisor for examination bodies.