Maja Pivec, Ph.D, is professor of Applied Game Desing and Gamification at the Institute for Design and Communication, University of Applied Sciences FH JOANNEUM in Graz, Austria. Her research interests include digitalization of education, introduction of innovative elements in education and sustainbaility education.

For her research achievements Maja Pivec received in the year 2001 Herta Firnberg Award (Austria) in the field of computer science. In the 2003 she was awarded by European Science Foundation in form of a grant for an interdisciplinary workshop organisation in the field of affective and emotional aspects of human-computer interaction, with emphasis on game-based learning and innovative learning approaches. In 2018 she received Graz Congress Award for hosting the European Conference on Game-Based Learning in October 2017.

She is co-ordinator, scientific leader or partner in several EU or national founded projects. She is editor and co-editor of three book publications in the area of innovative learning approaches. She is invited speaker and workshop host. Her research work is published and presented at more than 100 international conferences and publications.