Mariana Ziku is a Ph.D. candidate and research associate at the Intelligent Interaction Research Group, Dept. of Cultural Technology and Communication, University of the Aegean, and research associate at Web2Learn. She is the cofounder of the Biennale of Western Balkans, where she works on promoting intangible cultural heritage through art, technology and open knowledge.

She authors, organises and participates in European, Balkan cross-border and national research and cultural projects. Her research and practice is in cultural heritage and digital humanities, with focus on the domain of intangible cultural heritage. Her interests include crowdsourcing, open data, public participation, and human-computer interaction in art and cultural heritage.

She holds a MSc in Digital Humanities, Department of Computer Science, KU Leuven, a Certificate of Specialised Training in Cultural Management, University of Athens, a MA and BA in Sciences, History and Curation of Art, School of Fine Arts, University of Ioannina. She has received professional training in digital curation of intangible, audiovisual and documentary heritage in Egypt, Belgium, and Germany. She is also a musical instrument and music theory graduate in classical piano and harmony, of the Municipal Conservatory of Ioannina.