Mariana Ziku is a Digital Humanities researcher specialising in Human-Computer Interaction, Participatory Design, and Linked Open Data, with a long-standing focus on Intangible Cultural Heritage.

She is a PhD candidate at the Department of Cultural Technology and Communication, University of the Aegean, and a scholarship recipient under the “Support of Regional Excellence” programme. Her thesis focuses on the digital documentation of intangible cultural heritage as linked open data through participatory digital infrastructures.

She holds an MSc (Hons) in Digital Humanities from the Department of Computer Science at KU Leuven, Belgium an MA (Hons) in Curation and History of Art, and a BA in Art Sciences from the University of Ioannina, Greece. She also holds a Certificate of Specialised Training in Cultural Management from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She has received specialised training in the digital curation of intangible, archival, and audiovisual heritage in Egypt, Belgium, and Germany as a grant recipient of the European Commission’s Leonardo da Vinci programme.

Mariana is a member of the Intelligent Interaction Research Group and the university spin-off Intelligent Systems and Experiences, working at the intersection of Human–Computer Interaction and Digital Cultural Heritage. She serves as scientific collaborator for the Master’s Programme Folk/Popular Culture and Modern Cultural Heritage at the Hellenic Open University and is a long-term research collaborator at the research and technology company Web2Learn, where she applies data analytics and computational methods within interdisciplinary contexts spanning the humanities, technology, education, and environmental science.

She has worked on over 15 European and national research and cultural projects as a researcher and project manager, with expertise in digital heritage technologies, participatory methodologies, and open science. She is a member of the ICOM Committee for Documentation (CIDOC) Working Group on Intangible Cultural Heritage and co-founder of the non-profit organisation Biennale of Western Balkans, promoting cross-border cooperation and contemporary approaches to intangible cultural heritage in the Balkan region.