Dr Ekaterina Rzyankina

Ekaterina Rzyankina is  an ADL lecturer in Electrical Engineering and a researcher at the Centre for Research in Engineering Education (CREE), University of Cape Town, in Cape Town, South Africa. Her work sits at the intersection of engineering education, digital technology and Artificial Intelligence, focusing on how generative AI, e-textbooks and analytics tools reshape learning, feedback and postgraduate supervision. Drawing on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, she examines how digital mediating artefacts (tools) transform educational systems, redistribute expertise and generate new forms of agency and contradiction. 

She designs and evaluates technology-enabled pedagogies that strengthen epistemological access in mathematics, physics and STEM for marginalised students in the Global South. Ekaterina contributes to communities of practice in engineering education, and she supports emerging researchers through mentoring and academic coaching. She addresses equity and inclusion in AI. Her current projects develop practical guidance for responsible AI use in higher education, addressing integrity, authorship and scholarly development.