Sonsoles López-Pernas

I am an Academy Fellow at University of Eastern Finland, where I have worked since 2022 as a member of the Learning Analytics unit. I obtained my PhD in Telematics Engineering at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain). My research interests are learning analytics, game-based learning in engineering and computer science education, among others. I am skilled in quantitative methods that include process and sequence mining, network analysis, complex event processing, and data visualization, which are proven by over 100 publications in the field of learning analytics and education technology as well as workplace achievements. I have been awarded the SoLAR Emerging Scholar Award for the Europe region in 2025 and the IEEE TCLT Early Career Researcher Award in Learning Technologies (2024).

I am an editor and author of the first methodological book on learning analytics "Learning Analytics Methods and Tutorials: A practical guide using R", which has been made available as open access to facilitate newcomers to the field get acquainted with state-of-the-art quantitative methods. I have developed novel methods in the field of learning analytics such as VaSSTra, for the analysis of intensive longitudinal data. I am the PI of the CRETIC project funded by the Research Council of Finland, aimed at optimizing clinical reasoning in time-critical scenarios using multimodal learning analytics and gamified virtual patients. I have developed the first platform for the creation of educational escape rooms (Escapp), available as open source software, which is used by several international educational institutions for students to acquire hard and soft skills. I have published several other open source software projects for teaching, research, and professional use. For example, checkout the new R package tna (Transition Network Analysis).

I am open to collaboration in research, industry projects, and PhD supervision. E-mail me at sonsoles.lopezuef.fi.

Selected publications

López-Pernas S., Saqr M. (2024). How the dynamics of engagement explain the momentum of achievement and the inertia of disengagement: A complex systems theory approach. Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 153, art. no. 108126. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2023.108126.

López-Pernas S., Misiejuk K., Kaliisa R., Saqr M. (2025). Capturing the Process of Students' AI Interactions when Creating and Learning Complex Network Structures. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies (in-press). doi: 10.1109/TLT.2025.3568599.

Saqr M., López-Pernas S. (2021). The longitudinal trajectories of online engagement over a full program. Computers and Education, vol. 175, art. no. 104325. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104325.

López-Pernas S. (2024). Educational Escape Rooms Are Effective Learning Activities Across Educational Levels and Contexts: A Meta-analysis. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, vol. 17, pp. 711-724. doi: 10.1109/TLT.2023.3328913.

Saqr M., López-Pernas S. (2022). How CSCL roles emerge, persist, transition, and evolve over time: A four-year longitudinal study. Computers and Education, vol. 189, art. no. 104581. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2022.104581.

Saqr M., López-Pernas S. (2023). The temporal dynamics of online problem-based learning: Why and when sequence matters. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, vol. 18, pp. 11-37. doi: 10.1007/s11412-023-09385-1.

López-Pernas S., Saqr M. (2021). Bringing Synchrony and Clarity to Complex Multi-Channel Data: A Learning Analytics Study in Programming Education. IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 166531-166541. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3134844.

Saqr M., López-Pernas S., Vogelsmeier L.V.D.E. (2023). When, how and for whom changes in engagement happen: A transition analysis of instructional variables. Computers and Education, vol. 207, art. no. 104934. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104934.

Saqr M., López-Pernas S., Helske S., Hrastinski S. (2023). The longitudinal association between engagement and achievement varies by time, students’ profiles, and achievement state: A full program study. Computers and Education, vol. 199, art. no. 104787. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104787.

López-Pernas S., Barra E., Gordillo A., Alonso Á., Quemada J. (2023). Scaling student feedback in software engineering MOOCs. IEEE Software, vol. 40(5), pp. 50-57. doi: 10.1109/MS.2023.3275035.

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