AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. CHRISTINA ANGELIDOU
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Phenomenon
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/08
What inspired the transition from chemical engineering to leading Mensa Cyprus?
I would characterize my initial transition from Chemical Engineering to leading Mensa Cyprus as fateful to the extent that that was paradoxical. What got me interested in Mensa and inspired me to remain active in Mensa Cyprus was the realisation that identification and fostering of human intelligence which is the first of the three purposes of Mensa, in children from an early age as well as in adults, is essential for their well-being and successful development, as well as for the benefit of humanity. I also foresaw that intelligence identification/testing offers an objective criterion for the prevalence of meritocracy in societies. A criterion that nowadays finds increasing application in psychometric tests and assessments used to determine suitability for employment, education, training or placement.
What challenges come with leading Mensa Cyprus?
In Mensa Cyprus we believe in the need for early identification of intelligence/high abilities and talent in children, from the age of 4 years – this was in fact one of the recommendations in my Symposium talk ‘Intelligence and Giftedness’ at the 12th Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness in Dubai, 14-18 July 2012, which was also included in the Conference Declaration – and we have been recruiting children since Mensa Cyprus’s start up phase. The number of our child members below 18 (with the youngest joining Mensa at the age of 3 years and 8 months) has been increasing continuously since then and has stabilised around 35% of our total membership in the last years – a success and a challenge at the same time! A challenge because children below 14 have to be individually assessed by an appropriately qualified educational Psychologist (that is not always easy to find), with parents bearing the total cost of the assessment. Furthermore, highly able/gifted students require different teaching methods or special programmes to meet their academic and social needs, to become high achievers and reach eminence. And that’s also a challenge for us because schools in Cyprus do not offer gifted education – my Paper presentation ‘Gifted Students – The case of Cyprus’ at the 12th Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness in Dubai, 14-18 July 2012, https://www.academia.edu/4916295/Gifted_Students_The_Case_of_Cyprus is relevant. Both my Symposium talk and Paper presentation reflect many of the principles and objectives Mensa Cyprus has been actively pursuing for years.
What do gifted students need generally? How do educational systems tend to meet those and fail to meet those needs?
Gifted students are exceptional learners, they learn faster and understand complex ideas earlier, therefore they need accelerated and enriched content and opportunities to explore topics in greater depth and breath. They need curriculum compacting, subject acceleration, early access to higher-level material or acceleration in the form of grade skipping in order to overcome boredom and frustration the result of being unchallenged in a typical classroom, that may lead to learning and emotional disabilities at the early stage of their schooling. They need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school. Some countries provide gifted education, gifted programs or full-time gifted schools, but most don’t. In Cyprus gifted education programs are limited, and non-existent in the public system. Educational systems tend to meet gifted students’ needs by providing several forms of acceleration that can be easily applied and have been established as effective, as well as some forms of enrichment. Educational systems fail to meet gifted students’ needs by treating all students as equals providing for the average ability student and using standardized curricula that fail to challenge gifted learners, leading to underachievement and disengagement. Instruction is not differentiated to meet the needs of the gifted. Teachers lack training in identifying or supporting giftedness particularly in twice-exceptional (2e) students (gifted with learning disabilities). Appropriate teacher training is of essential importance. In my opinion – and that’s a position I presented at the 12th Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness in Dubai, 14-18 July 2012 – all students could be considered as potentially gifted in the multidimensional model of giftedness and appropriate gifted provision should be made for all students to fulfill their potential. The education system should be reconstructed to provide student-centred learning that would try to take account of every child’s particular needs and ways of thinking.
How do you balance technical analysis with economic & political considerations in consulting work?
It is important that the technical feasibility of the project is established first. Its economic viability (e.g. cost-benefit analysis) is studied next along with the political challenges the project might face. Depending on the findings of each step, scenarios are created and the scenario with the less political risk that enables financing of the project for example from Development banks or the EU and other sources, is chosen.
What climate change strategies can Cyprus prioritize with vulnerabilities facing it?
Cyprus faces:
Extreme weather conditions like heatwaves, prolonged droughts leading to desertification;
Sea level rise driven by human-caused global warming with added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers, erosion of coastlines;
Increasing air pollution due to fossil fuels use, increased dust transfer from surrounding desert regions due to climate change;
Chronic water scarcity.
Strategies should be prioritized to:
Combat extreme weather conditions, protect coastlines, enhance the use of renewable energy, expand solar energy, increase water security.
What are the current risks of nuclear proliferation in the Eastern Mediterranean?
The current risks of nuclear proliferation in the Eastern Mediterranean are primarily due to tensions between Iran and Israel. Iran continues to enrich uranium with enrichment close to weapon-grade, although it maintains that its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes. It also possesses the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East, including medium-range missiles potentially capable of delivering nuclear warheads. Iran’s nuclear program sites are the subject of negotiations with the US, but talks ended recently with no agreement. Israel on the other hand believed to possess nuclear weapons, has been hinting for days now at the possibility of military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities. A military confrontation between Iran and Israel could destabilize the region with severe implications. Other regional countries e.g. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, have shown increasing interest in nuclear capabilities. Turkey is one of them, with the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant built in partnership with Russia’s Rosatom, and President Erdogan voicing his ambition to become a nuclear power. Turkey’s advanced missile programs along with its civilian nuclear power developed at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant could easily be diverted towards weapons development. I hold Cyprus responsible for silently letting Turkey revive its plans for Akkuyu in 2009 without any protest. Even later with the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in 2011, it could have taken the initiative in cooperation with the EU, for a complete ban by the IAEA on nuclear power plants in seismic areas (like the Akkuyu). Made a proposal then, urging it with a letter to the press published on March 18 and March 20 2011. It did nothing again!
What role can Mensa Cyprus play in fostering understanding of gifted pupils?
The first identification of highly gifted children in Cyprus occurred through Mensa Cyprus in 2010 during its start up phase. Two little brothers aged 6 and 12 years were its first young members accepted in Mensa via a Prior Evidence Application. That’s how recruitment of young pupil members started and quickly increased to reach 30% – 35% of our total membership, increasing at the same time our responsibility while giving more depth to our purposes. We emphasized from the very beginning the importance of raising awareness within the Government of Cyprus and particularly the Ministry of Education, about the need to have gifted education, care and support integrated into Cyprus’s national strategy. Have already contacted the Ministry of Education in the past making proposals, and I intend to do that again. Mensa Cyprus can play a uniquely impactful I would say role in fostering understanding of gifted pupils. It will reaffirm its long-standing commitment to identifying, supporting and empowering gifted individuals – particularly children – across the island. We recognize that giftedness if left unacknowledged and unsupported, can result in lost potential not only for the individual but for the society at large.
What is an example of an interesting successful international collaboration in policy or consulting work?
I would say that an example of an interesting successful international collaboration both in policy and consulting is IRENA www.irena.org a non-profit intergovernmental organization founded in 2009 to support the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, with headquarters in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, UAE. 168 states and the EU are members of IRENA as of July 2022, and a further 17 are in the process of accession. IRENA provides advice and support to governments on renewable energy policy, capacity building, and technology transfer. IRENA also coordinates with existing renewable energy organizations.
Reflecting on early work in technology and industrial development, which predictions about them have become realities while others remained more science fiction?
Predictions that became reality: global digital connectivity; remote work and digital economies; robotic process automation and intelligent machines, AI systems; green technologies and energy transition.
Predictions that remained science fiction: True Artificial General Intelligence, AGI; space industry; fully engineered humans; man-machine symbiosis.
Any advice to offer young women pursuing careers in STEM and policy, particularly in leadership?To always believe in what they are saying and speak with purpose and confidence. STEM leaders can be the best leaders especially in formulating policy, because they understand how science intersects with society. To cultivate meaningful relationships across sectors and collaborate with them. To always advocate for the next generation.
Christina Angelidou
27 May 2025
Limassol
Cyprus
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