Elda Paja

My research background is in security requirements engineering, the design of modelling language and automated reasoning techniques to support strategic decision making. In my research I've explored the design of socio-technical systems from different angles: security, trust, risk, and decision-making support. I have devised software tools that assist requirements analysts and stakeholders in eliciting, expressing and analyzing requirements.

More recently, my research interests encompass the investigation of human factors in security, as well as security integration in agile software development. In this line of research, I have previously (up until Dec 2020) been part of the ASCD project, funded by Danish Center for Cybersecurity, investigating cybersecurity and privacy practices in Danish companies.
Together with my research assistant, Dahlia Andreasen, we investigated the status of security integration in agile software developement in Danish software development companies. We have interviewed more than 30 participants from different companies, across different roles, including developers, product owners, and security experts.

I am Associate Editor for the Data and Knowledge Engineering Journal. I regularly serve as a reviewer for TOSEM, TSE, SoSYM, and REJ journals, and serve on the program committee of international conferences such as RE, REFSQ, ER, RCIS. 

Next year, I am going to serve as Program co-chair for the 46th International Conference on Conceptual Modeling (ER'27), which will take place at the University of Minho, Portugal in October 2027. 

I am part of the OC for RE'27, taking place in Milan in August 2027, serving as student volunteer co-chair.

In the past, I have served as:
Poster and Tools co-chair for REFSQ'26, 
Panel co-Chair for RE'25 and Doctoral symposium co-chair for REFSQ'25,
PC co-chair for PoEM'24 and iStar'24 Workshop co-chair co-located with ER'24,
workshops co-chair for RE2023,
co-chair for REFSQ’2021 Posters and Demos.

An initiative I am particularly fond of, is RE-Cares, Requirements Engineering for social good, giving back to society. I am part of the organizing team since 2020. Starting from 2024 this initiative is recognized as a co-located event of the RE conference running in parallel with the workshops, but spans out several days during the conference too. 

For more details on my service work, check out the Activities section.

I adopt a research-based teaching approach, ensuring that students engage with relevant research in the field. Active participation is encouraged through group work, hands-on projects, and interactive classroom activities such as quizzes based on lecture content. Case-based and project-based teaching have been central to my course design, given that Software Engineering, the main topic I teach, relies heavily on collaborative project work. These teaching methods are essential for equipping students with the skills they need to succeed in their future careers. While my experience shapes course design, at the same time I make it a priority to create a supportive and inclusive learning environment. To accommodate students’ needs, I offer multiple support and feedback channels, enabling them to ask questions and share thoughts, whether in person during lectures and exercises as well as one on one meetings, or anonymously through online feedback forms.

For more informaton on the specific courses I teach, please see ITU teaching in the Courses menu.

Courses taught previously at the University of Trento

• 2018: Software Engineering II, BSc Course, DISI [Course responsible SEII-InfOrg]
• 2013-2016: Organisational Information Systems, MSc Course, DISI [Course responsible OIS]
• 2012-2013: Organisational Information Systems, MSc Course, DISI [Teaching Assistant OIS'13]
• 2012-2013: Agent-Oriented Software Engineering, MSc Course, DISI [Lectures on STS-ml, STS-Tool]
• 2011-2012: Agent-Oriented Software Engineering, MSc Course, DISI [Lectures STS-ml, STS-Tool, Sociotechnical Trust and Trust Engineering]