Venera Gashaj
Venera Gashaj is a Swiss-Albanian researcher specializing in numerical cognition. Her research focuses on the intersection of embodied cognition and the development of basic numerical skills. She completed her PhD project at the University of Bern, Switzerland, where she investigated the longitudinal relationship between mathematics and motor skills in children during the transition from kindergarten to second grade.
As a postdoctoral scholar, Venera collaborated with neuroscientists at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain, studying whole brain dynamics in children related to mathematical development. She then returned to Switzerland and joined ETH Zürich, where she investigated the embodiment of mathematics and the impact of math anxiety on high-achieving STEM students. Subsequently, she was awarded a Teach@Tübingen Fellowship and worked at the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen in Germany.
Currently, Venera is actively engaged as a researcher at the Centre for Early Mathematics Learning, situated within Loughborough University in the United Kingdom. In this role, she collaborates closely with educators to co-design educational resources that facilitate effective mathematics learning for children.
