Faculty in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences help students to examine media — such as games, literature, and more — with a close eye on communication through narration and presentation. Students will learn to engage and examine the significance behind the games, systems, and narratives they consume and create.
Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Directory
Department Faculty
Naiara Espejo
Department Chair - Mathematics and Physics, Humanities and Social Sciences
Senior Professor
Naiara Espejo Iturbe earned her degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the School of Telecommunications Engineering of Bilbao. She taught at Newton University Academy and interned at IBERDROLA and VICOMTech Technology Centre. She also served as Deputy Chairwoman at the Telecommunications Congress Committee in Spain. After working as E-Business Manager at UNCETA Group S.A., she joined DigiPen Europe-Bilbao, where she teaches mathematics and physics courses. Her hobbies include history, gastronomy, and role-playing games.
Naiara Espejo Iturbe earned her undergraduate degree in telecommunications engineering at the School of Telecommunications Engineering of Bilbao. While finishing her degree, she worked as a university assistant lecturer at Newton University Academy in Bilbao from 2000 to 2001, teaching systems and signals and devices electronics. She then carried out two projects as an intern engineer: a storm detection system for IBERDROLA and a biometric authentication systems based on digital signal treatment for VICOMTech Technology Centre. From 1999-2000, she served as Deputy Chairwoman at the Telecommunications Congress Committee in Spain.
After graduating, she worked as E-Business Manager in UNCETA Group S.A., where she was in charge of business-to-business solutions and e-commerce, before taking her current position at DigiPen Institute of Technology Europe-Bilbao. She currently teaches many of DigiPen’s intro and intermediate-level mathematics and physics courses, such as Linear Algebra and Geometry, Calculus and Analytic Geometry, and Motion Dynamics.
Her hobbies include history, gastronomy, and role-playing games.
Ines Martin
Senior Associate Professor
Inés Martin graduated with a BA in English from the University of Valladolid and a master’s in TESOL from West Virginia University. She taught Spanish and English in the USA for nine years before returning to Spain to work as an international student coordinator at Bircham International University. Now at DigiPen Europe-Bilbao, she teaches Composition, Storytelling, Multicultural Literature, Career Search Preparation, and Spanish for foreign students. “I create student-centered classes using the communicative approach to promote active learning and cooperation,” says Martin.
Ines Martin graduated with a BA in English from the University of Valladolid in Spain. In 1999, she earned a master’s degree in TESOL (Teaching English and Spanish as a Second Language) from West Virginia University. She then spent nine years working in the USA, where she taught Spanish and English as a foreign language at both the high school and undergraduate levels.
Once Martin returned to Spain, she worked as an international student´s coordinator and became a member of the academic board at Bircham International University in Madrid before joining DigiPen Institute of Technology Europe-Bilbao. She currently teaches Composition, Storytelling, Multicultural Literature, Career Search Preparation, and Spanish for foreign students.
“I try to create a student-centered class based on the communicative approach. I plan tasks that take the form of products that the students create in cooperation, so English is used in a meaningful way. In this fashion I try to promote active learning and cooperation among students,” Martin says.
Cristina Juesas
Associate Lecturer
Cristina Juesas holds a degree in tourism and postgraduate studies in quality and science communication. With over 20 years in marketing and communication, she has worked with organizations like Tecnalia and Pfizer. She curates TEDxVitoriaGasteiz, authored "Hablar en público en 4 pasos," and was twice named Distinguished Toastmaster. In 2012, she won the Bitácoras Award for best cultural blog. At DigiPen, she teaches communication, intellectual property, and media and ethics, helping students develop in their fields.
Cristina Juesas has a degree in tourism with postgraduate studies in quality management. In 1995, her final master’s project was versed in corporate internal communication at the Escuela Oficial de Turismo in Madrid, Spain. She also has postgraduate studies in science communication at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia in 2014.
With more than 20 years of comprehensive experience in the marketing and communication field, her most prominent works include the Style and Usage Guide to Social Networks for the Basque government and the University of the Basque Country. She also works in communications for organizations such as Tecnalia, Pfizer, Junta de Andalucía, Fedrigoni, ETUI, and CCOO. She has been the licensee, host, and curator of TEDxVitoriaGasteiz since 2014 and has led several workshops for TED at their global conferences. She is also the author of Hablar en público en 4 pasos. Un método basado en El Viaje del Héroe, published by Libros de Cabecera in 2021.
She was twice named Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) by Toastmasters International, where she also was District Director of southwest Europe for the 2020-2021 term. In 2012, she won the Bitácoras Award for best cultural blog for her project “unadocenade.com.” Currently, she teaches courses in communication, intellectual property, and media and ethics with a social science perspective, all while instructing students to develop themselves in their specialized field.
Diego García
Affiliate Lecturer
Diego, with a degree in Psychology from the University of Deusto, combines his passion for psychology and games. He founded a company for playful events and gamified experiences and has translated over 100 board and role-playing game titles. Currently, he is a professor at DigiPen, a publication advisor, and a game tester, applying theory to game design in his classes. Outside of work, he enjoys dancing to 1920s swing music.
Diego graduated in Psychology from the University of Deusto in 2002. His career has been deeply intertwined with two of the things he loves most: Psychology and games. He founded his own company focused on organizing recreational events and creating gamified experiences, applying his psychological background to design serious games and escape rooms, both in big and portable format.
In addition to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Diego is an accomplished translator specialized in board games and role-playing games, boasting over 100 translated titles. He has also translated game design books such as The Art of Game Design (by Jess Schell) or Critical Play (by Mary Flanagan).
Currently, in addition to being a lecturer at DigiPen, Diego provides consulting services for board game publications and works as a play tester for international publishers. He always tries to keep his lectures practical, to relate the abstract knowledge with everyday events or game design practices.
When he is not playing in some way or another, Diego enjoys dancing to 1920s swing music.