Skip to main content
European Education Area home page European Education Area home page

European Education Area

Quality education and training for all

Education and Innovation Summit

The Education and Innovation Summit will bring together key actors from the world of Education and Innovation to share knowledge and inspiring experiences on innovative education practices and on building bridges between the education and higher education communities, and their surrounding innovation ecosystems.

23 June 2022
Hybrid event, 10:00-18:00 CEST

Education is key to strengthen Europe's innovation potential

Education is central for developing, disseminating and valorising knowledge and innovation, for building innovative pedagogies, as well as nurturing talents.

Higher education institutions have a unique position at the crossroads of education, research, innovation. They serve society and the economy, and play a critical role in achieving the European Education Area and the European Research Area, in synergy with the European Higher Education Area.

Catch up with the outcomes

The Education and Innovation Summit is over, but you can

Objectives

The Education and Innovation Summit will bring together key actors from the world of Education and Innovation to share knowledge and inspiring experiences on innovative education practices and on building bridges between the education and higher education communities, and their surrounding innovation ecosystems. Together, we will discuss

  • the role of higher education institutions as drivers of innovation
  • the importance of enabling creativity, stimulate vocations, and foster entrepreneurship competences of learners at all education levels
  • concrete steps to enhance innovation in higher education teaching and learning

These exchanges will provide input to the implementation and further development of innovation actions under the European Strategy for Universities and the upcoming Innovation Agenda.

Stakeholders

The Education and Innovation Summit will bring together 

  • representatives from innovative higher education institutions across the EU 
  • representatives of 41 European Universities alliances
  • representatives of European Innovative Higher Education Institutions
  • start-ups, entrepreneurs and companies
  • students and school education representatives

The Summit will offer a unique opportunity for participants to share their views on education and innovation with European policy-makers and to contribute actively to shaping future European action.

Programme

Programme and speakers are subject to change.
 

Skip event programme

Biography

Mariya Gabriel is the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, Youth and Sport. Under her leadership, the new Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, and the cultural strand of Creative Europe programmes (2021-2027) will be defined and implemented. 

Between 2017 and 2019, Mariya Gabriel was European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society. She proposed the new Digital Europe programme, worked on EU Strategy on AI, disinformation online, cybersecurity and launched the EuroHPC strategy. She has extensively engaged with external EU partners to enhance digital cooperation, in particular with the Western Balkans and Africa. She was elected as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2009, 2014 and 2019. Mariya Gabriel is First Vice-President of the European People’s Party (EPP), and, since 2012, Vice-President of EPP Women.

Commissioner Gabriel is a board member of the United Nations youth programme Generation Unlimited (GenU). She has been ranked among the 50 most influential women in Europe in the field of cybersecurity by the leading European cybersecurity magazine SC Media UK (2019).

Commissioner Gabriel is also known for her involvement in the fight for gender equality. Among others, she received the prestigious Italian prize “Golden Apple” for highest achievements for women. At the European Parliament, she was awarded twice “MEP of the year” – in 2016 for the Development category, and in 2013 for the Gender Equality category.

In November 2020, Commissioner Gabriel received the Annual Award of the Vienna Economic Forum “Partner of the Year 2020” for contribution to the economic development, rewarding Ms Gabriel’s vision of a European knowledge strategy comprising the European Education Area, the European Research Area and the new Digital Education Action Plan.

She holds a Master’s degree in political sciences and international relations from the Institute of Political Studies (Bordeaux, FR) and a Bachelor’s degree in Bulgarian and French Languages from “Paisii Hilendarski” University (Plovdiv, BG).

Biography

Themis Christophidou has been the Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission since March 2018. She is a civil engineer with 35 years of experience in private and public sector management.

After having worked in the private sector for 15 years, she joined the European Commission in 2001. During the last 20 years, she has held various positions, including in the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, as Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and as Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.

Themis Christophidou is an alumna of the civil engineering faculty of the Metsovio Polytechnic University of Athens. Born in Famagusta, Cyprus, she is trilingual, being fluent in Greek, French and English.

Twitter account

Biography

Mariya Gabriel is the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, Youth and Sport. Under her leadership, the new Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, and the cultural strand of Creative Europe programmes (2021-2027) will be defined and implemented. 

Between 2017 and 2019, Mariya Gabriel was European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society. She proposed the new Digital Europe programme, worked on EU Strategy on AI, disinformation online, cybersecurity and launched the EuroHPC strategy. She has extensively engaged with external EU partners to enhance digital cooperation, in particular with the Western Balkans and Africa. She was elected as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2009, 2014 and 2019. Mariya Gabriel is First Vice-President of the European People’s Party (EPP), and, since 2012, Vice-President of EPP Women.

Commissioner Gabriel is a board member of the United Nations youth programme Generation Unlimited (GenU). She has been ranked among the 50 most influential women in Europe in the field of cybersecurity by the leading European cybersecurity magazine SC Media UK (2019).

Commissioner Gabriel is also known for her involvement in the fight for gender equality. Among others, she received the prestigious Italian prize “Golden Apple” for highest achievements for women. At the European Parliament, she was awarded twice “MEP of the year” – in 2016 for the Development category, and in 2013 for the Gender Equality category.

In November 2020, Commissioner Gabriel received the Annual Award of the Vienna Economic Forum “Partner of the Year 2020” for contribution to the economic development, rewarding Ms Gabriel’s vision of a European knowledge strategy comprising the European Education Area, the European Research Area and the new Digital Education Action Plan.

She holds a Master’s degree in political sciences and international relations from the Institute of Political Studies (Bordeaux, FR) and a Bachelor’s degree in Bulgarian and French Languages from “Paisii Hilendarski” University (Plovdiv, BG).

Biography

Dr. Igor Papič is a professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana. From 2011 to 2013 he was the vice-dean for pedagogical work, the mandate after he became the Dean of the Faculty, while in the last for years he was the Rector of the University of Ljubljana.
He holds a bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

In the 1990s, he completed his training at Siemens' Electricity Transmission and Distribution Division in Erlangen, Germany. In 2001, he was a visiting professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada.

He is in additionally the holder of numerous domestic and international research and development projects. In 2009, together with his partners, he founded one of the first spin-off companies at the University of Ljubljana.

From 2006 to 2017, he was the Chairman of the Program Board of the Smart Grids European Technology Platform. He was one of the initiators and the first president of the Rectors' Forum of the Universities of South-Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans, and in 2020 he was the first President of the European University Association EUTOPIA.

He advocates for a knowledge-based society and the accelerated transfer of knowledge from the academic environment to everyday life, which is a basic condition for the successful development of Slovenia in the coming decades.

Biography

Emil Boc - Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the second-largest city in Romania, in terms of size and economic development. Member of the A Soul for Europe Advisory Board. EPP CoR Member, Rapporteur on Brain Drain in the EU and also on Achieving the European Education Area by 2025 and 'European Strategy for Universities'. PhD in Political Science, Associate Professor at Babeş-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, awarded Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law from Michigan State University in East Lansing, U.S. Former Prime Minister of Romania during 2008-2012, former President of the Democratic Liberal Party during 2005-2012.

Biography

He studied law at the University of Salamanca, where he would obtain his doctorate, obtaining the Extraordinary Prize after carrying out research stays at the University of Freiburg. Later he would make stays as a visiting professor or researcher at the University of Paris X-Nanterre and at the Research Institute for Public Administration in Speyer. He has been a professor of Administrative Law since 1993. He has also been a visiting professor and researcher at numerous universities in Latin America. Doctor honoris causa by the universities of Córdoba, Mackenzie, Panama, Technological University of Santiago de los Caballeros, Mayor de San Marcos and San Agustín de Arequipa. 

He has recently been appointed member of the General Codification Commission, a superior collegiate body that advises the Minister of Justice. He is the author of 38 books and more than one hundred research papers, which can be consulted in the Dialnet database. His total scientific production includes almost 200 publications. His specialties are economic administrative law, regulation, the local regime and innovation applied to administrative institutions. Likewise, he has directed nearly 40 doctoral theses, has participated in numerous teaching innovation projects and in 25 research projects with competitive calls from administrations and public and private entities.

Biography

Professor Müller has served as Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) since 2014.

A civil engineer himself, Professor Müller holds a doctoral degree and post-doctoral teaching qualification in Technical Mechanics from TUM. After 12 years in industry he returned back to academia in 2004. Since 2007, he has been chairman of the education committee in the Bavarian Chamber of Engineers, since 2017, member of the Board of Directors of the European Society for Engineering Education, SEFI, and, since 2019, chairman of the advisory board for engineering education in the Association of German engineers VDI.

Professor Müller's profile on the university website

Biography

Asst. Prof. Lidija Tepeš Golubić, Ph.D. is Vice Dean for Research and Development, Projects and International Cooperation at Zagreb University of Applied Sciences.
She graduated from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, where she also obtained a doctorate in the social field of science, information and communication sciences.

As a junior researcher, since 1998 she has been participating in the implementation of the project Croatian-German Language Similarities of the Ministry of Science at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb. She is teaching at Zagreb University of Applied Sciences and holds lectures at the University North.

She is a member of the Professional Council of Zagreb University of Applied Sciences and the Council of the Postgraduate Doctoral Study of Media and Communication of the University North. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Karlovac University of Applied Sciences by the decision of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia, and a member of the editorial board of the journal Polytechnic & Design, published by Zagreb University of Applied Sciences.

She has published a number of professional and scientific papers, several of which in collaboration with students, and participated in numerous international professional and scientific conferences in the country and abroad. She is certified court interpreter for the German and Spanish language.

Watch the break-out session on schools

Inspiring innovation vocations 

Support shaping Innovators at school action aiming for school partnerships to involve leading personalities from start-ups to act as ambassadors and mentors to inspire young people, and invite them to develop new ideas and solutions.  The creativity of students is very high in early ages of primary and secondary school. Therefore, it is important to develop innovation and entrepreneurship capacities of the students from this early education level. In this session, we will discuss with coordinators of two Erasmus+ school projects and researchers from the Joint Research Centre the role of schools to inspire young people to become entrepreneurs and innovators, thereby contributing to enhance Europe’s innovation capacity. 

Biography

Engineering educator and inventor. Been active in robotics and automation education from 2006, started 3 companies and helped at least 5 more startups of the students. My goal is to show by example that engineering education is a mandatory skill of these days to allow our survival. And it is a journey of most enjoyable discoveries about the World and ourselves.

Linkedin profile

Biography

Mr Heino is an Expert of International Affairs in Omnia, Espoo (Finland) and has a Master’s degree in Hospitality Management. He has been working with various international development and partnership projects and student mobility for over 10 years. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mika-heino-89b16324

Biography

Ms Haapakorpi is a senior lecturer of Food Production at Omnia and she has a Master’s degree in of Hospitality Management, she has also attained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education Studies and The Vocational Special Needs Teacher Education Studies, and a B.Sc. Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management. Her expertise is in implementation of new innovative teaching and digital learning methods. She is also a project manager in a project called “The Implementation Pathway for Environments that Accelerate Sustainable Growth (KETO)” and in this project is in charge of the project’s professional content.

Biography

Arianna Sala is a project officer at the Joint Research Centre, the Commission's science and knowledge service. She is currently working on the promotion of Life skills in the digital age. She has been the principal author of the JRC Science for Policy report "LifeComp: The European Framework for Personal, Social and Learning to Learn Key Competence" and the upcoming JRC Technical report "LifeComp into Action. Teaching life skills in the classroom and beyond". Arianna has a PhD in Psychology (University of Seville, Spain) and had a post-doctoral fellowship in Social Anthropology (Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil). Arianna has been a scientific consultant for the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN), elaborating policy recommendations for the Brazilian Ministry of Education and the Brazilian Secretariat of Policies for Women. She has also been a researcher and lecturer in the area of Educational Psychology at the University of Seville.

Biography

Biography

Biography

Dr. Martyn Rawson has worked in Steiner/Waldorf education for 40 years as a teacher, teacher educator and researcher. He is Honorary Professor at National Tsinghua University and teaches on the International Masters Programme of Freie Hochschule Stuttgart and has published widely on this education (e.g. Steiner Waldorf Pedagogy in Schools, Routledge, 2021).

Biography

Policy Officer Erasmus+

Watch the break-out session on skills

Equipping future generations with innovation and entrepreneurial skills

Harvest concrete implementation measures of the actions in the European strategy for universities such as 'living labs' - bringing together students of all study cycles, teachers, researchers, enterprises, associations, public authorities, citizens to build jointly solutions for societal challenges, as well as a toolkit for start-up incubators development within higher education institutions, supported by EU funding programmes, as mechanisms to support student entrepreneurs throughout all the steps from an idea to a new business. In addition, the session will also cover the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Deep Tech talent initiative, reinforced Innovation Alliances for the Innovation Agenda and the Higher Education Institutions Initiative Pilot from the EIT.

Biography

My area of expertise is the analysis of inventions and the commercialisation of technologies. Combining several roles (also as EU IP Helpdesk Ambassador), I also advise and lead workshops for researchers and companies in the field of IP identification and protection. With several years of practical experience as an operative staff member, I am also an experienced project manager for national and transnational projects.

Biography

Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working with innovation and creativity focusing on societal sustainable impact. Skilled in change by design, innovation leadership and strategic innovation for the public sector. Experience ranging from being the director of the largest Art & design university in Sweden, running my own design company to form an open innovation platform - Openlab in Stockholm. Based on a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focusing in Art and Design Management from Stockholms universitet / Stockholm University I have developed knowledge and insights how to innovate societal challenges that I share and contribute in various expert assignments.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivar-björkman-15136512/

Biography

Lea Milovich is an experienced international business developer, entrepreneur and startup coach. She has coordinated multinational projects and leads interdisciplinary teams in the valorization of scientific breakthroughs, and supports innovation at the University of Twente and Novel-T. Moreover, Lea is an entrepreneur: CEO of BuBclean and Co-Founder of InkBeams/FlowBeams; both spin-offs from the University of Twente. She has a MSc. in Business Administration with specialization in Innovation & Entrepreneurship and a BSc. in Public Administration- European Studies from the University of Twente.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leamilovich/

Biography

Rector Ca' Foscari University Venice, from 1 October 2020. Professor of Classical Chinese, Religions and Philosophy of China at the Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University Venice (L-OR/21).

Institutional appointments

  • President of Univeneto Foundation, from 14 January 2022
  • Member of the CRUI (Conference of Italian Universities Rectors) Council, since February 17th, 2022
  • Member of the Board of Rectors of Eutopia European University, since 2021
  • Vice Rector Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (2014-2020)
  • Head of the Department of East Asian Studies, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (November 2009-January 2011);
  • Head of the Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (January 2011- September 2014);
  • Member of the Academic Senate of Ca’ Foscari University (as from 1 November 2006);
  • Delegate of Ca’ Foscari University Rector for the relations with the International Institutions in Venice (2008-2011);
  • Member of the Board of Directors of Venice International University (2006-2011)
  • Director of the Series La fenice, Classici cinesi, Marsilio Editore Venezia.
  • Director of the Series Sinica venetiana, Edizioni Ca’ Foscari
  • Academic Board of the Collegio Internazionale Ca’ Foscari
  • Member of the Steering committee of East Asia Net (2013-2014)
  • Vice President of the European Association of Chinese Studies (2011-2012);
  • Board-Member of the European Association of Chinese Studies (2009-2012);
  • Member of the Italian Association of Chinese Studies;
  • Member of the Academic Board of the Italian Institute for Africa and
  • of the Board of Directors of Venice International University;
  • ANVUR team for evaluation of academic journals (humanities) (2013-14)
  • Coordinator of the Project RobinBA (The Role of books in non bibliometric areas), Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Macerata University, University of South Brittany, sponsored by ANVUR, January 2015-2016;
  • Coordinator of two Double Degrees programs (BA, MA) on Chinese studies and Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice – Capital Normal University Beijing (2015-)
  • Member of the Academic Committee of EURICS (European Institute for Chinese Studies)

Education

  • 1994 Ph.D. Leiden University, Faculty of Arts, The Netherlands, under the supervision of prof. E. Zürcher and Prof. Burchard Mansvelt Beck
  • 1986 MA degree in Oriental Languages and Literatures (Chinese) at Ca’ Foscari University, Venezia, Italy, (110/110 cum laude)
  • 1989-1993 Ph.D. courses and seminars at the Sinologisch Instituut, Leiden University
  • 1985-1987 Courses of Classical Chinese and History of Philosophy at Fudan University, Shanghai, PRC

Biography

Annoesjka Cabo is a professor in Statistics for Innovation in Education at TU Delft. Since July 2021, she is the Director of Education of the Faculty of EEMCS and since 2019 she is the Academic Director of the TU Delft Teaching Academy.

Read Annoesjka's full biography

Biography

Dr Tatjana Chircop is the Deputy Principal for Research and Innovation at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, the leading vocational educational institution in Malta. She has been involved in both formal and non-formal education for the past 30 years and has occupied a number of roles within this college since joining in 2007, including lecturer, Director of the Institute of Community Services, Head of the Foundation College and Deputy Principal for Arts and Social Sciences. Currently she is also the project leader for ESF 02.058, ‘Adding Value: Nurturing Learning Journeys in IVET at MCAST’ through which innovative tools are being developed with the aim of engaging vulnerable students in education.

Biography

Dr Daniela Trani (1978) is the Director of the Young Universities for the Future of Europe (YUFE) Alliance at Maastricht University.

Dr Trani was one of the main developers of the YUFE Erasmus+ pilot proposal selected by the European Commission as one of the first 17 pilot European Universities Initiatives in June 2019. Previously, she worked as Senior Advisor for International Research Policy at the department of Academic Affairs of Maastricht University.

She holds an MSc degree in Physics (cum laude, 2003) from the University of Naples Federico II, Italy, and a PhD in Thoracic Oncology and Applied Biotechnology (2007) from the Second University of Naples, Italy. She worked as NASA/NSBRI postdoctoral fellow in the field of space radiation biology at Georgetown University (2008-2011) and then as senior researcher at the Department of Radiotherapy at Maastricht University (2011-2014).

Watch the break-out session on careers

Supporting academic careers promoting innovation

Harvest concrete implementation measures for the development and operationalisation of the European framework for attractive and sustainable careers in higher education, in synergy with the European Research Area framework for research careers. This breakout session will address the importance of careers development and assessment for a better integration of innovation into higher education, in particular the questions of how to encourage more flexible careers pathways and how to better recognise engagement in teaching, civic engagement, and entrepreneurship activities.

Biography

Inga Žalėnienė is the Rector of Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) in Lithuania. She is responsible for the management and implementation of the University’s strategic activities plan and its developmental initiatives. Her previous roles encompassed the development of education policy, internationalization activities, the formation and coordination of research groups, the organization and implementation of scientific project activities. Prof. dr. Žalėnienė is also a member of the Council of the International Association of Universities (IAU) and a member of European Women Rectors Association (EWORA) Board of Directors. She holds a PhD in Law.

Biography

An international entrepreneurship project manager, Smita currently coordinates the ""Entrepreneurial University and Regional Engagement"" action line of the Arqus European University Alliance. She holds Masters degrees with specialisations in project management, International relations and humanitarian affairs. Previously, she has worked in international relations, events management, as well as in a start-up accelerator developing an international program championing innovation and entrepreneurship.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smimoh/

Biography

Manon Kluijtmans is Vice-Rector Teaching & Learning, and Academic Director of the Centre for Academic Teaching at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. She is professor of Education to Connect Science and Professional Practice at the University Medical Centre Utrecht. Her two main topics of interest are education of clinician scientists, and faculty development. She teaches in the master’s programme Clinical Health Sciences, as well as in advanced faculty development courses and programmes. She is involved in educational research among other into identity development, broker competencies, and teacher expertise. She participates in multiple institutional, national and international educational boards and committees. She chairs the Utrecht University focus area Higher Education Research, and the LERU Teaching and Learning policy group.

Profile pages: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6601-7639
https://www.uu.nl/staff/mkluijtmans

Biography

Gareth O'Neill is a principal consultant on Open Science at Technopolis Group in Belgium. He is finishing a PhD on linguistics at Leiden University and is a former president of the European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers (Eurodoc). Gareth has recently worked on the European Competency Framework for Researchers and is currently advising on the Council Recommendation on Establishing a European Framework to Attract and Retain Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurial Talents in Europe. Twitter: https://twitter.com/gtoneill. ORCID: https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0002-0488-4371

Biography

Paulo Jorge Ferreira is Rector of the University of Aveiro since May 8, 2018. He holds a PhD in Electrotechnical Engineering and is Professor Catedrático at the Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics of the University of Aveiro.

Paulo Jorge Ferreira has management experience in department positions, course management, as well as in scientific commissions, in evaluation commissions, in the UA General Council, in the Coordinating Council for Performance Evaluation of the UA, in the Council of the UA Doctoral School.

His research activity resulted in national and international patents, and in the IBM Scientific Award received in 1993.He collaborated or was responsible for several research projects; he was editor of international scientific journals in engineering and mathematics; and he is author or co-author of several works published in international journals.

He is listed in the top 2% most cited scientist in his field in a study published in PLos Biology.

Biography

Thérèse Zhang is the Deputy Director for Higher Education Policy at the European University Association (EUA). In this capacity, she contributes to develop the Association’s work in areas such as learning and teaching in higher education, lifelong learning, global relations with other regions of the world, and European policy making in higher education at large. 

Thérèse has been active in higher education policy/management and, more generally, project management in education and culture, for over fifteen years. Her experience covers activities in the field of quality management, institutional development, evaluation methodologies, and pedagogy.  Thérèse holds a PhD in Romance Philology and a Master in European Studies from the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium. She completed part of her education at the University of Bologna, Italy, and at Brown University, United States.

Watch the break-out session on the job market

Support students to enter the innovation job market

Harvest concrete implementation measures for the development and operationalisation of the European Talent fair, Erasmus+ traineeships, EIC/EIT Start-up internship scheme in innovative start-ups/ innovative ventures/ unicorns. Students have the opportunity to turn their theoretical knowledge into practical and innovation skills through traineeships that inspire their innovation and entrepreneurial spirit or through a job in a fast-moving environment such as start-up companies.

Biography

Dr. Andrea Brose is Managing director of TUHH's Center for Teaching and Learning. She has extensive experience in academic leadership. Trained as a mathematician she has worked for more than 15 years at universities in the United States and brings an international perspective to her work. She has published aiticles and contributed to international conferences on higher and engineering education.

Biography

Bianca Ștefan is the Web Project Administrator of the Erasmus Student Network. She is the Board member that oversees ESN’s work on topics relevant to the digital transformation of higher education and empowering the network through digital tools. Bianca holds a master's degree in bioinformatics and a bachelor's degree in computer science from West University of Timisoara, Romania.

Biography

Biography

Dora is co-founder and CEO of imagiLabs, an edtech gaming company making products that empower girls with the skills, confidence, and community to create with technology.

Biography

Martina Darmanin is the President of the European Students’ Union (ESU). She previously held the office of Vice President and Human Rights Coordinator in ESU and has been an elected student leader at the local and national level prior to her European engagement. She furthermore serves as the Vice President of the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) and as the Youth Representative on the Board of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE). Her academic background is in the field of Health Sciences and she holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Malta.

Biography

Ludovic Thilly is Full Professor at the University of Poitiers. Since 2012, he is Executive Vice-Rector in charge of European Networks. Member of the Executive Board of the Coimbra Group since 2015, he was elected Chair in June 2017 and re-elected in June 2020 for four years.

Ludovic Thilly is a Physicist and works on the deformation mechanisms of (nano-)materials. He has co-authored 70+ publications in international peer-reviewed journals (incl. 4 book chapters) and given 50+ invited lectures at international conferences and institutions. Professor Thilly is Coordinator of the EC2U European University Alliance and coordinates the informal group of the 24 newly selected Alliances.

Watch the break-out session on the green innovation challenge

Higher education institutions as catalysts towards a green transition

Harvest concrete implementation measures for the development and operationalisation of the skills for green transition, including those leading to micro-credentials, climate frontrunners, green villages actions that aim to support higher education institutions active engagement with actors and citizens in their local ecosystems and integrate holistically all sustainability dimensions. 

Biography

Biography

Mar Capeans is Senior Scientist at CERN (Geneva, Switzerland). She holds a PhD in Particle Physics from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), and an MBA in Management of Technology from the EPFL and the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). She joined CERN in 1992 and has participated in the design and construction of particle detectors for experiments at CERN. She has had several managerial positions, and in 2021 she is appointed Head of the Site and Civil Engineering Department.

She has published more than 500 scientific articles in the field of High Energy Physics and Instrumentation, is editor of the Journal of Instrumentation (JINST), and serves as advisor in Scientific Councils and competitive funding programmes. She is a frequent public speaker for general audiences and students, and deeply engaged in outreach and training activities for students and teachers visiting CERN.

Biography

Cand. Scient, Phd in the field of sustainability. Experience from private and public organizations, where I have worked with mainly the environmental aspects of sustainability.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsten-ramskov-galamba-76688910/

Biography

Dr. Laura Riuttanen is a university lecturer in atmospheric sciences at the University of Helsinki Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR). She leads Climate University, network of 25 HEIs in Finland to develop and foster climate change and sustainability teaching in higher education. She is also an academic lead of Una Europa Micro-Credential in Sustainability.

Biography

Biography

Thomas Estermann is Director for Governance, Funding and Public Policy Development with responsibilities for EUA’s work aimed at strengthening universities’ autonomy, governance, management and financial sustainability.

Watch the break-out session on digital transformation

Reinforce cross-sectoral cooperation and dialogue to address challenges of the digital transformation in higher education

The session will explore and discuss the needs and benefits of reinforced cross-sectoral cooperation and dialogue in addressing the challenges of the digital transformation in higher education, such as interoperability and seamless knowledge exchange. The session will foster dialogue between different stakeholders in the area of digital education, notably the higher education institutions and the private sector. The session might also mark the opening of the European Digital Education Hub to interested digital education stakeholders from the public and private sector, as a space for exchange and co-operation, and enabling innovation in digital education at EU level.

Biography

Anthony F. Camilleri  is founder and senior partner at the Knowledge Innovation Centre. He has worked for the past 15 years as a consultant on innovation of education and employment systems, with a particular focus on digitisation and quality assurance. He has spent his entire career working in highly international environments and has consulted with the European Commission, European Training Foundation, Joint Research Centre, UNESCO, Asian Development Bank, International Labour Organisation, GIZ and the Maltese Government. In recent years, he has acted as secretary of the ISO 21001 Project Committee on Educational Organisation management Systems. He is one of the main motivators of the European Learning Model and European Digital Credentials for Learning. He is also collaborates on Communications aspects of the EU Digital Education Hub.

Biography

Professor in Education, Director of Institute for Study Innovations at Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania. In EDEN Governance since 2010, the President (2016 – 2021), as Director in Management Board currently. Having established the national network for distance and e-learning in the country, then Lithuanian Distance and e-Learning association (2010), she continued as a leader in research and project work to promote the development of TEL in Lithuania and Europe, introducing many innovations in different education organizations from school, VET, adult learning and higher education sectors in Lithuania and abroad.

Biography

Thrasyvoulos Tsiatsos (https://www.csd.auth.gr/en/member/thrasyvoulos-konstantinos-tsiatsos/) is WP4 leader and SIG-Strategy member in EPICUR alliance. In this capacity he is leading on EPICUR’s Digitalisation agenda and the development and implementation of the EPICUR Inter University Campus (EIUC). He is Associate Professor in the Department of Informatics of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. His research interests include Internet Technologies in Education, Open Standards, Virtual Learning Environments, Serious Games, Gamification as well as Open and Distance Education. 
 
He is working on the interoperability in educational systems. In this context he is a member of Greek Open Technologies Alliance (GFOSS)  by co-chairing “Open Standards and Open Technologies in Education” group. He has published more than 220 papers in Journals and in well-known refereed conferences. He has been a chair, PC member and referee in various international journals and conferences (such as IMCL, and ICL).

Biography

Katharina Engel is Team Lead for “Policy and Innovation” at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). In DAAD's Section Digitalisation, her focus areas are European higher education policy, digitalisation to foster internationalisation, and stakeholder dialogue across institutions and borders. Katharina coordinates the work of the consortium of 11 European organisations which support the development of the European Digital Education Hub.

The European Digital Education Hub is an initiative of the European Commission, funded by the Erasmus+ programme (2021-2027) and operated by a consortium which is led by the DAAD, under a service contract with the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). In the context of the European Student Card Initiative, Katharina supports the involvement of Erasmus+ Digital Officers in the Erasmus Without Paper (EWP+) developments. Until recently, her main responsibility was coordinating the policy dialogue in a Erasmus+ Key Action 3 project on digital infrastructures for European Universities (OpenU project).

Biography

Anna Wojtyś is the Flaghip 2 Leader within 4EU+ Alliance and a Vice-Dean for Research and Cooperation at the Faculty of Modern Languages, University of Warsaw. She has been involved in the development of 4EU+ from the very beginning and now she coordinates the activities connected to ""Europe in a changing world"", which typically encompass humanities and social sciences. She has taken active part in the development of common educational activities at the universities involved in the 4EU+ Alliance. She is also an active academic teacher specializing in linguistics, mostly from the diachronic perspective, including digital humanities.

Biography

Olga Wessels is the Head of Brussels' Office at ECIU (European Consortium of Innovative Universities) and Founder and Chair of FOR-EU1, the informal network of the first generation of European University Alliances. In her role as Head of the ECIU Office, she contributes to setting the agenda of ECIU at the European level, increasing the organization’s visibility as a potential and reliable partner for European institutions in debates on policy and programme developments.

Biography

Building and orchestrating purpose driven innovation and learning ecosystems across the globe, focusing on large scale strategic and systematic change. - Founder and Executive Chairman at Educraftor. Educraftor is an education innovation consultancy that drives the #evolutionofeducation as its core mission through #craftogogy and the Educraftor Learning Ecosystem Framework. https://educraftor.com - Co-Founder and CEO Teach Millions a learning bazaar with 67 portfolio companies. Member of the UNESCO Global Education coalition, supporting institutions, especially schools, across the globe with education technology and teacher training solutions. 19 regional and global partnerships.

https://teachmillions.org - Co-Chair, Nordic Edtech Forum N8. A cross border Nordic (5) Baltic (3), the new Nordics (8), edtech industry association with 200+ members across all education and learning segments.

https://nordicedtechforum.org

Watch the break-out session on diversity and inclusion

Address diversity in higher education as a driver for innovation, address underrepresentation of women in STEM, foster higher education institutions social innovation mission 

This session will focus on diversity as an asset in higher education and as a driver for innovation, and on ways to strengthen diversity through gender balance, equity and inclusive education. It will harvest concrete implementation measures to address the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields, referring to a proposed roadmap that will include a manifesto from STE(A)M-oriented universities on gender-inclusive STE(A)M education. The breakout session will also address the higher education institutions social innovation potential and highlight innovative initiatives stemming from the European Universities alliances.

Biography

Vasile Topa was born in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, on July 29, 1957. He received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in 1982 and 1998, respectively. Currently, he is Full Professor in Electromagnetism and Electric Circuits Theory with the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. His current research interests include studies of optimal design of electromagnetic devices, numerical optimization techniques, electromagnetic-compatibility (EMC) phenomena modeling, and computer-aided-design (CAD) developments. Dr. Topa was awarded the “Gheorghe Cartianu” Prize for the best technical book Optimal Design of the Electromagnetic Devices using Numerical Techniques in the Informatics' section by the Romanian Academy in 2000. He is a member of the Romanian EMC and IEEE Magnetics Societies.

Biography

Agnes Sarolta Fazekas (she/her) is an assistant professor at the Eötvös Loránd University Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Needs Education. Since 2019, Agnes has been the leader of the Work Package 6 Inclusiveness of the CHARM-EU Alliance. Agnes has been elected as a member of EAIE General Council 2020-2022 & served EAIE as chair of Expert Community Access & Diversity 2018-2020. Her PhD research on access & inclusion in Higher Education & holds a Master’s degree in Social Policy. Agnes acquired an extensive list of additional skills throughout her education, including international professional experiences in inclusive education, Universal Design Educational Models, social inclusion, diversity, disability, Human Rights Education. She worked as an adviser for the Erasmus+ Higher Education Working Group on mobility for people with disabilities between 2015-2017. Since 2014, she has worked on study sessions as a program team member and trainer with the Council of Europe Youth Department.

Biography

Biography

Anthony’s work focuses on technology policy and practice. He is an internationally recognized expert in universal design of information and communication technology (ICT). He leads several large-scale research and innovation projects based in over 27 countries.

Biography

Carmen Buzea is Vice-Rector for Research & IT at Transilvania University of Brașov (Romania). She is Professor of Sociology at the Social Science and Communication Department. She published 4 books (1 edited) and 59 scientific articles (on ethnicity, human resource management and work motivation across cultures). She was Principal Investigator for 4 grants and team member in 29 national and international research projects.

Website: http://carmen.buzea.ro

Biography

Chrys Margaritidis received his BA in Economics from Bard College, US. After completing his studies at Brandeis University, US, with an MA in International Finance, in 2001 he joined CEU. He has served CEU in various roles, most recently as the Dean of Students. Chrys holds an MA in Philosophy from Open University, UK, and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Reading, UK.

His main academic interests lie in philosophy and higher education. Some of the questions he is working on are founding moral knowledge on moral intuitions, the concept of moral understanding, and moral expertise. Chrys is interested in applied ethics issues, such as big data ethics and the ethics of higher education. He is also interested in the ability of the university to participate in social debates and bring societal change. He is currently leading CIVICA consortium’s civic engagement efforts, including work on diversity and inclusion.

Watch the break-out session on University-Business Cooperation

Harvest concrete implementation measures for the introduction and upscaling of innovative approaches reinforcing the links between higher education and the innovation ecosystem, strengthening academia and non-academia cooperation, and fostering skills development and cross-sectoral talent circulation. The breakout session will look into skills development, skills mismatch, entrepreneurial education and innovation capacity of higher education institutions, cooperation between higher education and business; improve knowledge exchange between industry and academia and help matching supply and demand for innovation.

Biography

Tim is one of the four co-founders of Hardt Hyperloop. Hardt has realized Europe's first operational hyperloop and is the leading company in Europe for the development, implementation and standardization of the hyperloop. Tim has a background in mechanical engineering at the Delft University of Technology, where he built record-breaking electric race cars among other things. Prior to Hardt, Tim was the team captain of the Delft Hyperloop team, which won Elon Musk's hyperloop competition. It is Tim's passion to work with an amazing team with loads of ambition to do the extraordinary.

Biography

Biography

Inge is a senior learning strategist, longtime researcher, award-winning learning innovator and (e)Learning coordinator. She developed multiple online and hybrid courses for North and South. She coaches and co-creates international, blended curricula with engineers and teachers, and explores new, innovative learning formats. Her expertise has been recognised by peers, resulting in additional co-authored papers, invited talks and keynotes in both academic and professional conferences, workshops and seminars. 

Her latest projects are an EU Cross-KIC project looking at AI skills for professionals, matching skill gaps to AI courses (https://aiskills.innoenergy.com/); and an initiative gathering stories of professionals beyond 50, 70, 70 ... who reignited their careers later in life (https://www.secretshakers.com). These two projects fit within the goal of diversity, ensuring a tailored, lifelong learning journey to professionals of all ages. But most of all, she likes to connect and share stories.

Biography

Todd Davey is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Institut Mines-Télécom Business School in Paris and a visiting researcher at Imperial College (UK), Technical University of Vienna (AUT) and the University of Adelaide (AUST) in the topics of entrepreneurship and innovation. Formerly a Senior Manager with Deloitte Australia’s Technology Commercialisation Group and part of the executive team for one of Australia’s fastest growing tech start-ups in the 2000s, Todd has ‘switched sides’ to work within academia, completing his PhD at the VU Amsterdam. He was the Project Director of the largest study yet completed into cooperation between European universities and business, a study completed for the European Commission in 2010 and again in 2017. Todd is the author of the book ‘Entrepreneurship at Universities’, co-editor of the Future Universities Thoughtbook series, a Director at the University-Industry Innovation Network (UIIN) and the creator of TechAdvance™, a tool for evaluating technologies.

Biography

Professor of Political Science and Assistant Secretary General at the University of Ljubljana, Head of Working group on employability of the Slovenian Rectors' conference. Expert in Higher Education policy, systems, employability and teaching and learning.  He acts as expert/consultant/policy advisor to several governments, international organizations (OSCE, CoE, OSCE, International IDEA, EC) and other relevant organisations in the field.

Biography

A senior professional in the field of higher and further education with over 30 years of experience. I have recently retired as the Director of the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in Ireland leading the development of the Forum for 8 years since its establishment. (www.teachingandlearning.ie). I have contributed as a co-chair of the Bologna Follow-up Group on Learning and Teaching and am currently a board director of Ahead (Ahead.ie).

Biography

Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot is Director for Youth, Education and Erasmus+ at the European Commission's Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

She is in charge of European cooperation on higher education, schools and youth policy, managing Europe's flagship programme for education, training, youth and sport Erasmus+ with a budget over €26 billion 2021-2027.

She launched and manages the European Solidarity Corps,an EU youth volunteering programme, and coordinated the 2022 European Year of Youth. She launched flagship actions under the European Education Area and the EU Youth Strategy, such as European Universities, Teacher Academies and DiscoverEU.

She has previously held various positions within the European Commission in the field of strategy and investment in education, employment policy, European Semester, European cohesion funds, cultural policy and business statistics.

She studied economics, business, political science and EU affairs in Sweden, France and Belgium, including an Erasmus student exchange.

She is an Eisenhower Fellow. Twitter: @sophiabrussels

Biography

Dr. Martyn Rawson has worked in Steiner/Waldorf education for 40 years as a teacher, teacher educator and researcher. He is Honorary Professor at National Tsinghua University and teaches on the International Masters Programme of Freie Hochschule Stuttgart and has published widely on this education (e.g. Steiner Waldorf Pedagogy in Schools, Routledge, 2021).

Biography

Dr Tatjana Chircop is the Deputy Principal for Research and Innovation at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, the leading vocational educational institution in Malta. She has been involved in both formal and non-formal education for the past 30 years and has occupied a number of roles within this college since joining in 2007, including lecturer, Director of the Institute of Community Services, Head of the Foundation College and Deputy Principal for Arts and Social Sciences. Currently she is also the project leader for ESF 02.058, ‘Adding Value: Nurturing Learning Journeys in IVET at MCAST’ through which innovative tools are being developed with the aim of engaging vulnerable students in education.

Biography

Martina Darmanin is the President of the European Students’ Union (ESU). She previously held the office of Vice President and Human Rights Coordinator in ESU and has been an elected student leader at the local and national level prior to her European engagement. She furthermore serves as the Vice President of the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) and as the Youth Representative on the Board of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE). Her academic background is in the field of Health Sciences and she holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Malta.

Biography

Biography

Olga Wessels is the Head of Brussels' Office at ECIU (European Consortium of Innovative Universities) and Founder and Chair of FOR-EU1, the informal network of the first generation of European University Alliances. In her role as Head of the ECIU Office, she contributes to setting the agenda of ECIU at the European level, increasing the organization’s visibility as a potential and reliable partner for European institutions in debates on policy and programme developments.

Biography

Carmen Buzea is Vice-Rector for Research & IT at Transilvania University of Brașov (Romania). She is Professor of Sociology at the Social Science and Communication Department. She published 4 books (1 edited) and 59 scientific articles (on ethnicity, human resource management and work motivation across cultures). She was Principal Investigator for 4 grants and team member in 29 national and international research projects.

Website: http://carmen.buzea.ro

Biography

Professor of Political Science and Assistant Secretary General at the University of Ljubljana, Head of Working group on employability of the Slovenian Rectors' conference. Expert in Higher Education policy, systems, employability and teaching and learning.  He acts as expert/consultant/policy advisor to several governments, international organizations (OSCE, CoE, OSCE, International IDEA, EC) and other relevant organisations in the field.

Biography

Paulo Jorge Ferreira is Rector of the University of Aveiro since May 8, 2018. He holds a PhD in Electrotechnical Engineering and is Professor Catedrático at the Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics of the University of Aveiro.

Paulo Jorge Ferreira has management experience in department positions, course management, as well as in scientific commissions, in evaluation commissions, in the UA General Council, in the Coordinating Council for Performance Evaluation of the UA, in the Council of the UA Doctoral School.

His research activity resulted in national and international patents, and in the IBM Scientific Award received in 1993.He collaborated or was responsible for several research projects; he was editor of international scientific journals in engineering and mathematics; and he is author or co-author of several works published in international journals.

He is listed in the top 2% most cited scientist in his field in a study published in PLos Biology.

Biography

Andreia Inamorato is a Senior Researcher at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. She holds a PhD in Educational Technology from the Open University UK. Her work is at the intersection of research and policy. Her current focus is on the promotion of digital competence and uptake of openness in higher education institutions and Member States. She also contributes to evaluating the compliance of enabling conditions for smart specialisation strategies in Member States.  Her main projects at the JRC are the OpenEdu Framework (2016), OpenEdu Policies (2017), Blockchain in Education (2017), Innovating Professional Development in Higher Education (2019), Practical Guidelines on Open Education for Academics (2019), DigCompEdu Check-In for Higher Education (2021) and HESS: Higher Education for Smart Specialisation (2022).

She is Spanish-Brazilian and has over 20 years of experience in teaching and research in education, working internationally.

Websites: https://joint-research centre.ec.europa.eu/andreia-inamorato-dos-santos_en and https://andreiainamorato.com

Biography

Read Charlotte's biography

Biography

Engineering educator and inventor. Been active in robotics and automation education from 2006, started 3 companies and helped at least 5 more startups of the students. My goal is to show by example that engineering education is a mandatory skill of these days to allow our survival. And it is a journey of most enjoyable discoveries about the World and ourselves.

Linkedin profile

Biography

Professor Hannes Raffaseder is Chief Executive Officer and President of the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences. He is also the co-initiator and lead coordinator of the Engaged and Entrepreneurial European University as Driver for European Smart and Sustainable Regions (E³UDRES²).

He was the founding director of the Institute for Creative Media Technologies, and academic director of a master’s course in digital media technology. As a professor of media technology and audio design, Professor Raffaseder has many years of teaching experience and led several research and innovation projects. He promotes a multidirectional knowledge exchange with industries and society as the third and fourth missions of higher education institutions and co-implements concepts for engaged and entrepreneurial universities that strengthen their role as platforms for collaborative innovation.

In addition to his academic work, Professor Raffaseder is an internationally active, award-winning composer and media artist, whose music has been performed in renowned concert halls and arts festivals.

Biography

Cristina Riesen is the Founder and CEO of Educreators Foundation and Board Member of Europe's largest deeptech fund, the European Innovation Council, supporting startups, SMEs and research teams developing high-risk, high-impact breakthrough innovations. A seasoned entrepreneur, she has 20+ years of experience in the fields of strategic communications, emerging technologies and education innovation.
 
Cristina was General Manager EMEA at Evernote, managed the launch of the Swiss Edtech Collider at EPFL Lausanne, worked with the Strategic Development team at ETH Zurich and founded Educreators Foundation, an impact network supporting education innovation. A lifelong learner by design, she is an EMScom graduate, a certified strategic foresight practitioner and design thinker. Cristina was named Digital Shaper by the leading Swiss economic magazine Bilanz in 2019 and 2020.

Biography

Marco is the CEO and founder of WeSchool, the leading Italian EdTech company with 2M+ students and 200.000 teachers on board. WeSchool, part of the UNESCO's Global Education Coalition, is on a mission to ensure learning never stops by empowering educators and students with a more inclusive, collaborative, and engaging way of learning.

Biography

Bernd Schäfer has over 30 years of international business experience. Prior to joining EIT RawMaterials as CEO and Managing Director, he was CEO of apt Group, a leading European aluminium company. He was previously the Vice President Commercial, Global Commercial Transportation and Industrial in Alcoa. His area of accountability included global market responsibility as well as execution of the innovation agenda and technology roadmap. Mr. Schäfer was a long-time Board Member of the trade association of the aluminum industry and the umbrella of metal producing companies in Germany until 2020.

EIT RawMaterials is the world‘s largest innovation community in the raw material sector and has been mandated by the European Commission to manage the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA).

Biography

Biography

Themis Christophidou has been the Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission since March 2018. She is a civil engineer with 35 years of experience in private and public sector management.

After having worked in the private sector for 15 years, she joined the European Commission in 2001. During the last 20 years, she has held various positions, including in the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, as Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and as Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.

Themis Christophidou is an alumna of the civil engineering faculty of the Metsovio Polytechnic University of Athens. Born in Famagusta, Cyprus, she is trilingual, being fluent in Greek, French and English.

Twitter account

Biography

Biography

 

Related content