Stephan Geifes

ACA Vice-President and Director, Erasmus+ National Agency Higher Education within the German Academic Exchange Service - DAAD, Germany

Short Bio Dr. Stephan Geifes is the Director of the Erasmus+ National Agency Higher Education within the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) since Feb 1, 2020. He has been working for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) since 1999. Before his current position he was Head of Division Transnational Education and Cooperation Programmes at the DAAD in Bonn since 2013. Prior to this position he was Director of the DAAD Paris Office from 2001 to 2005, Secretary General of the Franco-German University (FGU) from 2005 to 2008, and Scientific Coordinator at the German Historical Institute of Paris from 2008 to 2012. Geifes has studied History, Sociology, Roman Languages and Political Sciences at the University of Bielefeld, the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris (EHESS) and at the Institute d’Études politques (IEP) in Paris. After earning a Master’s degree in History from the University of Bielefeld he continued his studies at the École nationale d’administration (ENA) in Paris. He has a PhD in History from the University of Bochum and has published on international higher education exchange.

Roman Klepetko

ACA Treasurer and Deputy Director, Head of Higher Education and Lifelong Learning Division, DZS - Czech National Agency for International Education and Research

Short Bio Roman Klepetko is the ACA Treasurer and Deputy Director and Head of the Higher Education and Lifelong Learning Division at the DZS. Since joining DZS in 2016, Roman has held various roles, including Head of the Erasmus+ Higher Education Unit, Coordinator of Czech Presidency activities in education and research, and Head of the Youth Mobilities Unit. Over the past years, he has been responsible for organizing the CZEDUCON conference, the biggest conference on internationalisation of higher education in Central Europe, and leading the MICHE project (Monitoring of Internationalisation of Czech Higher Education). Roman’s background is in Economic and Cultural Studies. He holds a master degree from Czech University of Life Sciences and he was Erasmus+ exchange student at University of Helsinki. Prior to his tenure at DZS, he worked in university administration at the International Relations Office of the Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague.

Runa Vigdís Guðmarsdóttir

Director, Erasmus+ National Agency within Rannis, Iceland

Short Bio Rúna Vigdís Guðmarsdóttir has worked on internationalisation in education since 2007, when she joined the Icelandic National Agency for the Lifelong Learning Programme. She was seconded to the Erasmus+ Higher Education team at DG Education and Culture from 2013 to 2017, working first and foremost on programme management and impact assessment. She was responsible for outgoing student mobility from the University of Iceland until 2018, when she took over her role as the team leader for higher education at Rannís – The Icelandic Centre for Research, which serves as the Erasmus+ National Agency in Iceland. As of 1 January 2021, Rúna is the Director of the National Agency. She holds an undergraduate degree from the Iceland University of Education and two master degrees: in Intercultural Education from Freie Universität Berlin and Applied Linguistics from the University of Sussex. Green and inclusive internationalisation is her favourite topic at work.

Amanda Crameri

Member of the Executive Board and Head of the Higher Education Unit, Movetia - Swiss National Agency for Exchange and Mobility, Switzerland

Short Bio Amanda Crameri, Member of the Executive Board and Head of the Higher Education Unit at Movetia, has played a key role in the agency's establishment since 2017. With a background at the former Swiss National Agency, where she rose to lead the Erasmus programme, she co-crafted the Swiss-European Mobility Programme in 2014. Amanda specialises in international student mobility, showcasing expertise in global data analysis, trend monitoring, and policy formulation. At Movetia, she spearheaded the design and implementation of impactful mobility programmes, contributing significantly to the internationalisation of education. Fluent in multiple languages, Amanda holds an MA in General History and Italian Literature and Linguistics. From 2020 to 2022, she served as an elected member of the European Collaborative Programmes at EAIE.

Gerhard Volz

Head, Department for International Cooperation in Higher Education at the OeAD - Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalisation

Short Bio Gerhard Volz is Head of the recently established Department for International Cooperation in Higher Education at the OeAD (Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalisation). He is responsible for national and European support schemes in higher education, including Erasmus+ and international collaboration, as well as additional initiatives such as Study in Austria, EURAXESS, and Bologna support projects. Working for the OeAD since 1998, Mr. Volz was initially responsible for higher education cooperation programmes and funding schemes for various regions, such as Central and Eastern Europe, as well as development cooperation programmes worldwide. Between 2007 to 2020 he was acting as Head of Section for Erasmus+ Higher Education and Deputy Director of the National Agency Erasmus+ Austria. Mr. Volz holds a Master’s degree in Political Sciences, History and Educational Sciences (University of Vienna). He has studied and participated in work-related activities in Europe, Caucasus, Asia, Africa.

Vidar Pedersen

European Programmes Director and Norwegian NA Director for Erasmus+, Directorate for Higher Education and Skills - HK Dir, Norway

Short Bio Vidar Pedersen is currently European Programmes Director at HK-dir and also the National Agency Director for Norway for the Erasmus+ programme in education and training. Vidar has held various leadership positions in HK-dir and its predecessors, and during the period 2004-2020 he was a member of the organisation’s management group before taking up his current position. Previously, he worked for the University of Bergen and the University of Agder. Pedersen studied English, German and Scandinavian languages and holds an MA degree in English from the University of Bergen. He has also studied in the U.S., where he was a Fulbright grantee.

Maija Airas

Counsellor of Education and Head of Unit for International Higher Education Cooperation, Finnish National Agency for Education - EDUFI

Short Bio Maija Airas is Counsellor of Education and Head of Unit for International Higher Education Cooperation at the Finnish National Agency for Education. She has devoted a major part of her professional career to promoting internationalization in Higher Education and her professional interests range from diversity and inclusion in Higher Education to global education and development. Maija holds a master degree in political science from the University of Helsinki.