Sjur Bergan

Sjur Bergan is Head of the Department of Higher Education and History Teaching of the Council of Europe. He represents the Council of Europe on the Bologna Follow Up Group and Board, chairs the Coordination Group on Qualifications Frameworks and is a member of the working group on the EHEA in a Global Setting. He has been Secretary to the Council’s Higher Education and Research Committee (CDESR) and of the ENIC Network, and he was a member of the editorial group for the Council’s White paper on Intercultural Dialogue. Sjur Bergan is also series editor of the Council of Europe Higher Education Series, the author of a book on Qualifications: Introduction to a Concept as well as of numerous articles and editor of books on various aspects of higher education policies and on the heritage of European universities. Before joining the Council of Europe, Sjur Bergan held an administrative position at the University of Oslo, where, as a student, he was a member of the Academic Senate.

Hans de Wit is a private consultant and researcher for De Wit International Higher Education Consultancy. He is the co-editor of the ‘Journal of Studies in International Education’ (Association for Studies in International Education/SAGE publishers).

He was founding dean of Windesheim Honours College of the VU Amsterdam/Windesheim Hogeschool, Zwolle. Before, he was director of the Hague Forum for Judicial Expertise in 2005-2006. He has been director of the Office of Foreign Relations, vice-president for International Affairs and senior adviser International at the University of Amsterdam, in the period 1986-2005, and director of International Relations at Tilburg University in 1981-1985. He has a bachelor, master and PhD from the University of Amsterdam.

He has written books and articles on international education and is actively involved in assessment and consultancy in international education, for organisations like the European Commission, World Bank, IMHE/OECD, and ESMU. He has undertaken Quality Reviews of a great number of institutions of higher education in the framework of the Visiting Advisors Program (VAP), IQRP, IQR, Eurostrat.

Hans de Wit is founding member and past president of the European Association for International Education (EAIE). Currently he is, among other positions, member of the Board of Trustees of World Education Services (New York).

Germain Dondelinger (LU) holds the position of “premier conseiller de gouvernement” in Luxembourg and as such he is the coordinator for higher education in the Luxembourg Ministry of culture, higher education and research. He has also been a member of the Bologna Follow Up Group since its founding (2001) and is currently its vice chair. In 2005, during the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union, he was heavily engaged in the negotiation of the Bergen Declaration. In conjunction with playing a fundamental role in the creation and implementation of the University of Luxembourg he has also been engaged in the development of Campus Europae. He is a member of the bureau of the steering committee for higher education and research at the Council of Europe and holds board positions in a number of research institutes. Germain Dondelinger chairs the administrative board of “Fonds Belval”, a development company dealing with research and university infrastructure as well as industrial heritage on a brownfield site in Luxembourg. Throughout the nineteen nineties, he was heavily involved with European educational affairs at council level.

Christine Ennew is Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Nottingham where she has responsibility for Internationalisation and the Faculty of Science.

She was formerly Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Law and Education and Professor of Marketing in the Business School. She was Academic Director of the Division of Business and Management at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia during its start-up phase (2000-01), and the Director of the Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute.

She is a member of the Board of Directors and Academic Standards Council for Universitas 21 Pedagogica and a member of the Board of Governors for Castle College. Her research interests lie in the area of services marketing with a particular interest in financial services and tourism.

She has published some 90 articles in refereed journals, presented over 60 refereed conference papers and produced 4 books.

Madeleine Gardeur-Veltman (1946) studied Psychology at the University of Leiden. During her studies she was the International Secretary of the Praesidium Facultatum; later she founded the International Office at the University of Leiden. After working for a number of years, she took a degree in Social Psychology in Groningen, followed by a large-scale research project on social cohesion in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. The International Office of the University of Groningen (headed by her since 1986) now has a staff of 34. Strongly anchored in the university organisation, directly involved in the strategic planning of teaching and research and fully supported by the university management, the tasks vary from strategic policy development and implementation, European projects, incoming and outgoing degree and non-degree student mobility to multi-annual projects in developing countries, international positioning and recruitment, admissions and an international service desk for visas and work permits for staff and students.

Madeleine Gardeur has received the Royal Decoration Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau for her efforts in advancing international relations and the French Government awarded her with the decoration Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques.

Since 1972, Volker Gehmlich is Professor of Business Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Osnabrück, Germany. He is course director of undergraduate and postgraduate double degree programmes. He is also the major initiator of the restructuring of the faculty and the whole institution in terms of modularisation and introduction of a credit based system that is coherent with ECTS. 

Volker Gehmlich has been involved in EU-programmes since 1978, and for various functions: project co-ordinator, assessor of project applications (e.g. EU-US/ EU-CND), contributor to the design of new initiatives, evaluator and trainer of assessors, EU-expert. He is also active in the Tuning Project, and the author of various publications on the internationalisation of organisations, skill needs, and credit

Dr Annette Julius is the Head of the Northern Hemisphere Department of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Bonn as well as of DAAD’s Berlin Office. She studied English and Russian Language and Literature at the University of Cologne, the University of Dundee in Scotland und the Pushkine Institute of Russian Language in Moscow. From 1992 to 1995 Annette Julius did a PhD in Slavonic Studies, with several research stays in Moscow. After completing her PhD, she worked six years for the Catholic German scholarship foundation Cusanuswerk.

In 2001, Annette Julius joined the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD in Bonn, where she was first the Head of Section for “Policy Planning and Coordination” and in 2005 became the Head of Division for “Strategy and Cross-Sectional Programmes”. Since November 2006 she has been responsible for the DAAD Office in Berlin, and since September 2007 for the Northern Hemisphere Department in Bonn.

The aim of Frances’ counsellor position in Brussels is to strengthen New Zealand’s education system and intellectual wealth through developing understanding of the policies and practices of individuals, organisations and institutions in European education. A particular focus of Frances’ role is analysing and monitoring the Bologna process in Europe and its implications for New Zealand and European countries.  To this end the Ministry of Education in New Zealand has published an online document, “New Zealand and the Bologna Process”.

Prior to taking up this position, Frances was Senior Policy Manager with the Ministry of Education, where she provided strategic policy advice to the government on the overall direction of and investment priorities for the education system.

Her responsibilities also include representing New Zealand on two OECD committees: the Education Committee and the Governing Board of the Centre for Research and Innovation, which she currently chairs.  Before joining the Ministry of Education Frances worked in higher education and in schools.

Neil Kemp has contributed to a wide range of education and training projects in over 20 countries. He has lived and worked in South and East Asia for 20 years, including eight years each in Indonesia and India. His career has involved several posts in the British Council: Country Director in Sri Lanka and Indonesia and in the UK as, Director of Science and Technology and Director of Education UK Marketing.

He manages his own international education consultancy and his clients include a number of universities, the UK’s Departments for Education and Home Office, the British Council and Education UK Partnership; CIRIUS Denmark; the Swedish Institute; UK-India Education and Research Initiative; Universities UK. His current professional interests include national and institutional policies relating to the internationalisation of higher education; the role of the independent sector in higher education, particularly in developing countries; and international student mobility.

Over recent years he has been a member of the UK government’s Education and Training Export Group, the Higher Level Steering Group for the Prime Minister’s Initiative on International Students, the Education UK Board and the UK New Route PhD Committee. He has a number of part-time posts including as a Board Member for the Association of Independent Higher Education Providers in the UK; as a Trustee of the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex; Director of Open University Worldwide; member of the International Boards at the University of Westminster and Sussex Downs College.

Dr. Jane Knight focuses her research and professional interests on the international dimension of higher education at the institutional, system, national, and international levels. Her work with UN Agencies, Universities, Foundations, and Professional Organizations in over 60 countries of the world helps to bring a comparative, development and international policy perspective to her research, teaching and policy work. She is the author/editor of many publications on internationalisation concepts and strategies, quality assurance, institutional management, mobility, cross-border education, trade, and capacity building. Her latest 2008 publications include Higher Education in Turmoil-The Changing World of Internationalization (author), Financing Access and Equity in Higher Education (editor),and Higher Education in Africa: The International Dimension (co-editor). She is an adjunct professor at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto and a Fulbright New Century Scholar 2007-2008.

Karen M. Lauridsen (KML) has worked with internationalization of higher education in a number of different capacities since the introduction of the first exchange programmes in the late 1980s. She was ASB Vice-rector for international relations 1997-2005 and at that time also member of the International Committee under the Danish Rectors’ Conference. Since 1996 KML has participated in and coordinated part of the European projects in the area of languages launched from within the membership of the European Language Council. She has also served on the Board of the ELC since the association was established in 1997. She was involved in the ELC’s initiative on university language policies, and she was chairman of the committee under the Danish Rectors’ Conference that produced a document on this topic in 2003. KML has worked as consultant for the ASB leadership team during the implementation of the ASB language policy in the last couple of years. She is currently interested in the connections between language, culture and pedagogy/didactics in the multicultural classroom.

Martha Loerke began working on international education programs in 1988 at the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, with the Senior Fulbright Fellowship Program for Hungary, what was then Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. She moved to the Institute of International Education in New York in 1991 to develop and manage the Edmund S. Muskie and Freedom Support Act Graduate Fellowship Program for the former Soviet Union. In December 1994 Ms Loerke was brought into the newly created Scholarships Department at the Soros Foundations/Open Society Institute, and in September 1995 she was appointed Director of the Department. She spent 16 months in 1996/97 at OSI/Budapest creating a scholarships office there and developing European scholarship programs for the Soros Foundations network.

Currently Martha oversees various programs offering about 800 scholarships annually in over 30 countries via open, merit-based competitions. She directs offices in New York and London, and coordinates global program administration with 30 local partners. Martha also represents OSI on the Board and Selection Committee of the Scholar Rescue Fund at the Institute of International Education, and is a founding member of Education Center “Bilim-Central Asia” in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Irina Lungu is Policy Officer at the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA). She is currently involved in the Hextlearn project (Higher Education exploring ICT use for Lifelong Learning), which aims to set up an international online community of higher education institutions willing to exchange good practice on the use of ICT for educational purposes. She also co-authored ACA’s Handbook of International Associations in Higher Education (2009) and is involved in other ongoing projects. Irina, who is a Romanian national, studied International Relations and European Studies at the Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca and obtained a Masters degree in European Politics and Policies at the Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven.

Wolfgang Mackiewicz is director of the Language Centre and Honorary Professor of English Philology at the Freie Universität Berlin (FUB). He is the president of the Conseil Européen pour les Langues / European Language Council (CEL/ELC). He was chair of the SIGMA Scientific Committee on Languages (1994-5), and has coordinated a total of eight EU development and network projects, among them five thematic and dissemination network projects in the area of languages (Socrates-Erasmus Programme; 1996-2007). He is currently coordinator of an LLP/KA2 network for enhancing motivation for language learning. He has been involved in the implementation of Bologna reforms at all levels. Over the past 14 years, he has been advisor to both the European Commission and the Council of Europe in a number of capacities. He chaired the Expert Group on the Humanities in FP7, he is the chair of the Expert Advisory Group FP7 Theme 8 and of the Assessment of University-Based Research Expert Group, and he was rapporteur of the European Commission’s High Level Group on Multilingualism.

Wolfgang Mackiewicz studied English and German at FUB and at the University of Leeds, and wrote his PhD thesis on Daniel Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe”. His research focuses on European language policy and language education policy. He holds three honorary doctorates.

Gunn Mangerud is the director for the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Higher Education (SIU). As SIUs director is she responsible for the daily operations and the strategic development of the centre. Mangerud holds a masters degree in biology from the University in Trondheim and a PhD in geology from the University in Bergen. Before joining SIU, Mangerud held a position in Norsk Hydro’s Research and Technology Management where part of the work area was to develop the companies total Research and Development strategy as well as keeping contact with academic institutions around the world. She has long experience in natural science research and research and technology management and has been a member of several boards including editorial, research and professional boards. Mangerud has performed field work in different parts of the world and has been a member of several boards including editorial, research and professional boards.

Mr. Daniel Roberts is the Director of IIE/Europe located in Budapest, Hungary.  Mr. Roberts oversees all activities led by IIE/Europe including the implementation of 15 IIE programs and initiatives in over 30 countries.  With a staff of fourteen, Mr. Roberts leads program development in Europe, serves as a liaison with officials at institutions of higher education throughout Europe and trains higher educational professionals in the region.  Mr. Roberts has lectured widely regarding internationalizing curriculum and programs at universities as well as on collaborative projects regarding student and scholar exchange.  Mr. Roberts received a B.A. in Political Science from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and holds two Master’s degrees from Carnegie Mellon University in Public Policy and from The Pennsylvania State University in Political Science, respectively.

Chripa Schneller is Policy Officer at the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA). Before joining the ACA Secretariat in May 2007, she worked as a product manager in Germany in the private sector and held teaching positions in Spain and India. The responsibilities of her present position at ACA cover all aspects of the association’s policies, projects and events. She also represents ACA at various international meetings. Chripa, who is a French-German citizen of Indian descent, is the main author of the ACA Handbook of International Associations in Higher Education (2009) and is currently in charge of a pilot project within the Erasmus Mundus Global Promotion Project, which aims at enhancing the professional capacity of European countries to proactively promote themselves as study destinations.

Waldemar Siwinski is a founder and president of the “Perspektywy” Education Foundation, an independent, non-profit organization (Fundacja Edukacyjna „Perspektywy”- in Polish) established in 1998 to support education and its quality, and to promote Polish universities abroad.

Since 1992 WS initiated and organized over 40 rankings in the field of education; rankings of secondary schools, rankings of universities and MBA studies. Perspektywy University Ranking is the main such ranking in Poland. WS took part in several international conferences on rankings, including IREG conference in Berlin where the Berlin Principles were proclaimed. WS serves as vice-chairman of the Executive Committee of the IREG International Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence established in Warsaw in April, 2008.

WS has an extensive and rich media experience as writer, journalist and manager. WS served as the president of the Polish Press Agency (2003-2007); was bureau member of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA); board member of the European PressPhoto Agency (EPA); member of the International Press Institute (IPI). WS for two years served as a chairman of the Conference of Polish Media, a public body overseeing the quality aspects of media in Poland.

Dr. Rolf Tarrach is Rector of the University of Luxemburg and President of the Academic Cooperation Association.  Dr. Tarrach is professor of theoretical physics, and has served in that capacity at the universities of Valencia and Barcelona as well as the University of Saint Petersburg.  Many organizations have taken advantage of his breath of knowledge and his command of languages.  He is a former president of the CSIC (the Spanish Scientific Research Council), and a former member of EURAB, EUROHORCS, ESOF2004 (and 2006, and 2008).  The EU Commission has availed themselves of Dr. Tarrach’s services at various times. He is currently on the EUA Council.

Rait Toompere is the Chairman of the Board of the Foundation Archimedes, an independent body established in 1997 by the Ministry of Education to manage the European Union education and research programmes. Departments of the Foundation Archimedes include Centre for Educational Programmes, Estonian National Agency for Youth in Action Programme, Research Cooperation Centre, Centre of Higher Education Accreditation, Academic Mobility Centre and most recently joined Implementing Agency of Structural Funds.   He is also the Director of the Centre for Educational Programmes, implementing body of the European Union Lifelong Learning Programme (follower of the Socrates Estonian National Agency). 

Rait has graduated form the University of Tartu, where he studied history and art history. He has written more than 100 publications in the field of art. Rait has ten years experience as part time lecturer at Tartu University. His earlier posts include consultant of art issues by the Estonian Artists Union, president of Tartu Artists Society and director of artists cooperation ARTES, but also alderman and later deputy mayor  in the fields of education, culture and social affairs for Tartu City Government.

Bernd Wächter is the Director of the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA). In this capacity, which he has held since 1998, he bears overall responsibility for the implementation of all ACA policy. Earlier on (1995 – 1997), he was the Head of the Erasmus Department in the then Socrates and Youth TAO, which implemented the centralised parts of the Erasmus Programme on behalf of the European Commission. Between 1992 and 1995, he headed the German national agency for the Erasmus Programme inside the DAAD, which also had important national information functions for the COMETT, LINGUA and TEMPUS schemes. His experience with internationalisation also relates to the institutional level, through his functions as head of the international office of the Fachhochschule Darmstadt, and as a departmental coordinator of international relations at the Gesamthochschule Kassel. He has also worked for the British Council. Bernd Wächter has published and lectured widely on issues of Europeanisation and internationalisation of higher education. He is the editor of the ACA Papers on International Cooperation in Education.

Richard Yelland is Head of the Education Management and Infrastructure Division in the OECD Directorate for Education. This Division is responsible for the work of the Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) and the Centre for Effective Learning Environments (CELE).

Richard joined OECD in 1986 from the then Department of Education and Science in the United Kingdom where he had held a range of posts in educational policy and administration since 1974.

Richard has been responsible for or contributed to a range of OECD publications on higher education and educational infrastructure. He is frequently invited to address international and national meetings on different aspects of education.