Markus Symmank is currently the Head of Unit Erasmus Mobility at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and has been in this position since 2011. He was earlier involved in the creation of the Vietnamese German University (2008/10) before moving to Erasmus. He studied and worked in the academia in Germany, the Netherlands (Erasmus student) and Norway. Markus has also been a DAAD Lecturer in Poland (1998/99). Former positions he occupied include Director of DAAD Stability Pact Liaison Mission Office to Kosovo and Macedonia (2003/5), Director of DAAD Information Centre Ho Chi Minh City (2005/8). Markus also worked from 2001 to 2003 as a strategy consultant after receiving his PhD in comparative literature in 2001.

Claire Morel is the Head of Unit for international cooperation at DG Education and Culture of the European Commission, with particular focus on the international dimension of Erasmus+ and international policy dialogue in higher education. She has worked several years on academic cooperation with the neighbouring countries. Before she worked for Tempus – a programme for higher education modernisation – cooperating with Central Asia; and at the European Training Foundation, and agency of the EU based in Turin, on the modernisation of vocational education and training systems in the Eastern neighbouring countries and Central Asia.

Judith Peltz is currently the head of unit “International Relations and Lifelong Learning” at the University of Vechta, Germany. Judith studied Slavic literature and languages, Communication Analysis and Economics in Tuebingen, Moscow and Bielefeld. She worked for different organisations in the field of development cooperation (mainly focussing on higher education) in Armenia, Russia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Afghanistan. After beeing employed by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Bonn, she joint the University of Vechta in 2009. 

Elena Tegovska is currently working as Policy Officer for the European Commission’s  Higher Education Erasmus+ team. Previously, she worked for the international relations office in a Belgian based university. She has experience as well working with the non-governmental sector and civil society organisations in the Balkans. She has a Master of Arts degree in International politics from Université libre de Bruxelles.

Angela Procoli is the head of international partnerships at the Foundation Maison des sciences de l’homme, a French state-approved foundation whose mission is to promote the social and human sciences while fostering a multidisciplinary approach. At the FMSH, she is responsible for developing, and negotiating international agreements; designing partnership proposals. Since 2014 she is the coordinator of the D-Transform project, funded within the Eramus+ program. A. Procoli holds a PhD in social anthropology and she is a former Jean Monnet fellow at the European University Institute in Florence. 

Currently working as Leader of the Global Team within the Higher Education Unit at CIMO in Helsinki, an expert organisation in international mobility and cooperation, Annika Sundbäck has been the national contact for the Erasmus Mundus programme in Finland since 2005.

She closely follows developments and trends related to the role of joint study programmes in promoting internationalisation, both in industrialised, EU-neighbourhood and developing countries. Between 2008 and 2011, she was an external evaluator of joint degree proposals in Brussels within Erasmus Mundus, the US-EU-Atlantis and the ICI-ECP Australia, Japan and South Korea programmes.

Since 2012, she works as trainer on joint programmes for the European Association for International Education (EAIE) and she has also offered courses in Japan.

During the years 2013-2015, she was one of the main partners in the EU-funded project Joint programmes from A to Z. 

Andries Verspeeten is a Policy Advisor for International Relations at Ghent University. He provides follow-up to the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master and PhD Courses (up to 11 projects were awarded in the past years) and advises applicants during the development of their project proposal. In Erasmus Mundus Action 3, he participated in the EM-iDEA project which aimed at bringing together EM-coordinators across Europe, as well as in EM-ACE, which focused on Joint Programme promotion. The position of secretary to the University’s Expert Group on Internationalisation brings him into touch with the wider aspects of internationalisation policy and operations.

Marc Goffart is policy officer at DG Education and Culture of the European Commission, currently overseeing the implementation of the Erasmus+ Master Loan Scheme. Following an Erasmus traineeship in Teacher Training at the Free University of Amsterdam in 1990, Marc started his professional career at the European Education Projects’ Office of the University of Ghent. Marc joined the European Commission since 1995, working primarily in the research and education environments (DGs INFSO, EMPL, RTD & EAC).

Alain Pol is coordinator at the Erasmus+ Department of the Executive Agency (EACEA). Since 1989, he has been working mainly as programme manager in the field of social affairs (employment, vocational education and training):  at the European Commission; at the European Training Foundation, an EU agency based in Turin providing (under the Phare programme) assistance to Eastern candidates countries in their preparation to join the EU and from 2006 onwards at the EACEA.  He also worked as legal officer in DG CNECT.

Julie Sainz is Policy Officer in the unit “Innovation in education, EIT and MSCA” of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture. She is in charge of following up the Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND action. She is also responsible for coordinating studies relating to the analysis and future policy developments of the programme, as well as Secretary to the Horizon 2020 MSCA Advisory Group. Before joining the Commission, she was a researcher in the field of stem cells and cell therapy and worked in various countries (France, Belgium and Japan), both in academia and in industry. Julie holds a PhD in physiology and physiopathology from the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris, France

Hotel des Colonies
Address: 6-10 Rue des Croisades, 1210 Brussels 
Phone: +32.2.643.93.72
Fax: +32.2.643.93.84
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ACA Rate: EUR 95 for single room, breakfast and taxes included
10 rooms blocked until 01 February 2016
In order to obtain the ACA rate for this residence, please fill in this reservation form and send it to Hotel des Colonies.

The Progress Hotel
Address: 9 Rue des Progress, 1210 Brussels 
Phone: +32.2.643.93.72
Fax: +32.2.643.93.84
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ACA Rate: EUR 130 for single room, breakfast and taxes included
10 rooms blocked until 01 February 2016
In order to obtain the ACA rate for this residence, please fill in this reservation form and send it to The Progress Hotel.

9Hotel Central 
Address: 10 Rue des Colonies 1000 Bruxelles
Phone: +32(0)2.504.99.10 E-mail: acolonval@le9hotel-central.com
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ACA Rate: EUR 150 for single room, breakfast included, city-tax: supplement of 4,5€ per night
10 rooms blocked until 20 January 2016
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Thon Hotels 
Thon Hotel EU – Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 75, B-1040 Brussels
Thon Hotel Brussels City Centre – Avenue du Boulevard 17, 1210 Brussels
Thon Hotel Bristol Stephanie – Avenue Louise 91-93, B-1050 Brussels
Thon Hotel Brussels Airport – Berkenlaan 4, 1831 Diegem, Belgium
Stanhope Hotel – Rue du Commerce 9, B-1000 Brussels             
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ACA Rate:10% reduction on the best available rate, excluding city tax 
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