Keynotes & panel contributions 

Rector Open University of Cyprus

Petros Pashiardis is Professor of Educational Leadership at the Open University of Cyprus, Cyprus. He has been the President of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM) (2004-2008) and a Fulbright Scholar during his doctoral studies in the USA. He has also been a visiting professor at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and the University of Umea, Sweden. He is a member of the editorial boards and reviewer of numerous scientific journals. His current thinking and research interests take him beyond Administrivia and the WHAT effective/successful school leaders do and into the HOW they do it, which leads him to Edupreneurial Leadership.

President EADTU, Rector Open Universiteit

Prof. Dr. Theo J. Bastiaens is President of EADTU and rector of the 'Open Universiteit' in the Netherlands. He is professor of Educational Technology and has contributed to numerous international publications in his field. Bastiaens was Vice-President for Digitalization and Internationalisation at the Fernuniversität in Hagen.

Vice-President EADTU, President Fernuniversität in Hagen

Prof. Dr. Ada Pellert is Vice-President of EADTU and President of the FernUniversität in Hagen. Pellert is chair of the cooperative platform Digital University NRW and was a member of the German Federal Government’s Digital Council.

A trained economist, she is particularly concerned with the issues of education and university management, human resources and organizational development, and the topics of higher education in an international context, continuing education research, gender and diversity management, and lifelong learning.

Minister of Education, Sports and Youth in Cyprus

Dr. Michailidou is a graduate of the Cyprus Pedagogical Academy and holds degrees from the University of Thessaloniki, University of Manchester (M.A. in Education), and University of London (Ph.D. in Educational Studies). She has been a public-school teacher, a professor of Pedagogy, and has held numerous leadership roles.

Rector Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt

Univ.- Prof. Dr. habil. Stefan Brauckmann-Sajkiewicz is the holder of the Chair on Quality Development and Quality Assurance in Education at the Institute of instructional and school development. His main academic fields and interests lie within framework conditions to the education system as well as the different governing mechanisms in educational administration, management and leadership, which affect the development of quality assurance in education. Furthermore, he was a visiting scholar at the Institute PACE (Policy Analysis for California Education) of UC Berkeley and Stanford University, the Open University of Cyprus, the University of Stellenbosch and the University of Umea, Sweden. Brauckmann-Sajkiewicz has also acted as a consultant on a large-scale school leadership needs assessment study on behalf of the Commonwealth Secretariat. Prof. Brauckmann-Sajkiewicz is also a jury member of the prestigious German School Award.

Vice-Rector for Innovation, Quality and Digital Transformation, Universidade Aberta

Diogo Casanova is the Vice-Rector for Innovation, Quality and Digital Transformation at Universidade Aberta. In the past, he was an Associate Professor at the University of West London, where he was Director of the Department of Education and Educational Technology. He has vast experience in leading institutional projects and participating in nationally and internationally funded projects in the area of online learning and teaching.

Associate Dean of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Arden University

Kate Lister is a professor of education and a global expert in inclusive and accessible digital education and student mental wellbeing. She is the Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Arden University, UK, and is a visiting professor at the UK Open University and an Expert Associate for Advance HE. Throughout her career, she has led inclusive practice initiatives, projects and strategies in a number of institutions, working in partnership with students towards holistic, collaborative approaches to inclusion. Her research focuses on mental wellbeing, inclusion and accessibility, especially in digital or technology-enhanced learning environments.

Vice-dean Psychology and Education, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Head of International Affairs at Uninettuno

Nicola Paravati is currently Head of International Affairs Office of UNINETTUNO, where he is also the coordinator for global cooperation projects, focused on technology, education and social inclusion. He is coordinator and speaker in several worldwide conferences and seminars on e-learning and new approaches to the global higher education system.

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Carmen Pages is the director of the Skills Foresight Unit at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. She holds a Ph.D in Economics. Her current focus is on employing qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze skill demands in the labor market and to explore how microcredentials can bridge skill gaps.

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Carles Bruguera is part of the Skills Foresight Unit at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. He holds a Ph.D in Education and Technology. His current interests lie in applying qualitative tools to understanding skill demands in the labor market and in the design and development of microcredenials.

Policy Officer at Nuffic

Merel Eimers is a policy officer at Nuffic, the Dutch organization for internationalization in education. Her work focuses on the recognition of micro-credentials, lifelong learning and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). She has been involved in several European projects that aim to support higher education institutions in their evaluation of micro-credentials and to help them include online and non-formal learning in their recognition and admission practices. Before her current position she was working as a credential evaluator at Nuffic specializing in qualifications from the MENA region.