Stronger Together | EURASHE 33rd Annual Conference
Fostering Transnational Cooperation in Applied Universities
22-23
May 2024
St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences | St. Pölten, Austria
Face-to-face
We are delighted to invite you to the EURASHE 33rd Annual Conference, taking place on 22-23 May 2024 at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences in St. Pölten, Austria.
Every year, EURASHE gathers the Higher Education community to discuss and draft a shared path on relevant topics for the present and the future of education. Don’t miss the chance to be a part of this event, save the date and join us!
Have a question? Contact us at [email protected]
LINK TO PHOTO ALBUM
WELCOME TO ST. PÖLTEN!
St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences is hosting the upcoming EURASHE Annual Conference. The university is locally anchored, globally connected and stands for future-oriented academic education in the subject areas of: media, digital technologies, communications, management, informatics, security, rail technology, health, and social sciences. It stands out from other institutions for:
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- Its constantly growing and highly relevant range of courses
- Its strong interdisciplinary and international cooperation
- The strength of its teaching and research
With almost 4,000 students, St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences is a key player in the Austrian higher education sector and one of the most important employers in the region. As a European University, they are leaders of the European University Alliance E³UDRES² (Engaged and Entrepreneurial European University as Driver for European Smart and Sustainable Regions) and closely collaborate with universities from Portugal, Romania, Hungary, Belgium, Latvia, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands to create sustainable teaching formats and further develop smart and sustainable regions.
Programme
This Annual Conference is set to be one for the books. We are planning panel discussions, keynote speeches, workshops and breakout sessions, plus several informal moments for you to mix and mingle with colleagues and meet new people from all over Europe and the world.
Click here for an in-depth look at the programme and what to look forward to while in St. Pölten.
Pre-conference | 21 May |
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14:00 – 15:30 | EURASHE Board meeting |
15:30 – 17:00 | EURASHE General Assembly (members only) |
17:00 – 18:00 | Visit of the St. Pölten University campus and labs |
18:30 – 20:30 | Pre-conference reception |
Day 1 | 22 May | |
Project stands, EURASHE Associate Members showcase (9:00 – 18:00) | |
Welcome coffee & registration (9:00 – 9:30) | |
9:30 – 9:45 | Conference opening |
9:45 – 10:15 | Opening keynote speech |
10:15 – 11:15 | Plenary session |
Coffee break (11:15 – 11:45) | |
11:45 – 12:30 | Breakout sessions |
12:30 – 13:00 | Spotlight on projects |
Lunch (13:00 – 14:30) | |
14:30 – 15:00 | Keynote speech |
15:00 – 15:15 | Launch of the UNESCO Network for Applied Higher Education |
15:15 – 16:00 | Plenary session |
Coffee break (16:00 – 16:15) | |
16:15 – 17:00 | Breakout sessions |
17:00 – 17:45 | Plenary session |
17:45 – 18:00 | Wrap up of the day |
Conference Gala Dinner (19:00 – 22:00) |
Day 2 | 23 May | |
Project stands, EURASHE Associate Members showcase (9:00 – 15:00) | |
Welcome coffee & registration (9:00 – 9:15) | |
9:15 – 9:30 | Warm up |
9:30 – 10:15 | Plenary session |
10:15 – 11:00 | Hot topics by EURASHE Communities of Practice |
Coffee break (11:00 – 11:30) | |
11:30 – 12:15 | Policy roundtable |
12:15 – 12:45 | PHE Stars Awards ceremony |
12:45 – 13:00 |
Wrap up of the day Conclusions and announcement of 34th Annual Conference host |
Lunch (13:00 – 14:30) | |
14:30 – 16:30 |
Leadership Forum The Leadership Forum is reserved for executive leaders of EURASHE member institutions and invited organisations, e.g. Rectors and Vice-Rectors, Presidents and Vice-Presidents) |
Registration and fees
For your information
Ticket type | Standard fee |
Students* | €200 |
Selected contributors | €290 |
EURASHE members | €400 |
General admission non-members | €490 |
*The fee is only valid for students with a valid ID. Submission of a copy of the ID is required upon registration.
Timeline
Registrations to the Annual Conference are now closed. We look forward to meeting all participants in St. Pölten soon!
Speakers
Day 1 | 22 May |
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CONFERENCE OPENING |
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Hannes RaffasederPresident of EURASHE and CEO of St. Pölten UAS Hannes is a Member of the Executive Board as Chief Research & Innovation Officer of St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences and leading coordinator of E³UDRES², the Engaged and Entrepreneurial European University as Driver for European Smart and Sustainable Regions. |
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KEYNOTE SPEECH |
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Sophia Eriksson WaterschootDirector for Youth, Education and Erasmus+, European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot 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 EUR 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 |
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Plenary Session: Promoting Transnational Cooperation among European Universities |
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Moderator: Michal KarpíšekSecretary General of E³UDRES² From 2016 – 2021, Michal served as a Secretary General of EURASHE, a political representation of professional higher education in Europe, following an 8 year mandate as its Vice-president. He has been representing EURASHE within various European policy and stakeholders’ fora, EC working structures on higher education policies. Until 2016 Michal acted as an Executive officer of the Czech Association of Schools of Professional Higher Education (CASPHE). He served twice as an advisor to Czech ministers of education (2001-03, 2010-11) or their deputies for higher education. |
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Nedas JurgaitisDeputy Director, Šiauliai State University of Applied Sciences Nedas is Associate Professor at the Department of Management and Communication, Deputy Chairman of the Siauliai City Education Council. He is a Doctor of Philology and Editor-in-chief of the journal Professional Studies: Theory and Practice, as well as Executive Committee Member of the European Universities Alliance NEOLAiA. |
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Andrean LazarovQuality Assurance Officer, University of Agribusiness and Rural Development Andrean Lazarov is an inclusive educator with over 20 years of experience including as author of more than 90 EU projects in the period 2003-2023 in the field of inclusive higher education, career support, supported employment, entrepreneurship and youth. He is currently a PhD candidate in Educational management, researching the topic “Leadership styles to ensure educational innovations”, and holds the position of Quality Assurance Officer in the European University Alliance “INVEST” on behalf of the UARD team. He is equally the Creative Director of Private Business School “The Talents”. |
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Sofie MolsDirector of Innovation and International Policy, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences Sofie Mols spearheads strategies for research, global learning, and internationalisation. With a background in civil engineering and education, she is a results-driven, empathetic leader, known for her pragmatic approach and belief in the power of people to make a difference. As a critical friend, Sofie values synergy and impact in achieving international education objectives, bringing a lens of entrepreneurship, lifelong learning, and digital transformation to strengthen higher education practices. |
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Michael RoitherVice-Rector for International Affairs, University of Applied Sciences Burgenland Michael heads the Master’s degree programme Digital Media and Communication. He has also been co-founder, partner and managing director of the eLearning Academy for Communication GmbH since 2016. Prior to this, he was head of the Centre for Journalism and Communication Management at Danube University Krems and an educational journalist at the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper – a position he still holds today as a freelance author. Michael Roither has more than 20 years teaching experience in Austria and abroad with guest professorships in Riga and Krakow. |
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KEYNOTE SPEECH |
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Pedro TeixeiraFull Professor of Economics at University of Porto and former Portuguese Secretary of State for Higher Education Pedro Texeira served as Secretary of State for Higher Education from March 2022 to April 2024. Prior to serving the Portuguese government, he was Director of CIPES – the Center for Research in Higher Education Policies and Full Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Porto. He was Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at the University of Porto (2014-208). He was also an adviser to the President of Portugal on Higher Education, Science, and Economic issues (2016-2022) and a member of Portugal’s National Council of Education (2014-2018). He has also served on the evaluation panels for the European University Association (EUA) and the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). |
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LAUNCH OF THE UNESCO CHAIR FOR APPLIED HIGHER EDUCATION |
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Ahmed SamyUNESCO Chair for Strategic Foresight and Higher Education Dr. Samy is a passionate strategist with a purpose to help organizations and teams exploit their full potential and create their envisioned future. A senior accomplished and award-winning executive and advisor with over 25 years of experience in Consulting, Government, Higher Education, and Digital Technologies sectors. He holds the UNESCO Chair on Strategic Foresight and Higher Education at the Higher Colleges of Technology based in the UAE and is Head of their UNESCO-UNEVOC center. He comes with significant board and governance experience in global not-for-profits and national government-led executive boards. Dr. Samy is the current Chair of the Strategic Leadership Board – MENA at the Global Center for Risk and Innovation and also the Chair of the Global Goodman Award for Excellence in Strategy hosted by the International Association for Strategy Professionals. |
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PLENARY SESSION: TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION OUTSIDE THE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA |
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Moderator: Hilligje van’t LandSecretary General, International Association of Universities Dr. Hilligje van’t Land serves the global higher education community as Secretary General of the International Association of Universities (IAU) – global NGO with UNESCO Associate Status. For the past two decades, she has fostered the key role of higher education in societal transformation. She supervises the overall programme activities of the IAU, develops the Association’s strategic plans and oversees the everyday work of the secretariat. She positioned the IAU as partner in UNESCO work on Education for sustainable development and in the UNESCO Futures of Education initiative, and higher education as a key stakeholder for the UN Agenda 2030 – Transforming our world. Hilligje van’t Land strongly believes in the importance of international cooperation and intercultural understanding and has developed multilateral projects related higher education and beyond. |
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Preeti NairDirector, Centre for International Relations and Research, Parul University Professor Preeti Nair has an academic experience of 15 years and Industrial Experience of 9 years. She is a PhD in the area of Management and completed her Post-Doctoral Work in the area of Indian National Education Policy. Dr. Preeti leads Internationalisation at her University since 2013 and has been responsible for several Strategic collaboration with International Universities for Mobility, Pathway, Erasmus+ and Research. She has won several accolades and awards in the field of enhancing Internationalisation at Parul University, also has been selected by Associations and Embassies to be a part of Indian delegation to various partner countries and recognised for outstanding efforts. |
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David RossPresident & Chief Executive Officer, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Dr. David Ross joined SAIT in 2013, becoming its 16th President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). A passionate leader in post-secondary education dedicated to promoting student success, Dr. Ross has a reputation for innovation in applied education. Under Dr. Ross’ leadership, SAIT has become Alberta’s third-largest post-secondary institution well known for its action-based learning, solution-focused research and enterprising collaborations with people and partners from around the globe. Prior to joining SAIT, Dr. Ross was President and CEO of Langara College where he transformed the institution through extensive growth and strategic market development. |
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Ahmed SamyUNESCO Chair for Strategic Foresight and Higher Education Dr. Samy is a passionate strategist with a purpose to help organizations and teams exploit their full potential and create their envisioned future. A senior accomplished and award-winning executive and advisor with over 25 years of experience in Consulting, Government, Higher Education, and Digital Technologies sectors. He holds the UNESCO Chair on Strategic Foresight and Higher Education at the Higher Colleges of Technology based in the UAE and is Head of their UNESCO-UNEVOC center. He comes with significant board and governance experience in global not-for-profits and national government-led executive boards. Dr. Samy is the current Chair of the Strategic Leadership Board – MENA at the Global Center for Risk and Innovation and also the Chair of the Global Goodman Award for Excellence in Strategy hosted by the International Association for Strategy Professionals. |
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PLENARY SESSION: STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY ALLIANCES |
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Moderator: Dora CrişanBusiness Development Officer, evozon | Workshop Facilitator, EvoCariera Psychology and Business graduate, volunteer, and learning enthusiast. Now as a Business Developer, Dora is working to connect companies, universities, research centres and other organisations to form meaningful and fruitful partnerships. And as a member of an educational NGO, she is exploring her curiosities and helping others do the same in their career journey, while training as a vocational counselor. |
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Denis HardiRUN-EU Student representative, Technological University of the Shannon Denis Hardi is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree with honors in Process Improvement and Engineering Management. He holds the position of Chairman for the Young Engineers in his regional chapter under Engineers Ireland. Engaged in politics, Denis also serves as a panel coordinator for Policy Recommendations within the European Sudent Assembly 2024, sponsored by Erasmus+. Additionally, he acts as a secretary for the migrant community in the county, ensuring their voices are heard in policy-making processes. Denis actively participates in Erasmus exchange programs facilitated by RUN-EU. |
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Tanguy GuibertVice-President, European Students’ Union Tanguy is 27, comes from France and studies international political science at University Paris Est Créteil. He joined the student movement in France seven years ago and now serves as Vice-President of ESU. He is working on the European Education Area, Internationalisation and Mobility and Sustainability. |
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Karīna Anna LapiņaChair of E³UDRES² Student Board, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences Karīna Anna is a proud part of the E³UDRES² alliance and a Bachelor’s IT student at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences. This year, she’s been given the opportunity to lead the E³UDRES² Student Board, where previously she was engaged in various activities, projects and networking with fellow students to broaden her perspectives, contacts and gain new opportunities. |
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Sukh Preet SinghU!REKA Student representative, HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Art Sukh Preet Singh (22) is currently a student at HOGENT (Belgium) where he studies Biomedical Laboratory Technology. He’s also a student representative for the department of Health Care and for the U!REKA alliance. In his free time, he likes to run long distances and enjoy activities with his student associations. Next to his studies, he keeps participating in political activities both at the local and national level to ensure that the voice of the students is represented. |
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WRAP-UP OF THE DAY |
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Sarah Watts-RynardChief Executive Officer, Polytechnics Canada Sarah Watts-Rynard is the Chief Executive Officer at Polytechnics Canada, a non-profit association representing 13 leading polytechnics and institutes of technology with a focus on federal advocacy related to skills and innovation policy. Sarah’s career has included time in government, the private sector and at skills-focused non-profit organizations. She is a recognized expert in apprenticeship policy, chairs the CWB Foundation and is Vice-Chair of the Canadian Centre for Women in Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology. |
Day 2 | 23 May |
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PLENARY SESSION: RESEARCH COLLABORATION IN EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY ALLIANCES |
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Moderator: Armin MahrCEO, Wiener Neustadt University of Applied Sciences Armin has been heading the Wiener Neustadt University of Applied Sciences since 2019. A political scientist (University of Vienna, London School of Economics), Armin worked for an NGO and as a project manager in the international consulting business before joining the public service. From 2007, he served in various public management positions related to research and innovation policies. He was Austrian delegate (and co-chair) of the OECD Working Party on Innovation and Technology Policy (TIP), involved in the national research, technology and innovation strategy and the evaluation of innovation systems in EU member states. Armin was prominent to promote the role of universities as lead institutions for regional innovation and smart specialisation, in Austria and the EU. |
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Liam BrownVice President of Research, Development and Innovation, Technological University of the Shannon With significant public and private sector experience, Dr Liam Brown has a proven track record in strategic development and operational management of research, development, innovation, community and enterprise engagement. He leads the RDI team across all TUS campuses, Ireland’s first cross-regional Technological University and is focused on areas that have clear social, cultural, economic and environmental impact regionally, nationally and internationally. Collaboration and addressing the needs of internal and external stakeholders – academic, industry and community is a key focus along with sustained growth of funding, postgraduate and postdoctoral research across the RDI continuum. Delivering for stakeholders through impactful projects and meaningful research output is the priority. Dr Brown represents TUS on several external boards and is the TUS lead for the European Universities Alliance: RUN–EU. |
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Anka MulderPresident of the Executive Board, Saxion University of Applied Sciences Anka Mulder is president of Saxion University of Applied Sciences. She is also board member of the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences and focuses on areas such as research, digitalization, and SDG’s. Furthermore, Anka is a member of various advisory boards and committees, including Quantum Delta and the AWTI (Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation) that advises the Dutch government and she is actively engaged in the region as a member of the Twente Board. |
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Jörg NiehoffDeputy Head of Unit, ERA, Spreading Excellence and Research Careers, European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation Jörg has more than 15 years of experience with the coordination of national research policies and programmes and European Partnerships. He started his professional career as a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, Technology consult, and Head of Office Brussels for VDI, Europe’s largest Engineering Association. Jörg holds degrees in engineering and industrial engineering and a PhD from the RWTH Aachen. |
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Anna-Maria VilkunaDirector of Research, Development and Innovations, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences Anna-Maria Vilkuna has been working at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences since 2005. Since 2016, she has been at her present post as the director of research, development and innovations and the member of the management board. Anna-Maria Vilkuna believes in multidisciplinary collaboration, systematic approach and ecosystems. Together with her team and co-workers, she has developed Metropolia’s phenomenon-based Innovation Hubs. New innovations can be generated bringing together experts and expertise from various parts of society. Before starting at Metropolia UAS, she worked as a researcher at the University of Jyväskylä and University of Tampere. She still is Docent at the University of Jyväskylä. Her background as a historian gives her a good stance to succeed in her current role as a Director of Research, Development and Innovations: both positions require systematic approach to take over complex entireties. |
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POLICY ROUNDTABLE: SUPPORTING TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION |
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Moderator: Agnese DavidsoneRector, Associate Professor, and Lead Researcher, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences Agnese Davidsone, PhD, is the Rector of Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (VUAS) in Latvia, an Associate professor, and a Lead researcher in the area of media and communication. She is the corresponding member of Latvian Academy of Sciences since 2022. VUAS is the founding member of the European University alliance E³UDRES². Agnese Davidsone currently serves as the vice-president of the Association created by nine E³UDRES² member universities. |
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Liesbeth HensHigher Education Policy Team Coordinator, Flemish government (BE) Liesbeth Hens joined the Ministry of Education and Training in 2007, and has a passion for education policy and, more specifically, for higher education policies and strategies. As coordinator of the Flemish Higher Education Policy Team, she oversees higher education developments in Flanders. Currenty she also BFUG co chair, and co chair of several BUFG working structures, and actively involved in the Erasmus+ project IMINQA. During her career, she held various positions in this sector, in higher education institutions and at policy level. She has a special interest in higher education funding and governance issues. |
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Elmar PichlDirector General for Higher Education, Austrian government Elmar Pichl, born in Graz in 1973, studied law at the University of Graz where he was also a research assistant at the Institute of Public Law. In 1999 he was in charge of the refugee and reconstruction programmes of World University Service Austria in Kosova. In 2000 he moved to Vienna, where he worked in various functions in the ÖVP until the end of 2006. From 2007 to 2010, he served as Head of Cabinet at the Federal Ministry of Science and Research. Until mid-2013, Elmar Pichl was Deputy Director General in the DG Higher Education and was appointed Director General on 1 August 2013. Functions and memberships: Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the OeAD GmbH, Member of the “Research Council Styria”, Member of the General Assembly of AQ Austria, Member of the Board of Trustees of GeoSphere Austria. |
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Pedro TeixeiraFormer Secretary of State for Higher Education, Portuguese government Pedro Teixeira served as Secretary of State for Higher Education from March 2022 to April 2024. Prior to serving the Portuguese government, he was Director of CIPES – the Center for Research in Higher Education Policies and Full Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Porto. He was Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at the University of Porto (2014-208). He was also an adviser to the President of Portugal on Higher Education, Science, and Economic issues (2016-2022) and a member of Portugal’s National Council of Education (2014-2018). He has also served on the evaluation panels for the European University Association (EUA) and the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). |
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WRAP-UP OF THE DAY |
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Ruaidhri NeavynSpecial Advisor, Higher Education Authority in Ireland Ruaidhri Neavyn is a special advisor for the Higher Education Authority in Ireland engaged in the development and delivery of national HE policy initiatives in areas such as skills and engagement, internationalisation, and system performance. Ruaidhri is also the CEO of the Regional University Network European University (RUN-EU). He previously served as president of the Waterford Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology Carlow. In addition, he is a member of the OECD’s group of National Experts in Higher Education. |
Breakout sessions
Breakout sessions | |
Navigating Healthcare Challenges: The Role of Internationalization, Interprofessional Education, and Organizational Culture |
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Jaana Sepp Jaana Sepp is a researcher specializing in social sciences, education, healthcare, and safety management. She completed her Ph.D. in Business Administration from Tallinn Technical University. In 2013, she obtained her second master’s degree in Social Sciences and Education from the University of Tartu, with a focus on Educational Management. In 2008, she earned her first master’s degree from Tallinn University, Institute of Psychology, with a focus on organizational behavior. |
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Ulvi Kõrgemaa Vice-Rector for Studies at Tallinn Health Care College, Ulvi holds nursing and Master’s degrees from Tallinn Medical College and Tallinn University, plus a Law Master’s from the University of Tartu. A proponent of NANDA and higher education enhancement in Estonia, her research and publications address nursing’s multifaceted development in Estonian society, emphasizing academic integrity. |
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How does joint research and innovation strategy serve the aims of the European Research Agenda and foster local and regional impact? |
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Liisa Timonen Dr. Timonen is responsible for the internationalisation of the whole HEI community, nurturing partnerships and global education services at Karelia UAS. She contributes extensively into the international research, development and innovation (RDI) processes. Her portfolio includes more than 40 international and national RDI projects where she has acted as key designer, writer and contributor, and several other projects as a team member. Her programme portfolio includes extensive number of different funding tools: Horizon, Erasmus+ Strategic partnerships, Knowledge Alliances, Alliances for Education and Industry, and European Universities, Team Finland Knowledge, Nordplus, Asia programme, Developing Country programme of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ESF, EAFRD, ERDF, CBC, and EU-CAN projects. She is the local coordinator of the INVEST European University Alliance at Karelia UAS and leads the current global education projects in China, Chile and Uzbekistan. |
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Jaana Tolkki Head of HR at Karelia University of Applied Sciences, Jaana is responsible for the Strategic Human Resource Management, Competence Management, Personel Planning, Management of Well-being at work, Diversity Management, Equality and Equity Management. Jaana has worked as a Project specialist in several national and international projects during the past 20 years, latest project work as a specialist in INVEST European University Alliance. |
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Marian Kovacik Marian Kovacik, a dedicated staff member at the Institute of European Policies and Public Administration within the Slovak University of Agriculture, plays a pivotal role in shaping the educational landscape related to European policies. His responsibilities encompass providing comprehensive education on subjects intricately linked to European policies, fostering a deeper understanding among students. Throughout his illustrious career, MK has actively participated in several international educational and research projects, demonstrating his commitment to advancing knowledge and collaboration. Notable projects include Centre of Excellence for European Agri-Food Chain and INnoVations of REgional Sustainability: European UniversiTy Alliance. Currently, he is engaged in two significant initiatives Centre of Excellence in European Green Deal Policies and Invest4Excellence Project. Furthermore, he brings experience from his involvement in The International Master of Science in Rural Development (IMRD)—an esteemed international joint study program. |
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Andrean Lazarov Andrean Lazarov is an inclusive educator with over 20 years of experience including as author of more than 90 EU projects in the period 2003-2023 in the field of inclusive higher education, career support, supported employment, entrepreneurship and youth. He is currently a PhD candidate in Educational management, researching the topic “Leadership styles to ensure educational innovations”, and holds the position of Quality Assurance Officer in the European University Alliance “INVEST” on behalf of the UARD team. He is equally the Creative Director of Private Business School “The Talents”. |
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Marcela Chrenekova Marcela Chrenekova is a member of the Institute of Regional and Rural Development of the Faculty of European Studies and Regional Development. She was involved in preparation and implementation of national and international scientific projects and providing expertise in social economy, social agriculture, and community planning. She is a member of the INVEST European University Alliance Slovak team, responsible for preparation of study program and development of the university living lab. She initiated and managed two international conferences in 2015 and 2021 supported by OECD co-operative research program and a series of national panel discussions on development of social agriculture “Agriculture as an Actor of Social Inclusion” – AGASI 2021, 2022 and 2023. |
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Mariyana Ivanova Prof. Mariana Ivanova is the Rector of UARD since 2019. She is a Professor in Plant protection taking lectures in Organic Agriculture, Environmental Management and Plant Protection. Author of more than 100 scientific publications, 15 training-methodical works, 9 training handbooks, 8 reference books and manuals, etc. Rich experience and expertise in project management and coordination in the field of higher education, vocational education and training (VET), elearning, etc. Coordinator of 5 national and 4 international projects in the last 5 years and participant in more than 27 international (including INVEST and INVEST4EXCELLENCE) and 16 national projects in the last 10 years. |
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Skills for the Future: Universities of Applied Sciences as accelerators for lifelong learning |
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Stephan Corporaal Dr. Stephan Corporaal is professor of applied sciences in Human Capital. His research focuses on work design, human-technology collaboration and lifelong learning. His work has been published in both academic and practitioner journals, reports for companies/government and he developed MOOCs, podcasts, and tools to disseminate the outcomes. |
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Maria Hendriks Dr. Maria Hendriks is academic at TechYourFuture, centre of expertise for lifelong learning. |
Research Cooperation between European Universities of Applied Sciences on Climate-Neutral Cities |
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Mark van Wees Mark works as a project manager and coordinator of European cooperation at the Centre of Expertise City Net Zero. He leads the European H2020 research and innovation project ATELIER, with the goal of creating energy-positive neighborhoods in Amsterdam and Bilbao. In this project – in which various research programmes of the AUAS work together – Mark is responsible for international cooperation. In addition, he supports the het Centre of Expertise City Net Zero researchers in the acquisition of European research funds from his role as quartermaster of European cooperation. |
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Collaborating for a Shared North West, a connected, high-performing region |
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JoAnne Kilmartin JoAnne Kilmartin represents the Atlantic Technological University as the Project Development Officer for the North West Tertiary Education cluster. A position focussed on the development of pathways for students and strong industry engagement to ensure economic prosperity for the North West City Region. Prior to this appointment she worked with Donegal County Council and her portfolio included managing the Donegal Diaspora project. Her role was to act as a resource for the economic, social and cultural development of Donegal and this was achieved through the delivery of a number of key strategic initiatives focussed on recognising and connecting with the Diaspora. The objective of the project was to engage and build relationships with the Donegal Diaspora around the world. |
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Paul Hannigan Paul Hannigan was President of Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) from January 1998. Having graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Commerce and Masters of Business Studies, Paul worked in Dundalk IT from 1987. In 1992 Paul became Head of Department of Business Studies at Dundalk, until his appointment to Letterkenny in 1998. He subsequently completed an MSc in Management Practice at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and in January 2008 was appointed as President of LYIT for a further ten years. Paul commenced a new five-year contract as LYIT President in January 2018 and now after the designation of the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) on 1 April 2022, holds the role of Head of College at ATU Donegal. |
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Wendy Gibbons As the North West Regional College Project Development officer on the North West Tertiary Education Cluster, Wendy is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in the Computing, Business, Education and Community sectors. Wendy has excelled in strategic roles, notably as a lecturer and course director in Computer Science at Ulster University. serving as an Urban Regeneration Strategy Manager in a Locality Planning Partnership, focusing on community planning, and as a Project Manager on a Queens University Belfast City Deal project in the School of Medicine, specializing in Change Management. Wendy has delivered numerous strategic capital and infrastructure projects locally in conjunction with various public and private sector agencies while maintaining governance standards. Wendy has a track record of driving process improvement and introducing effective change management programmes in the areas of social, economic, physical and cultural development both nationally and internationally. |
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Anne McHugh Anne McHugh is Chief Executive of Donegal Education and Training Board (ETB). Anne has spent her entire career in education initially as a teacher of Geography and Gaeilge before becoming Deputy Principal in Crana College, Buncrana, followed by her Principalship of Errigal College, Letterkenny. Both jobs were with the former Co Donegal VEC and in 2012 she joined as Education Officer and proceeded to her current role as Chief Executive in 2016. |
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Revolution in Workflow: Success factors and the “community of practice” approach to improving quality in university process management |
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Jeanna Nikolov-Ramirez Jeanna Nikolov-Ramirez holds an M.A. in Graphic Design and Advertising from the University of Applied Arts, Vienna and Elisava School of Design and Engineering, Barcelona. She was director of postgraduate courses at Danube University Krems in the Department for Cultural Studies, Center for Image Science creating and heading Master programs such as Digital Collections Management and Media Art Histories. She worked as project manager at the Austrian National Library and the UN for several large scale international research projects on the intersection of culture and technology, including EuropeanaConnect, an EU-funded research project building the European digital library Europeana, aggregating digital cultural heritage across museums, libraries, archives and audiovisual institutions, and the Google Books Cooperation of the Austrian National Library (Austrian Books Online). |
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Georg Hochfellner Georg Hochfellner BSc MSc has been working in quality management and organizational development in the education sector for many years. He is currently Head of Academic University Development at FH Campus Wien. He also teaches a number of subject-specific courses and has been an EFQM assessor in Austria since 2014. His main areas of work and interest are quality management, programme development, process management and performance measurement and analysis. |
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Gernot Hausar Gernot Hausar is Process Manager at the University of Applied Sciences FH Campus Wien. He further focuses on automation, information-, knowledge- and document management. He is passionate about Open Acces and Digital Humanities. |
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Elke Krenn-Ahorner Elke Krenn-Ahorner is Head of Process and Project management and R&D at UAS Technikum Vienna. Her main areas of work and interest are process management and organizational development. |
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Fostering 21st century skills development through cross-institutional international online collaboration initiatives |
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Ágnes Pál Ágnes Pál (PhD) is an associate professor and the director of international affairs of the Faculty of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism of Budapest Business University where she teaches at the Department of Foreign Languages for Business Communication since 2009. She has created and coordinated, in cooperation with her colleagues, several European strategic partnership projects in the framework of the Erasmus+ programme. Her research interests include intercultural communication, skills development, language teaching methodology, learner autonomy and interdisciplinary collaboration. |
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Rita Kóris Rita Kóris (PhD) is an associate professor at the Department of Leadership and HR Development at Budapest Business University (Hungary) where she teaches courses in business and management in the EMI program of the university. Her research interests lie primarily in innovative teaching practices of business education, internationalization of HE, transversal skills development and teachers’ academic development. |
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Collaborative Online, International Learning: An invitation for cooperation between Europe, Canada and Africa |
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Frank Melis Throughout his career, Frank dedicated himself to fostering innovations that enhance communication and collaboration. With a zeal for transforming innovative concepts into reality, he assumed senior roles at leading tech firms like Digital Equipment, AT&T, Bell Labs, and IBM. Frank excels in knowledge acquisition, dissemination, and collective growth. For the last 20 years, he has founded enterprises centred around innovation and talent management via the SMRT.bio platform, shaping its strategic vision, objectives, and culture geared towards success. His expertise spans technology, product development, talent management, coaching, assessments, implementations, and global business expansion. |
Spotlight on projects | |
Katrin Nuppenau / ATHENA ProjectKatrin Nuppenau is a social scientist currently working as a senior researcher at the Institute for Integrated Studies at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz. She is involved in two European projects, B-WISE and ATHENA, both of which focus on promoting inclusion and diversity. Both projects aim at breaking down barriers and promoting equal opportunities – B-WISE in social enterprises and ATHENA in higher education. Her research focuses on diversity, inclusion, education and entrepreneurship, which she has worked on at various universities and research institutions, including the University of Augsburg, the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (Vienna), University of Klagenfurt, the Institute for Social Science Research ISF(Munich), and the Institute for Social Research and Analysis SORA (Vienna). |
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Paulo Ferreira / MERIDIES ConsortiumPaulo Ferreira is an Economist and holds a PhD in Management. With several peer reviewed published papers in international reviews and technical books, his research is focused on the analysis of financial markets, although with research also in entrepreneurship. Actually he is Full Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, but with teaching experience in other higher education institutions, namely Universidade Moderna, Universidade Metodista (Angola), Instituto Superior de Línguas e Administração de Leiria, Universidade de Évora and Universidade Europeia. He is researcher at VALORIZA – Research Center for Endogenous Resource Valuation (Portalegre). He is currently Pro-President for Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer of the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre. |
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Jakub Grodecki / AIRinVET ProjectAs the EURASHE Policy and Project Manager, Jakub is responsible for following the European policy developments on HE with a particular focus on Quality Assurance, Micro-credentials, and the European Universities Initiative. He is also involved in European projects concerning these areas. |
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Dolores Volkert / EIT HEI InitiativeAs the Head of the HEI Initiative, Dr Dolores Volkert leads on strategic activities of the initiative, focusing on establishing an ecosystem of cross-institutional alliances and synergies. Prior to the HEI Initiative, Dolores Volkert served in senior strategy roles managing cross-functional initiatives within higher education and research institutions both in North America and Germany. With a legal background, her experience spans from establishing strategic innovation and entrepreneurship programs to technology transfer. |
Practical information and accommodation
GETTING TO ST. PÖLTEN UAS
St. Pölten is just a short train ride from the Vienna city centre. Follow this link for detailed information about the St. Pölten UAS campus and different transportation methods to reach the city.
ACCOMMODATION
In the table below, we list a few recommended hotels located in St. Pölten and Vienna. Please be aware that the price of rooms might change, especially as the date of the event approaches. We recommend booking your accommodation well in advance in order to secure your spot.
Hotels in St. Pölten | Single room/per night + breakfast | Double room/per night + breakfast |
Stadthotel Hauser Eck | €55 | €96 |
Bildungshaus St. Hippolyt | €68 | €122 |
Hotel Graf | €98 | €112 |
Hotel Metropol | €112 | €164 |
City Hotel D&C | €118 | €174 |
Hotels in Vienna | Single room/per night + breakfast | Double room/per night + breakfast |
Motel One (Vienna Central Station) | €100 | €122 |
Motel One (Vienna Westbahnhof) | €100 | €122 |
VENUE
Conference Venue
The conference is taking place at the main campus building of the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences. Click here for a virtual tour of the campus and its rooms.
St. Pölten UAS main campus Campus-Platz 1, 3100 St. Pölten, Austria |
Pre-Conference Reception Venue
Participants will enjoy the pre-conference reception (21 May) at Rendl Keller, a classy restaurant serving fine seasonal dishes and delicious classics of Austrian cuisine paired with excellent wines from its well-stocked cellar.
Rendl Keller Restaurant Rendl-Keller-Gasse 6, 3100 St. Pölten, Austria |
CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
We invite leaders, teachers and researchers from applied universities and colleges, students, enterprises and public institutions to submit contributions for the 33rd EURASHE Annual Conference, titled “Stronger Together: Fostering Transnational Cooperation in Applied Universities”. The main theme builds on the experience of the European Universities Initiative and other examples of deep transnational cooperation among applied higher education institutions. The other core EURASHE subjects will also be addressed in breakout sessions.
Presenting at the EURASHE Annual Conference allows you to reach a broad audience and receive visibility before, during, and afterwards. In addition, selected contributors benefit from a reduced fee to attend the Conference.
This call has two separate components:
1. Special plenary session on transnational cooperation
Contributions to the topic of European University Alliances and Transnational Cooperation will be included in a special plenary session. The objective of these sessions is to learn from good practice and to profile alliances and other forms of cooperation between HEIs. We expect to select between four and eight contributions.
2. Breakout sessions
Sets of breakout sessions will be organised on the following themes:
- Applied Research and Innovation: Capacity building, institutional strategies, assessment, and missions; cooperation with industry. These contributions will feed into EURASHE’s participation in the ERA Forum.
- Quality Assurance and the Bologna Process: Specific nature of QA for professional and applied higher education. This knowledge may feed into the Ministerial Conference of the European Higher Education Area which EURASHE will attend the week after the Annual Conference.
- Upskilling, reskilling, and future skills: The role of applied universities and colleges in meeting the needs of the labour market and society; This builds on the commitment of EURASHE to the European Year of Skills.
- Local and Regional Impact: Approaches and examples of how Applied Universities and Colleges engage with local companies and communities to create wealth and address societal challenges.
There will be four sets of breakout sessions addressing these themes. Each session will last for 45 minutes, with around 30 participants. These should be organised as interactively as possible. For example, they may include an overview followed by group discussions. We expect to select twelve contributions for breakout sessions.
Contributors can submit one contribution to either a plenary session or a breakout session. When submitting your contribution, please indicate the session you are applying for by ticking the appropriate option.
PHE Star Awards
The Programme Committee will select contributions with the greatest potential to be awarded the title of PHE Star. There are five categories: Transnational Cooperation, Applied Research and Innovation, Quality and Innovative Education, Skills for the Present and Future, and Local and Regional Impact.
The call for contributions is now closed.