Dr Jenny Lind Elmaco

Academic Expert, Centralised support to Eramsus+ National Focal Points

Dr. Jenny Lind Elmaco is the Academic Expert for PRACSIS srl for the Centralised Support for the global network of Erasmus+ National Focal Points of the European Commission. She serves as the UNESCAP Representative and United Nations Administrator for the International Federation of Business and Professional Women, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. She has been recognised with the Double Gold in Education and the Global Diamond Award in Innovation from the Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network (UK). A scholar of EU universities including an Erasmus scholarship and Marie Curie fellowship, she holds a PhD in Peace and International Development, a master’s degree in Global Studies, Peace and Security, and an MBA in Big Data and Business Intelligence. She also gained expertise via the Executive Program in Law, Policy and Technology at IE Law School, Madrid, and the Executive Program in the Circular Economy and Sustainability Strategies at the University of Cambridge.

Graeme Robertson-Liersch

ENFP Team Leader, PRACSIS

Graeme Robertson-Liersch leads the PRACSIS team that supports the network of Erasmus+ National Focal Points around the world. Before joining the PRACSIS headquarters team in 2020, he worked for eight years in the youth and higher education sectors at the European Commission, managing the development of the European Youth Portal and the roll out of the European Student Card Initiative. He also worked for nearly two years at the European Committee of the Regions as a senior event manager. Prior to moving to Brussels, he was the Managing Director of Young Scot, the national youth information and youth card NGO for Scotland for 13 years, before which we worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland in its branch network and IT division.

Claire Herrmann

Policy Officer for International Cooperation in Education, European Commission

Claire Herrmann works in the European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, as a policy officer in the unit responsible for International Cooperation (beyond Europe). She works mainly on the implementation of the Erasmus+ programme in Sub-Saharan Africa and cooperation mechanisms in the Vocational Education and Training sector. From her previous positions in the European Commission, she has experience in international cooperation and programmes in education and youth, employment and social inclusion (European Social Fund), and anti-discrimination issues.

Adrian Veale

Policy Officer for International Cooperation in Education, European Commission

Adrian Veale works in the International Cooperation unit within the Directorate General (DG) of the European Commission that covers the European Union’s policies and programmes for Education (as well as Youth, Culture and Sport). The primary focus of his work is the international dimension of the Erasmus+ programme, particularly Capacity Building for Higher Education. From a regional point of view, he pays particular attention to this cooperation with Africa. He has also worked on Erasmus Mundus and has previously focused on cooperation with Asia. Prior to EAC he has worked for the European Executive Agency for Education and Culture, and for Commission DGs dealing with Development Cooperation and Employment.

Elena Palavrova

Project Advisor, European Education and Culture Executive Agency

Elena Palavrova is a Project Adviser for the International Capacity Building unit within the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission. She is part of the team managing the Capacity Building in Higher Education action of the Erasmus+ programme, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Among her other assignments, she is also responsible for the support structure of the network of Erasmus+ National Focal Points. Elena Palavrova has more than 13 years of experience working with Africa. Prior to her current position, she was part of the EACEA team managing the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme and its predecessor Intra-ACP Academic Mobility Scheme, as well as Erasmus Mundus Partnerships. Her background is in International Economic Relations and Public Administration. Before joining the EU institutions in 2010, she gained extensive experience in international business cooperation and project management.

Wafa M'Sallem

ENFP Regional manager for Sub-Saharan Africa

Dr. M’Sallem is the Regional Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa within the Centralised Support to the network of Erasmus+ National Focal Points (ENFP), collaborating closely with the European Commission to support ENFPs in the region. An expert in communication and marketing strategy, Dr. M’Sallem works with 38 ENFPs across Sub-Saharan Africa to enhance the visibility and uptake of the Erasmus+ programme. She is a distinguished scholar who obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Tunis in 2014 and her HdR in 2023. She previously served as an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Sousse. Her dedication to academic excellence and social impact is evident through her diverse roles in education, research, and activism.

Wiebke Groth

DG International Partnerships at the European Commission

Wiebke Groth has a Master's of International Relations and a European Master's of Human Rights and Democratization, She specialises in analysing global phenomena through a wider perspective. Putting this knowledge into practice, she is currently working at DG International Partnerships at the European Commission.

Deirdre Lennan

Head of Human Development Sector, INTPA A2 - Regional and Multi-Country Programmes for Africa

Deirdre Lennan has been working for international cooperation in higher education since 1992. She worked for the EU’s Tempus programme with a specific focus first on cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, the Russian Federation and then the Mashrek region (Egypt, Lebanon and Syria in particular). From 2009 she followed policy issues with Africa at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, in charge of the higher education initiatives in the framework of the Africa-EU Partnership and oversees all Erasmus+ activities with Africa. She is currently Head of Human Development Sector, INTPA A2 - Regional and Multi-Country Programmes for Africa.

Kiran Bhujun

Erasmus+ Focal Point for Mauritius

Kiran Bhujun leads the Ministry of Education's Tertiary Education and Scientific Research Division, focusing on shaping policies that ensure equitable access to education. As Secretary-General, his contributions to the Mauritius National Commission for UNESCO further reinforce the commitment to fostering global educational standards.

AnneSophie Hokkanen

Senior Program Advisor, Finnish National Agency for Erasmus+

AnneSophie Hokkanen has worked for nearly 15 years on the internationalisation of Higher Education at Universities and EDUFI (Finnish National Agency for Education). During these years she has been part of advising higher education institutions and taking part in project implementation with the Global South, especially in Africa. At EDUFI she works with the Erasmus+ programme on actions that have a global dimension, such as Capacity Building projects, Erasmus Mundus and Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (KA171) and as the International Contact Point.

Christofer Carlsson

International Contact Point, Swedish National Agency for Erasmus+ (SE01)

Christofer Carlsson is a Programme Officer and International Contact Point working at the Department for International Cooperation of the Swedish Council for Higher Education (SE01). His main responsibilities include coordinating the National Agency’s work with the centralised actions and the international dimension of Erasmus+. Christofer has more than ten years of experience working with funding programmes in higher education and research. His academic background is in international relations, and he holds an M.Litt. in International Political Theory from the University of St Andrews and a B.A. in Politics from the University of Nottingham.

Mohamed Boudour

Coordinator of the National Erasmus+ Office in Algeria.

Mohamed Boudour is the coordinator of the National Erasmus+ Office in Algeria.

Njira MTONGA

International development professional working on democratic governance

Njira Mtonga (she/her) is an international development professional working on democratic governance, social sectors and development programmes in Zambia for 20 years. Over that time, she has worked to conceptualise, design and project manage many development programmes addressing policy, governance and institutional reform, system strengthening, evaluation design, and issues of gender equity and education quality. These have been for local organisations as well a multi-donor institution. Njira holds qualifications in Education and a MSc in Public Health.

Kessein Eric Tillous

Erasmus+ National Focal Point for Côte d'Ivoire

Eric Tillous has been the Erasmus+ National Focal Point for the Côte d'Ivoire since 2022, and has been very active in promoting the Erasmus+ programme in his country. He has a Master’s degree from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Electrochimie et d'Electroétallurgie de Grenoble (ENSEEG)-Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG), and is a Doctor of Materials Science and Engineering from the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (INPL). He is an Assistant-Professor at the Laboratory of Technology (LabTech-SSMT) at Félix Houphouët-Boigny-Côte d'Ivoire University. After working for major groups such as Safran, Eurofoil, Arcelor Mittal, General Electric and Air Liquide, Eric Tillous opted for teaching and scientific research, and conducts research in Materials Science and Engineering in partnership with European universities.

Francesca di Mauro

Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of the Côte d'Ivoire

Francesca Di Mauro is a senior European Commission official with over 20 years of experience in external relations, gained in HQ/Brussels and in the field (EU Delegations Zambia and Mozambique). After two positions as Head of Unit (Central Africa 2016-2020, West Africa 2021-2022) and as Acting Director for Central and Southern Africa (2018-2020), since September 2022 she returned to the field as EU Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire. Before joining the Commission in 2001, she spent four years as a researcher in the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels. She holds a PhD in Economics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Koffi N'Guessan

Ministre de l'Enseignement Technique, de la Formation Professionnelle et de l’Apprentissage, Côte d’Ivoire

Koffi N'Guessan est titulaire du doctorat de 3ème cycle de Démographie obtenu en 1993 à l’Institut de Démographie de Paris, à l’Université de Paris 1, et nommé dans le corps des Maîtres-assistants des Universités en 1995. Depuis 2011, Koffi N'Guessan était le Directeur général de l’Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB) de Yamoussoukro, après avoir été vingt ans durant, de 1995 à 2015, directeur de l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Statistique et d’Economie Appliquée (ENSEA). Membre de plusieurs organisations nationales et internationales dont le Conseil Scientifique de l’Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED) de Paris, Koffi N'Guessan a permis à l’INP-HB de redorer son blason grâce aux partenariats stratégiques qu’il a noués avec plusieurs institutions et écoles de renom. Koffi N’Guessan est ministre de l’Enseignement Technique, de la Formation Professionnelle et de l’Apprentissage depuis le 6 avril 2021. Officier de l’Ordre National de Côte d’Ivoire depuis 2016, Koffi N’Guessan reçu la distinction de Docteur Honoris Causa du Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (le Cnam) de Paris, en 2016. Il est également Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques de la France, depuis 2002.

Adama Diawara

Ministre de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique, Côte d'Ivoire

Adama Diawara est titulaire d’une Maîtrise en Physique obtenue à l’université deCocody, d’un DEA à l’université Blaise Pascal de Clermont-Ferrand et d’un Doctorat (Thèse Unique), option: Physique de l’Atmosphère/Agro Météorologie (en partenariat avec l’Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, INRA, de Bordeaux/France) en 1990. Adama Diawara est recruté en tant qu’assistant à l’université de Cocody (Faculté des Sciences et Techniques/ Laboratoire de la Physique de l’Atmosphère et de Mécanique des Fluides) en 1991. Il devient maître-assistant au sein de cette faculté, en 1994. Depuis juillet 2015, Adama Diawara est maître de conférences. Directeur de la Planification et de l’Évaluation du ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique, de mars 2005 à juin 2006, l’enseignant-chercheur a dirigé la Station géophysique de Lamto de 2007 à 2011. Depuis décembre 2019, Adama Diawara est le président de la Société ivoirienne dephysique (SIPHYS), fonction qu’il cumule avec celle de président du Réseau ivoirien de suivi et d’évaluation (RISE) qu’il exerce depuis 2008. Le 13 mai 2020 Adama Diawara entre au gouvernement en qualité de ministre de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique. Auparavant, il a occupé les fonctions de conseiller à la Présidence de la République chargé de l’Éducation, de la Formation et de la Recherche scientifique, puis de conseiller du Premier ministre en charge de l’Éducation, de la Formation professionnelle, de la Recherche scientifique et de l’Emploi.

Chigozie Emmanuel Okonkwo

TVET and Skills Development at the African Union Commission

Responsible for TVET and Skills Development at the African Union Commission

Omo Oaiya

Chief Strategy Officer, West and Central Research and Education Network (WACREN), Ghana

Omo Oaiya is the Chief Strategy Officer of the West and Central Research and Education Network (WACREN). Before this, he was the pioneer Chief Technology Officer of WACREN and CEO of a private-sector consultancy offering software development and project management support to research and academic institutions in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. He also coordinates the LIBSENSE initiative, a collaboration of the regional African Research and Education Networks (RENs), (ASREN, Ubuntunet Alliance & WACREN,) to build capacity in their NREN communities to strengthen local and national services to support open science and research in Africa. A certified SIM3 Auditor, he has a keen interest in establishing and maturing cyber security teams (CSIRTs) in NRENs.

Prof. Dr. David Katamba

Professor, Project Coordinator, Makerere University Business School, Uganda

Dr David Katamba is a Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Associate Professor of Corporate Sustainability & Social Responsibility (CSR). Also, he is a World Bank Institute trained professional with over 15 years’ experience in sustainable development and higher education. In 2009, he initiated and led the consultative process that established the United Nations (UN) Global Compact Network in Uganda. He is the founding Chairman of the Uganda Chapter for Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives Ltd (UCCSRI), and a certified CSR Advisor and trainer. Dr Katamba is currently coordinating a € 1,000,000 EU Erasmus+ funded project, “Strengthening Capacity for ICT Usage and Policy Reforms for Relevant and Quality master’s Research Process Management” in Uganda’s Higher Education Institutions (ICT-4MRPQ, project No. 101083105) https://ict-4mrpq.uccsri.com/ . Previously, he implemented a €300,000 Netherlands’ NWO WOTRO project, AGRI-QUEST project https://knowledge4food.net/research-project/arf2-agri-quest-uganda/ . He was also part of the team that won €801,000 from EU Erasmus+ [EAC/A03/2016, ref: 574218-EPP-1-2016-1-NO-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP to implement CapSEM project (2016-2019)].

Saliou GAYE

Project Manager, Capac'IT 4 Africa

Project Manager, Capac'IT 4 Africa

Raissa Armelle Banhoro

Director, Simplon, Ivory Coast

Raïssa Banhoro, ingénieure en sciences informatiques, est la directrice pays de Simplon Côte d'Ivoire, une fabrique sociale spécialisée dans la formation et l'insertion des jeunes dans les métiers du numérique.

Elin Opheim

Academic Librarian

Elin Opheim is an academic librarian at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences. She has a MSc in Evidence-based practice, and her research interests include information literacy, systematic searching and consumer participation. Her main responsibilities are at the University Library, providing teaching and research support, and she is an experienced teacher for BA- and MA-students as well as PhD-candidates and faculty members. As a member of the library’s task force group on systematic searching, she also provides support to research groups needing reviews for applications, journal articles or specifically systematic review articles. She is the project manager of the Erasmus+ project NIAGARA – Navigating the digital landscape: Universities partnering for change.

Florence Oloo

Director, Centre for Research in Theraputic Sciences, Kenya

Prof Florence Oloo holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Nairobi, a Masters Degree from Ibadan University in Nigeria, and a PhD in Chemistry from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya. She is currently an Associate Professor of Materials Science and Technology at the School of Chemical Sciences, Technical University of Kenya, Director of Academic and Quality Assurance; before that, she was the Director of Community Engagement at the same University. She also works in the Centre of Research in Therapeutic Sciences, (CREATES) Strathmore University which she helped found in 2012. In addition to her research focused on electrochemistry and nanomedicine, Professor Oloo's academic interests include professional ethics and rural and women's issues. In this area, She directed Strathmore University's Centre for Professional Ethics and helped found, in 2000, the Business Ethics Network (Ben-Africa). In 2015, She founded the Strathmore Ethics Committee to review research protocols in social sciences and health research. Along with her academic work and publishing, she contributed to the Double Effect in World Business: Del Monte Case Study in Kenya. She mentors Kenyan women pursuing higher degrees in science and also has a keen interest in the mentorship and empowerment of marginalised women in rural Kenya.

Daniel Onwuchekwa

Project Manager, University of Siegen, Institute of Embedded Systems, Germany

Daniel Onwuchekwa’s work focuses on discovering design principles and developing architectural services that enable a component-based development of embedded systems so that the ensuing systems can be built cost-effectively and exhibit key non-functional properties (e.g. composability, robustness, maintainability). His experiences cover deploying several Artificial intelligence-based techniques (Artificial Neural Networks, Graph Neural Networks, heuristic-based approaches) to provide adaptation services for embedded system applications. These have been showcased in national and international projects involving different industrial domains. He has extensive experience in contributions ranging from conceptual component-based system architectures to distributed algorithms for protocol transformation and fault-tolerance to embedded operating system technologies and a multi-processor system-on-a-chip for safety-relevant applications.

Atupelye Komba

Head of Links and Relationships, Ardhi University, Tanzania

Head of Links and Relationships, Ardhi University, Tanzania

Richard NDAYISHIMIYE

Lecturer and Dean, University of Burundi

Dr Richard Ndayishimiye combines is role of Erasmus+ National Focal Point for Burundi with his main position as the Dean of the University of Burundi Business School (UBBS). He is a Lecturer of Management Science at the University of Burundi after getting his Ph.D. in Management Science (2021) at the University of Bordeaux (France) in « cotutelle » with the University of Burundi. He had his higher education in 2010 at the National Institute for Public Health (Burundi) where he obtained his Licence degree followed; in 2015; by a Master of Business Administration in Human Resource Management at the African Centre of Higher Studies of Management (Senegal). Dr Ndayishimiye had digital skills especially the Digital Pedagogy with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and the Pan African Christian University (PACU) of Nairobi-Kenya, before obtaining a placement with the pedagogical support unit (CAP) at the Haute Ecole Louvain en Hainaut in Belgium. He is a Certified Accreditor in High Education Quality Assurance from the African Quality Assurance Network (AfriQAN). Thus, Dr Ndayishimiye is the Representative of Diana ry in African francophone countries. He is a Fellow of the Baden Württemberg Stiftung of Germany and Campus France Alumni. In addition to his teaching activities, he is currently the Technical Coordinator of the Business Incubator of the University of Burundi Doctoral School. He has served as Health Services Manager at the Rwibaga District Hospital and Bujumbura Health Province in Burundi Ministry of Public Health. Currently involved in ODL projects with the AUF's Institut de Formation à Distance (IFIC), Dr Ndayishimiye is conducting research into the transfer of digital skills among university teachers and the impact this has on their careers. He coordinates the distance learning projects (Dossier FOAD N°966) on complementary training at the UBBS and the renovation of the AUF's qualifying training system.

Rachel khoza

Lecturer, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Rachel Khoza is a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, specializing in Financial Management and Accounting, and also registered for Dphil in Digital Transformation in Education. Her passion for research extends beyond the classroom, with published work exploring topics such as corporate entrepreneurship, 4IR education, and community engagement in sustainable development. Through initiatives like Pro-TELDE, Rachel is actively involved in promoting technology-enhanced learning and digital education in South African TVET colleges and universities, contributing to the advancement of education in the digital age.

Vlasis Manolias

Project Manager & Mobilities Coordinator in Akmi International

Vlasis Monolias is a Project Manager & Mobilities Coordinator in Akmi International. He holds an MA in Language Education, is experienced in NGO sector and in secondary education as an EU Project Manager, Educator, Employability Officer and Human Resources Assistant. As a lifelong learner, he participates in a lot of trainings, projects and seminars as well as attending educational programs on a variety of topics regarding youth and adult education, vocational training, migration and interculturality.

Serge MIRANDA

Professeur Emérite d'Informatique, Université Côte d'Azur, France

Serge Miranda currently works at the Department of Computer Sciences, University of Nice Sophia Antipolis (University of Cote d'Azur) . Serge does research in Big Data systems with theoretical interest in category theory to unify SQL and NO SQL systems and practical innovation around Big Data (health), Blockchain (social cryptocurrencies) and IOT (homes, car and smart cities).

olivier asseu

Director of Research and Innovation, Ecole Supérieure Africaine des Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication

Director of Research and Innovation, Ecole Supérieure Africaine des Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication, Côte d'Ivoire

Amelie Wagner

Researcher, Dresden University of Technology (TUD), Germany

Researcher, Dresden University of Technology (TUD), Germany

Pauline van den Bosch

Tender Specialist, CINOP (Centre for Innovation of Education and Training), Netherlands

Pauline van den Bosch has more than 15 years of working experience in a wide variety of international contexts in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and the labour market. She worked for ten years as TVET expert in sector skills councils for the construction, retail, wholesale and international trade sector. In addition, she worked for more than ten years for a European network, supporting EU member states in implementing European policies in TVET. Pauline has extensive experience in the implementation of international projects, focused on qualifications, competences-based training, quality assurance. Recently she was involved in a mapping study and development of a handbook for competence based training in TVET in the context of the African Continental Qualifications Framework (African Union/ ETF 2022). She was also involved in the “Development of a governance framework for the Digital Competence Development Programme in Poland (EU/DGReform 2022-2023).”

Maria Alkalay

Project Manager, Infinite Opportunities Academy

Maria Alkalay is a passionate educator with an entrepreneurial track record and strong emphasis on diversity, inclusion and human rights. Since 2003, she has been managing capacity building and training projects across the EU, Caucasus, Western Balkans, Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia. Maria is the author and main driving force behind a series of success stories for gamified human rights education, among which the TOLERADO online quiz and BARABAR card game dealing with storytelling for empowerment of vulnerable communities, gender equality, sustainable development, social art. Within DiGE EVE project, she coordinates three EU and four SSA youth organisations on empowering girls and young women and supporting digital transformation.

Adelheid Marie Bwire

Senior Lecturer, Kenyatta University, Kenya

Adelheid Bwire is the Project Coordinator for the IIDEMIC Project, and has over twenty years’ experience in implementing teacher education and literacy programmes. She is a Senior Lecturer and former Head of the Department of Educational Communication & Technology, School of Education, Kenyatta University. She teaches Instructional Design and Technology, Language Education and Research Methods. She is a trainer for Teacher Professional Development Programmes and has worked as a curriculum development consultant for several institutions. She was a researcher on a USAID-funded project between Kenyatta University and Syracuse University on teacher capacity building. Her recent research work was with the MOCAT (Modern Competencies for Academic Teachers) Project to develop interactive blended online modules for capacity building for university lecturers.

Georgina Diana Maison

Software Developer, Association of African Universities

Georgina Diana Maison is a software developer at the Association of African Universities and has led initiatives for the organisation over five years. With a MSc in Computer Science, she has championed digital transformation within the various departments at AAU.