Speakers 

 

Astrid Boeijen

Astrid is CEO of the Brightlands Smart Services Campus (BSSC), a triple helix innovation campus in the field of data science and AI in Heerlen, in the South of the Netherlands. Maastricht University, the Province of Limburg and pension provider APG founded the Brightlands Smart Services Campus in 2016. Prior to her position at BSSC, she was member of the Board of Directors of Statistics Netherlands, where she was responsible for Data Services, Research and Innovation and led a 600 employee strong division. Before Statistics Netherlands, Astrid worked at Maastricht University, among others as Director Academic Affairs and Director of the Students Services Center. Astrid holds a PhD in Combinatorial Chemistry (Utrecht University, 2000).

Yuzhuo Cai

Yuzhuo is a senior lecturer and adjunct professor at the Higher Education Group (HEG), Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University in Finland. He is Editor-in-Chief of Triple Helix, Co-Editor of the Journal of Studies in International Education and Associate Editor of the Journal of the Knowledge Economy. His recent work focuses on the efficiency of triple helix models, the conceptualisation of sustainable entrepreneurial universities and on how universities can support institutional change in regional innovation systems.

Meritxell Chaves

Meritxell holds a Master in Business Administration by ESADE and has more than twenty-five years of experience in the higher education sector, in four universities of the Catalan university system, in different functional areas such as academic management, quality and accreditation, communication and international relations. The main challenges of recent years have been related to team and project leadership, with an important component of transversality, and change management as Secretary General of the European university CHARM-EU since 2019.

Jacques Comby

Jacques Comby is Project Manager for European Universities and International Cooperation French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESRI). Professor at Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University, research director, physicist geographer specializing in climatology and risks, he has been an expert for the European Commission, ANR, HCERES (international). Vice-President of Research then President (Rector) of Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University from 2012 to 2020 (re-elected in 2016), President of the Commission for International Relations and European Affairs from 2012 to 2018, in charge of entrepreneurship (2018-2020) at the Conference of University Presidents. At the same time, he carried out around fifteen directorships in international institutions.

Tine Delva

Tine Delva works as deputy Head of Unit in the higher education department of the Commission's Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC). Tine is fully involved in the European Universities initiative and the European strategy for universities. Before, Tine worked in the economic department of the Secretariat-General of the European Commission, where she was contributing to the work of the European Commission in areas such as economic governance and the EU follow-up to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Before Tine entered the European Commission, she was a cabinet member of two Members of the European Parliament. Tine has an academic background in economics, complemented with European affairs. She is co-author of the book "The functioning of Europe, after Lisbon" (2010, 2015, in Dutch).

Anna-Lena Claeys-Kulik

In her position as Deputy Director for Policy Coordination and Foresight, Anna-Lena coordinates the positioning of EUA on cross-cutting topics like the European Universities Initiative and emerging issues with policy relevance. Between 2011 and 2016 Anna-Lena worked on project management and policy development in EUA’s governance and funding unit. Prior to joining EUA, Anna-Lena worked at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education & Culture. Anna-Lena studied at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, the University of Münster, Germany and the Institute of Political Sciences of Bordeaux, France.

Veronique Eurlings

Veronique leads the development of innovative European education as head of an international taskforce within the Young Universities for the Future of Europe/YUFE-alliance. Under her leadership, over 800 students within YUFE have been able to take up courses and activities across Europe already. Veronique’s own international experience started at the age of 17 when she studied in Sweden. During her masters studies in Human Geography at the University of Amsterdam she did fieldwork in Kenya. After her studies, she volunteered in projects in Italy, Mexico and Ecuador. Veronique has been working for Maastricht University in different roles for 13 years.

Peter van der Hijden

The independent higher education strategy advisor, Peter van der Hijden, lives in Brussels. He has worked 23 years for the European Commission (Education, Transport, Research) where he became Head of Sector Higher Education Policy and contributed to the Erasmus programme, the Bologna Process, Horizon and ERA. He now supports European Universities and promotes micro-credentials. Peter studied law at Maastricht University where he started his career as vice-registrar and policy officer for education and research. Recently he was advising European University Alliances on the design and further strategic positioning of their proposals.

Rianne Letschert

Since November 2021, Rianne is the chairman of the Executive Board of the UM. In September 2016 she was appointed Rector Magnificus of Maastricht University. In September 2019, Rianne was elected Topwoman of the year, in which the jury praised her because of her unique combination of authentic leadership with academic depth. She obtained her PhD at the University of Tilburg with her thesis "The Impact of Minority Rights Mechanisms" (2005). From April to August 2010 she was Visiting Research Fellow at the Lauterpacht Center for International Law at the University of Cambridge (UK) and Research Fellow at the Clare Hall in Cambridge. In March 2011, Rianne was appointed professor of the new chair of Victimology and International Law at Tilburg University and in 2012 she became a member of the Young Academy of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW), where she was appointed chairman in April 2015. In 2014 she was a visiting professor at the University of Barcelona.

Siegfried Martin-Diaz

Graduate of the College of Europe, Siegfried Martin-Diaz directs the department of strategies for the European area of higher education and research within the delegation for European and international affairs of the Ministry of higher education and research. This department is in charge of monitoring European policies and negotiations in the areas covered by the MESR. Passionate about European issues and knowledge policies, he previously worked at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in embassies as a scientific and university cooperation attaché, as well as at the General Secretariat for European Affairs. 

Annemarie de Ruiter

After a career in capacity building projects in countries in development for fifteen years, Annemarie de Ruiter has dedicated herself now for 10 years to stimulate internationalization of education – between the Netherlands and developmental countries and Europe. In 2022, she was appointed as the head of department “Europe”, at the  Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences in the Netherlands, where she strives for European collaboration on Education, Culture, Sciences and Emancipation. In cooperation with all other directorates within the ministry, Annemarie’s department prepares the position of the Ministry on European topics, also for negotiation in Brussels. Major topics addressed here are the European Education Area and Erasmus+.

Daniela Trani

Daniela was until recently the first director of the YUFE alliance and one of the main developers of the YUFE ERASMUS+ pilot proposal selected by the European Commission as one of the first 17 pilot European Universities Initiatives in June 2019. In this role Daniela coordinated strategy, policy and public affairs of one of the very first European Universities that is paving the way for the development of universities of the future.

She holds an MSc degree in Physics (cum laude, 2003) from the University of Naples Federico II, Italy, and a PhD in Thoracic Oncology and Applied Biotechnology (2007) from the Second University of Naples, Italy. After working as senior researcher at the Department of Radiotherapy at Maastricht University (2011-2014), she switched to academic policy and strategy as Senior Advisor to the Executive Board of Maastricht University in 2014.

Job Zomerplaag

Job is a PhD researcher and programme maker. He works at Studio Europa Maastricht (SEM), a centre of expertise for European affairs at Maastricht University, and United Nations University-MERIT (UNU-MERIT). Job also teaches storytelling at Erasmus University Rotterdam. As a researcher, he studies initiatives around 'new democracy' and sustainability transitions. As a programme maker, he organises and moderates expert meetings and dialogues around these topics. Before starting his career in academia, Job worked as a journalist and communications strategist. He has developed and run various public events and urban experiments. Job is regularly asked as an event host and moderator.