Book of speakers
Gábor KAMOCSA - Head of Cooperation Programmes Unit, Directorate for Erasmus+ and Internationalisation of Higher Education
Tempus Public Foundation
Hungary
Bárbara Filipa CASQUEIRA COELHO GABRIEL, Vice-Dean for Internationalisation at Mechanical Engineering Faculty
University of Aveiro
Portugal
Bárbara Gabriel, Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, is a researcher at the University of Aveiro specializing in innovation, entrepreneurial education, and engineering teaching methods. She serves as Deputy-Director of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, leads the SEE Group, and coordinates European projects such as THEI2.0 and TANDEM+. She is also an expert and facilitator for HEInnovate, a joint initiative of the European Commission and OECD.
Jan BESEDA, Head of National Centre for Distance Education
Centre for Higher Education Studies
Czech Republic
Jan Beseda, PhD, is a senior researcher at the Centre for Higher Education Studies and holds the position of Head of the National Centre for Distance Education. Additionally, Jan serves as the Director of the Czech Association of Professional Tertiary Education. His primary areas of expertise include leveraging ICT in education, ensuring quality in higher education, and fostering competency development. Jan is also renowned for his role as the primary organizer of the international DisCo conference, focusing on the integration of ICT in education. Furthermore, he actively participates in several influential working groups, such as EURASHE Quality Assurance Community of Practice, and has been involved in numerous international projects.
Silke PREYMANN, Project manager and researcher
University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
Silke is a project manager of the Erasmus+ funded projects EnhanceIDM! (Enhanced Programme Leadership for Inclusion and Diversity Management in Higher Education) and ENTRANTS (Enhancing the transition of non-traditional students). She is working as a researcher in the Department for Higher Education Research and Development at FH Upper Austria with a focus on change and change management at universities (e.g. the implementation of the social dimension/the introduction of measures in the field of diversity management and inclusion).
Irine DARCHIA, Associate Professor, Deputy Director
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University
Georgia
Dr. Irine Darchia is an Associate Professor of Classics at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) and a Higher Education Reform Expert (HERE) for the Tempus/Erasmus+ National Office Georgia since 2009. She studied Georgian, Classical, and Modern Greek Philology, completing internships and dissertations at TSU and universities in Germany. As a visiting professor, she has lectured across Europe and coordinated numerous international projects on Classics and Higher Education. Dr. Darchia has held leadership roles at TSU, the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, and other institutions, and serves as an accreditation expert for agencies in Georgia, Lithuania, and Latvia. She is also a member of the International Advisory Board of Ukraine’s Higher Education Quality Agency.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinedarchia/
https://tsu-ge.academia.edu/IrineDarchia
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Irine_Darchia
https://twitter.com/DarchiaIrine
Her earlier research focused on cultural and creative industries, city branding, and regional development, with particular attention to Hungarian cities and the Szigetköz region. She has participated in several national and international research projects and has been an active guest lecturer within Erasmus+, CEEPUS, and other mobility programmes across Europe and beyond in more than 15 countries.
Currently, her main research areas include household food waste and related consumer behaviour, as well as the role of artificial intelligence in marketing education. She integrates her practical teaching experience into developing innovative methodological solutions, continuously designing and implementing new, practice-oriented approaches that enhance student engagement and digital competencies in marketing and business education.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/szandra-gombos-95102948/
Lenka Zouhar Ludvíková, Ph.D.
vice-dean for international affairs at the Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies
Mendel University, Brno
Czech Republic
She trained to become a kindergarten teacher but fell for English. Her master degree in English and American Studies and Pedagogy at Masaryk University gave her an academic foundation for teaching English as a foreign language. Later, her doctoral studies shifted the direction towards learning of languages and learner autonomy. Today, she teaches English for academic purposes and English for specific purposes at university and helps the students find the most efficient way to learn. As an educator, she believes in self-directed learning, in reflection on one’s learning, and in pedagogical care.
