23rd ReferNet annual plenary meeting

With his management team and all staff, Jürgen has led Cedefop to strengthen its position as a go-to ally for the EU institutions, social partners, researchers and practitioners when it comes to analysing the impacts of megatrends on the labour market, on skills, and on training ecosystems – and on how vocational education and training enables a fair digital and green transition.

Jürgen has a background in human-resources management with particular emphasis on learning and education, earned his MSc in economics at the University of Hamburg, and his PhD in business administration from the University of Vienna. 

Most recently, she was Head of Unit Information and EURES at the European Labour Authority (ELA) where she was responsible for the Agency’s activities related to information provision to intra-EU mobile workers as well as for the management of the European Coordination Office of EURES, a European network facilitating job and skills matching across Europe.

He gained valuable experience by participating in major international R&D projects and offered consulting services to national governments (Greece, Romania, Georgia, Turkey) and as a Research Advisor to international organizations (BSEC, EU). He has published more than 170 research papers in academic journals, edited books, and international conferences (such as AOM, SMS, EGOS, BAM, ERSA). He has received three international awards in recognition of his research (AoM, BAM, ERSA).
 

Ramona David Craescu has worked at the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) since 2008. Her main areas of research are apprenticeships and migration with special focus on refugee support and integration through VET, skills and qualifications.    

Previous to working for Cedefop, she worked as a consultant on various international development projects for economic and social development.

She holds a master degree in international relations from the University of Bucharest, Romania.

During his more than 20 years of work experience, he provided advice on data analytics and monitoring of VET, adult learning and skills policies to multiple international and national bodies, such as UNESCO, ILO, OECD, G7, European Commission, Nordic Council of Ministers, BMZ/GIZ and Skills Future Singapore agency (including nearly ten years of work for the European Commission), as well as the private sector.

His academic background includes a MSc degree in Information systems and data science from the University of Amsterdam (UvA); a MSc degree in Cognitive and Decision Sciences from the University College London (UCL); a MSc degree in International Management from ISM University of Management and Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Vilnius University.

Anthie has a multidisciplinary academic background with studies in translation, communication, adult education and natural language processing (NLP). Her research interests focus equally on domain and methodology aspects, including the complementarity of mixed social research methods with NLP approaches in VET. 

Before joining Cedefop in 2013, he headed the higher education and research sectors at Latvia's Ministry of Education and Science. He holds a Master’s degree in Finance and a PhD in Education.

She is involved in other Cedefop activities (including the coordination of developments on national qualifications frameworks and the TVET-Interagency group on the Future of TVET). Before joining Cedefop she worked as an Educational Consultant in the Ministry of Education and Religious affairs and as a head of the European Affairs Unit in the Organisation for Vocational Education and Training (Greece). She has performed senior management and national coordination on Europass and Leonardo da Vinci projects and has published influential articles in academic journals. She has represented Cedefop as keynote speaker at high-level international events in Europe, USA and South Africa.

Previously, she worked at the European Commission, DG Employment and Social Affairs, where she was responsible for supporting the implementation of the EQF, including EQF Advisory Group activities, and was involved in initiatives related to Europass, validation of non-formal and informal learning, ESCO, and the Skills Agenda. Before that, she worked as a researcher, including in university. She holds a master degree in Political Science and International Relations from LUISS University, Rome, Italy.

Irene is in charge of Cedefop’s “European VET Teachers Survey (EVTS): Supporting teachers’ professional development in VET schools”. A novel survey to furnish new robust data on the opportunities, challenges and effectiveness of teachers’ professional development in Europe. She also co-manages a research project on Digital skills for tomorrow: promoting inclusive excellence in VET to map and assess the current landscape of digital skills provision by employing natural language processing (NLP) techniques.

She is the creator of Cedefop’s knowledge hub on inclusion: the “VET toolkit for tackling early leaving” and the “VET toolkit for empowering NEETs” and coordinates the European virtual community of ambassadors for tackling early leaving.

Before joining Cedefop, she worked as education consultant at the World Bank, Washington DC Headquarters in the Human Development Network, supporting the preparation of the World Bank’s new agenda for Secondary Education.

She has published extensively in peer-reviewed academic journals on European policy in education and training, inclusive education, tackling early leaving from VET, curriculum reform, learning outcomes, and professional development of teachers and trainers.

A doctoral comparative education specialist by training (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona), Irene holds also two Master degrees, one on International Relations (Universidad de Barcelona), and another on Applied Linguistics (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona). She graduated from the University Aristotle in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Passionate about turning complex information into content that's accessible, valuable, and engaging. From large-scale multimedia campaigns to grassroots campaigns and niche markets, Cristina has worked across cultures and disciplines - from health to space tech, seismic risk to gender-based violence and climate technology, and she is now tackling VET, learning and skills.