23rd ReferNet annual plenary meeting

Jürgen Siebel joined Cedefop from the private sector in September 2019. As Executive Director, he is responsible for managing the Agency’s operations in accordance with the strategic direction of its tripartite Management Board.

Irene Mandl holds Master’s degrees in international business administration (with specialisation in marketing and organisational planning) and in business and law (with specialisation in HR management). Before joining Cedefop, she worked in policy-oriented socioeconomic research in the fields of employment and labour market, as well as entrepreneurship and industry analysis. She was Head of the research unit ‘Employment’ at the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) where she was leading the cross-European research on labour market developments (including new forms of work and employment and the future of work, digitalisation, climate change, restructuring and related public policy approaches) and topics at the intersection of employment and entrepreneurship (such as job creation, workplace practices, small and medium-sized enterprises, business start-ups and scale-ups and internationalisation, including HR management in international businesses). 

Anna Banczyk works for the European Commission in the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. She is Head of Unit “ Vocational Education and Training, Skills Portability, Cedefop” since January 2025. Previously, Anna was Head of Unit “Learning and Development” in Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security.

Prior to that she held several other positions in the Commission, including as a Deputy Head of Unit for “Future of Work, Youth Employment”. Her professional experience includes also labour law, occupational safety and health, human resource management and organisational development. Anna holds MA degrees in sociology and psychology.

Ioannis N. Katsikis is the ReferNet Coordinator at Cedefop. An Innovation Engineer by education, he holds an MSc in Environmental Policy & Management and an MBA: Business Process Management, both from the University of the Aegean, Greece. He is also the holder of an MPhil in Architecture and Space Planning from the School of Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. Prior to joining Cedefop, he worked as an Academic Tutor at the University of Athens and as a freelance Strategic Management Consultant (2005-2013) while studying for a PhD at the Athens University of Economics and Business.

Anthie Kyriakopoulou (PhD) is a Cedefop expert working on VET policies and systems, and quality assurance in VET. She has contributed to Cedefop’s work on VET policy monitoring, analysis and reporting; VET teachers’ and trainers’ professional development; early leaving from education and training; and young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs). 

Michail Papazoglou is an expert in quantitative research and data analysis with over a decade of experience in advanced computational methods for policy support at both international and national level. He holds a BSc in Statistics, MA in Social Statistics and a PhD in Applied Econometrics and Impact Evaluation. He joined Cedefop in February 2024 as an expert working on VET for youth, teachers and trainers focusing on data-driven insights to inform policy decisions. 

Joanna Napierala is a Cedefop expert in the Department for skills and the labour market. She joined Cedefop in January 2021 and she is focusing on the analysis of the impact on the labour market and skills of two megatrends: greening of economy and Artificial Intelligence.
 

Mantas Sekmokas is currently engaged as an expert in research and policy analysis at the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), with a focus on the topics of financing and statistics in VET. 

Zelda Azzarà has been a Cedefop expert in the Department for VET and qualifications since 2021. She works on qualifications and EU transparency tools and principles, particularly within the context of the European and national qualifications frameworks and learning outcomes approach. Currently, she is responsible for the project on transparency and transferability of learning outcomes.

Eirini Monsela is a seconded national expert at Cedefop’s Department for VET and Qualifications, specialising in vocational education and training (VET) policies and systems. Since 2021, she has overseen policy reporting and analysis for several EU countries, drafting policy briefs and monitoring national developments in line with EU priorities. Before joining Cedefop, she was Advisor at the Greek Ministry of Education, where she worked on European and international affairs, intercultural education and Greek diaspora education. 

Anastasia Pouliou is a Cedefop Expert in qualifications and credentials - Future of VET. She is currently leading the Agency’s research on Microcredentials for labour market education and training  learning outcomes and VET excellence and inclusion for the 21st century in Europe

Vasileios Symeonidis is an Expert on Qualifications and Credentials at Cedefop, working on projects related to the transparency and recognition of qualifications, learning outcomes, and the future of VET.

Irina Jemeljanova has been an expert in Cedefop since 2005. She worked in the study visits programme (2007-13) team and coordinated the work on teachers and trainers’ professional development in vocational education and training (VET) in 2011-19. In 2013-19, Irina also conducted thematic country reviews on apprenticeship in Croatia, Cyprus, Lithuania, and Slovenia.

Silke Gadji is a policy officer in the Department for VET and Qualifications at Cedefop. She worked on the study visits programme and has been a member of the VET policy and system teams since 2014. In this role, she analyses developments and implementation of national VET policies aligned with EU priorities and coordinates the National News on VET.

Vicky Oraiopoulou is a Policy Officer at Cedefop, working in the fields of vocational education and training (VET) and Qualifications and credentials. She manages country reporting for two Member States, contributes to the European Inventory of National Qualifications Frameworks and coordinates the Spotlight on VET EU27+ publication series. 

Veronika Leiner works within the Department for VET and Qualifications (DVQ). She specializes in VET policy research and analysis and contributes to Cedefop’s Key Competences in VET project. 

Seconded national expert from the Stare Foundation for Training in Employment (Fundae) in Spain. She is currently collaborating with the VET Policies and Systems (VPS) team, where she plays an integral role in monitoring and analysing vocational education and training (VET) policies and systems. 

Alfredo Salmaso is an Expert in Stakeholder Engagement and Communication at CEDEFOP. As part of his role, he supports CEDEFOP’s efforts to improve its outreach strategies.

Cristina is a senior communication expert with nearly 20 years of experience crafting communications and campaigns for European and international programmes. She joined Cedefop in 2024, after working across European Agencies (EUSPA, EU-OSHA), and UN programmes (WHO Europe, UN Pacific, UNEP), among others.

Aristos Theocharous works at Cedefop, where he focuses on the analysis and monitoring of vocational education and training (VET) systems and policies, including national qualifications frameworks (NQFs). His work supports the transparency and comparability of qualifications across Europe, contributing to better understanding of national reforms and their alignment with European priorities. 

Nikolaos Georgiadis is an Expert in Cedefop’s VET Policies and Systems (VPS) team, being the country manager for BG, DK and MT and a member of the Mobility Scoreboard project team. He holds a PhD in Philosophy of Media and an MA in Television Studies. 

George Kostakis is the Department Coordinator on VET and qualifications in Cedefop and leads Cedefop’s work on VET policies and systems which analyses developments and implementation of national VET policies in line with the VET Recommendation and Osnabruck Declaration. His thematic expertise includes quality assurance in VET and international qualifications.

Irene Psifidou, Cedefop expert since 2004, is leading the Agency’s team on “VET for Youth - Teachers and trainers”, at Cedefop’s department for “VET and Skills”. She is managing European projects on inclusion and excellence in vocational education and training, including the professional development of VET teachers and trainers and tackling early leaving from education and training.

Dmitrijs Kuļšs is an expert in VET policies, systems, and key competences. At Cedefop, he is a member of the VET policies and systems team, where he coordinates work on VET system descriptions and contributes to policy analysis.