The changing landscape of qualifications and credentials

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.

She filled several international roles, including as the Finnish representative in the EQF Advisory Group and the Group of Coordinators for the EU Professional Qualifications Directive. She served as the President of the Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee and was in the drafting committee for the UNESCO Global Convention on the recognition of qualifications. She holds a doctorate in Administrative Sciences from the University of Tampere.

He has worked  for the last 14 years  as a senior advisor for the Ministry of Science and Education in Norway. His main focus has been on VET policy and systems development, in close cooperation with social partners, according to the Norwegian model in VET. Dagfinn, has also a VET certificate as industrial electrician though the Norwegian VET system, which combines VET school and apprenticeship. Dagfinn will be working with VET and qualification subjects in Cedefop.

He studied modern languages (Greek and German) at the University of Birmingham and subsequently pursued postgraduate studies in Greece, graduating with a MA in theoretical and applied linguistics from the University of Athens and a PhD in sociolinguistics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has taught courses in linguistics and translation at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the University of Ioannina, and the Hellenic Open University. Christopher’s research interests focus on issues concerning language and identity, (im)politeness from a cross-cultural perspective, critical discourse analysis, with a particular interest in nationalist discourse in the media, and the relationship between sociolinguistics and translation. His research has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes, conference proceedings, and a book on translated texts in public spaces. His current research examines the ways in which data from Greek translated texts can be used in the language classroom to enhance pupils’ critical awareness of language and (socio)linguistic inequality.

Before that he was a policy officer in charge of the validation of non-formal and informal learning and career guidance within the same unit. Other positions he held within the European Commission were that of Erasmus Mundus Programme Manager and of policy officer in charge of setting up a European Executive Agency in charge of implementing programmes in education, training, culture and media. Before joining the Commission in 2003 Koen worked at the University of Antwerp (researcher) and at the European Institute of Public Administration in Maastricht (the Netherlands). Koen studied public policy and public administration at the University of Twente (NL) and holds a Master in European Studies from the College of Europe.

His current research areas of focus include Microcredentials for labour market education and training, and excellence and inclusion in VET. Iraklis is an economist by training, with a PhD in didactics of Economics from the University of Macedonia. Before joining Cedefop he was an advisor to the Deputy Minister of Education in Greece focusing on VET and apprenticeship. He has also worked as a teacher in upper secondary and post-secondary education and as a researcher in tertiary 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.

He has previously worked as a visiting professor at the University of Education Freiburg and as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Graz and University of Innsbruck in Austria. He received his PhD as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow in the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE).

He is also a member of the Cedefop VET Policies and Systems team reporting on and analysing European training policies and a member of the project team on Mobility Scoreboard.

He joined Cedefop in 2006 working initially as a senior expert on qualifications and the common EU tools, and as Head of the Department for VET and qualifications since 2014.

He is a member of Cedefop’s management team and his department’s work is based on research and analyses providing evidence on policy developments and implementation, as well as advice and support at European level.

It covers the Cedefop strategic area of ‘Shaping VET and qualifications’ aiming at improving the overall transparency, relevance, quality and inclusiveness of VET by facilitating close interaction between initial VET, continuous VET and general and higher education to serve the skills needs of all age groups at all levels.