Director of the Center for Continuing Education at Freie Universität Berlin, his work focuses on leadership skills, with particular attention on project management. He has more than 20 years of experience as a trainer. In this programme, Nicholas Hübner will lead the session on Stakeholders as Cultural Agents in International Projects.
Associated Professor in Educational Linguistics at the University of Bologna, where she is the Director of the MA degree programme "Teaching L2 Italian, Interculturality, Plurilingualism", Prof. Caludia Borgehtti researches on intercultural language education, plurilingualism, and internationalisation of Higher Education, with particular attention to student and staff mobility as well as intercultural relations and learning in university workplaces. Claudia was the project manager of the European project IEREST (Intercultural Education Resources for Erasmus Students and their Teachers) and has been involved in other projects focusing on intercultural language education (RICH-ED, TICKET, UNICORN), plurilingualism (GCMC), and internationalisation in higher education (ATIAH).
For further details on her publications, collaborations and teaching: https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/claudia.borghetti/en
In this programme, Prof. Claudia Borghetti will lead "ONLINE MODULE 2 - Intercultural Skills for Cross-Institution Collaboration" and the sessions "Deconstructing intercultural team dynamics" and "Managing multilingualism as intercultural practice", during the in-person module (Day 1).
Assistant Professor in the Department of Design and Image at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Dr. Juanita Bagés Villaneda's work focuses on design, visual communication, and innovation in higher education, with particular attention to internationalisation, inclusion, and the integration of new practices in academic and institutional contexts. She is a member of the research groups DiSTI (Design, Systems, Transformation, and Innovation) and Laser Chemistry: Spectroscopic Techniques and Analytical Applications at UCM. She has held academic management positions as Vice Dean for Mobility and Employability (2018–2025) and has been actively engaged in the Una Europa Alliance since 2022, contributing to initiatives aimed at empowering professional staff across partner universities. She has over four years of experience teaching in internationalisation programmes at the UCM Training Unit.
In this programme, Dr. Bagés Villaneda will co-lead sessions on Communication and AI-Enhanced Practices for Higher Education Professional Staff.
Assistant Professor at the Jagiellonian University and coordinator of the Horizon Europe project IMPULSE, Dr Żaneta Żegleń explores the reinterpretation of European cultural heritage in virtual worlds. Her work focuses on immersive technologies and digital transformation in the heritage sector, while her research interests extend to the intersection of artificial intelligence and creativity. A daily AI user herself, she brings hands-on experience to this programme, leading sessions on practical AI use in HEI administrative practice.
Dr. Francesco Girotti is Head of the Una Europa Unit at the University of Bologna. His work focuses on European higher education cooperation, with particular attention to European University Alliances, joint programmes and the internationalisation of higher education. He has more than twenty years of experience in the design, management and evaluation of European education programmes and has worked as an expert and trainer for organisations including the European Commission, the European University Association, Nuffic, Ecorys and the Italian Erasmus+ National Agency. He has published on the European Higher Education Area and on European University Alliances. He has also served as Adjunct Professor at the University of Bologna and has recently obtained his PhD in Internationalisation of Higher Education, at the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, with a thesis on the impact of the Alliances on participating institutions.
In this programme, Francesco Girotti will lead sessions on Higher Education policies and European University Alliances.
Dr. Agata Mannino has extensive experience in higher education and internationalisation. She currently serves as Coordinator of the Across European University Alliance, where she leads cross-institutional collaboration and strategy development. Previously, she worked at the University of Padova as Manager for International Educational Projects, at the University of Trieste as Interntaional Relations Officer for agreements and networks, and as Institutional Coordinator for the Transform4Europe Alliance. Agata holds a PhD from the Centre for Higher Education Internationalization (CHEI) at Universita´ Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, focusing on sensemaking in internationalisation of HE within the European Universities Initiative (EUI), where she explored the crucial role of middle managers in fostering staff engagement. Prior to this, she obtained her Master´s in Translation and Interpretation from the University of Trieste, a Vocational Master’s in Public Communication from IULM University in Milan, and a Teaching Qualification for German as a second language from the University of Udine.
Agata is a former member of the Executive Committee of the SGroup Network and the EAIE General Council, and she now contributes to the EAIE Thematic Committee on Research on internationalisation.
In this programme, she will lead the session Stakeholder Engagement in the EUI & the Role of Middle Managers.
Dr. Fiona Hunter is Associate Director at the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI) at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy where she manages the PhD Programme. She is Faculty and Scientific Council Member for the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in Higher Education Leadership and Management Programme at LUISS Business School, Rome, Italy and Visiting Tutor at the University of Bath, United Kingdom where she supervises students on the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in Higher Education Management. She is also a higher education consultant working with private, public and faith-based institutions around the world on strategic change, and Scientific Council member of AVEPRO (Holy See’s Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties). She has led multiple professional development projects, and published and presented extensively on higher education management and internationalisation.