Dr. Ekaterina Prasolova-Førland
Department of Education and Lifelong Learning
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Ekaterina Prasolova-Førland is a full Professor at the Department of Education and Lifelong Learning at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). She founded and leads the Innovative Immersive Technologies for Learning (IMTEL) research group and VR lab at NTNU. During the academic year 2022-2023, Ekaterina has been a visiting professor at LTEC, UH Manoa.

Katherine Watson
Santiago Canyon College
Orange, CA, United States

Sher Downing
City University of Seattle
Phoenix, AZ, USA

Sher Downing is an EdTech Strategist and CEO of Downing EdTech Consulting, which offers guidance in digital transformation for business advancement and professional performance. She also serves as dissertation faculty for City University of Seattle.

With over thirty-six years of online learning and edtech experience in higher education (public, private, and for-profit), corporate training programs and startups, Downing focuses on operational excellence with a passion for helping professionals who are transitioning within their current career or entering into the edtech field. Her goal is for people to embrace digital technology and feel confident in leading the initiatives. She also hosts the podcast EdTech Speaks.

Recently, her company was honored to be named a finalist in the EdTech Trendsetter category by EdTech Digest, the largest and most competitive recognition program in the U.S. In 2022, Downing was named one of The Top 50 Women Leaders in Arizona; in 2021, she was a nominee for the Entrepreneur of the Year Women in IT USA Awards.

Gavon Wong
Korn Ferry
Honolulu, HI, USA

Joseph Peters
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, HI, USA

Instructional designer with over 5 years of experience working in higher education. I support the development of online courses (sychronoous, asychronous, and hybrid). I work with faculty, instructors, students, and other stakeholders to foster positve learning experiences with empathy for users.

Patrick Agullana
University of Hawaii
Honolulu, HI, USA

Dirk Visscher
Tampere University of Applied Sciences
Tampere, Finland

Dirk Visscher is a Dutch educator with a decade of experience in international education. After obtaining a bachelor in Spanish education at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Tilburg, he worked at the International School of Eindhoven as coordinator and teacher of various programmes in the International Baccalaureate curriculum. He is now researching the impact a training and development programme has on the retention of staff in one of the biggest retail companies in Canada.

Besides a passionate educator, Dirk is also an advocate for children born with clubfoot. Being born with clubfoot yet also involved in many different sport, he understands the struggle for many children and the value moving has for people.

Mark Curcher
Tampere University of Applied Sciences, TAMK
Tampere, Finland

Mark is a Senior Lecturer at Tampere University of Applied Sciences in Finland, where he also the Program Director and designer of the MBA in Educational Leadership. Mark has been an educator for thirty four years, working in the UK, Middle East and now Finland in a range of educational settings.

Mark’s involvement with educational technology dates to his earliest experiences as a teacher in the late 1980’s and includes experiences as a learner, facilitator, course and curriculum designer. He considers himself fortunate to have been able to work with a large and diverse collection of educators from around the world and this has reinforced his view that context is a critical component of the educational process. His current interests include the impact of digitalization of education on the professional identity of educators, the social impact of the increasing datafication of the educational process and punk pedagogy. Mark describes himself as a “Pedagogical Provocateur” and “Educational Emigre” and positions himself as a critical educator.

Julia Briggs
Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK)
MBA Educational leadership student
Bogotá, Colombia

Originally from the UK, Julia has lived and worked in Colombia since 2012. For over a decade she has been a teacher of Science and Chemistry at the secondary level. Recently Julia has left classroom teaching and now is head of operations for an educational consultancy company and also provides professional learning workshops for teachers across the world.

Cristina Obae
TAMK
Tampere, Finland

Cristina Obae is a researcher and lifelong learner who never stops seeking new opportunities to innovate. Doctor in linguistics from the University of Bordeaux 3, finishing her second masters in Educational Leadership at TAMK, member of CARDE research group, languages coordinator in an IB World School, and founder of the NEdHo.fi startup she firmly believes that it is though education that we can make the world a better place.

Amany Alkhayat
Teachers College, Columbia University
New York, NY, United States

Amany Alkhayat is a teacher trainer, instructional designer, author, and entrepreneur. She is a consultant to VR companies. She is an adjunct faculty at New York Institute of Technology. Amany is currently pursuing her Doctoral degree in Instructional Technology and Media at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is also the founder and Chair of the NYS TESOL Technology Enhanced Language Learning SIG and the VirtuaTELL conference where she hosted more than 150 teacher training workshops on Zoom, Virtual reality platforms during the pandemic.

Amany is also the co-founder and CEO of Language Cities, a VR game. She has taught over 7000 students on Udemy since 2017.
As an author and instructional technology designer, Amany is always exploring emerging technologies to enhance the learning experience. She is committed to using her expertise to help learners and trainees reach their full potential.

Caroline Varin
Tampere University of Applied Sciences
Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Caroline Varin holds a PhD in International Relations and an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics, an LLM in International Law from the Universita di Bologna, Italy, and a BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked as a lecturer, a mentor and a tutor in Europe and the UK, the United States and in Central America. Caroline is passionate about education and finding new ways to upskill, stimulate and encourage students. Caroline has experience managing projects, organizing conferences and developing communication strategies for a variety of clients and sectors in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. She has also written a wide variety of articles on international security issues, has five books in print and regularly consults with governments and academic institutions. Caroline has lectured at Regent’s University London, Richmond University, and the London School of Economics among others.

Oscar Boije
Tampere University of Applied Sciences
Finland

Oscar Boije is a Finnish-Bolivian education professional presently working for UNICEF Mozambique on Education in Emergencies programmes aimed at preparing for and recovering from the complex emergencies affecting the country, including the ongoing armed conflict, natural disasters, and public health crises. Previously Oscar has also worked for UNICEF in Somalia and Bangladesh, among others rolling out alternative and accelerated education programmes for out-of-school and other marginalised children. Prior to joining UNICEF, Oscar worked on youth and student exchanges and other non-formal education projects in various countries across Asia and Europe. Oscar has a master’s degree in human Rights Law from Lund University, Sweden, and a Bachelor and master’s degree in international public law from Åbo Akademi University, Finland. He is presently pursuing an MBA in Educational Leadership at Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Finland.

Imrana Buba
Youth Initiative Against Terrorism
University of Oslo, Norway

Imrana Buba is the Founder of the Youth Initiative Against Terrorism, a youth-led organization working to unite youth against violent extremism in north-eastern Nigeria. Imrana has consulted for international organisations like USAID, ODI, Creative Associates International, International Alert and Mercy Corps as a youth engagement specialist, community development facilitator and conflict sensitivity expert. Imrana is a member of the European Union Youth Sounding Board, Mandela Washington Fellow, and Peace and Security Fellow of the AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub. He received the 2016 Queen’s Young Leaders Award from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 2017 JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World Award, in recognition of his efforts to counter violent extremism and promote a culture of peace in Nigeria. He holds BSc Political Science from the University of Maiduguri and MSc Africa and International Development from the University of Edinburgh, UK. He is a PhD Research Fellow at the University of Oslo, Norway.

Dr Jon-Hans Coetzer
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

Dr. Jon-Hans Coetzer contributes to the mission of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Jon-Hans creates high-value partnerships with different learning and educational institutions of higher education focusing on the areas of Peace, Security and Justice.  Jon-Hans has more than 25 years of experience in both higher education and vocational training in more than 22 countries. Dr. Coetzer served as Chief Academic Officer of Glion Institute of Higher Education, Academic Dean of IHTTI, Neuchâtel, as Chief Academic Officer of the EU Business School Group. He has an established record of working with a variety of higher education partners including private and public universities in the United Kingdom and in the United States. His research interests focus on the cross-cultural challenge in the international classroom of management studies and changes in higher education. Jon-Hans passionately believes in the need to rethink education in order to contribute towards a more focused human-centered pedagogy suited to current opportunities and challenges.

Sven Botha
Thinktank Director
University of Johannesburg

Sven is an Assistant lecturer in Politics & International Relations at the University of Johannesburg. He holds a BSc in Political and International Studies from Monash University, a BA Hons in Politics and International Relations and MA in Politics, both awarded with Distinction from the University of Johannesburg. His areas of academic interest include foreign policy, terrorism, counter-terrorism and early-career development. He has published a wide range of work on international relations and early career development topics. Sven is also a member of the South African Association for Political Studies and the South African Institute of International Affairs.

Claire Phillips
Tampere University of Applied Science
Sao Paulo, Brazil

Science teacher for 15 years, of which 10 have been spent working in international schools.
Currently based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Completing a masters in educational leadership with Tampere University of Applied Sciences in Finland.