First meeting of EULiST Advisory Council during the General Assembly 2024 at BUT

The EULiST Advisory Council (AC) was constituted and convened for the first time on Thursday, 23 May 2024, during the EULiST General Assembly at Brno University of Technology (BUT) in the vibrant city of Brno.

Comprised of experts on Higher Education and representatives from stakeholders at the national level with European stature, the Advisory Council can provide different perspectives and feedback to support the alliance in achieving its strategic goals.

The members of the Advisory Council are the following:

1. Petr Střelec, Sr. Director of Research and Development, Brno site leader for Materials & Structural Analysis at Thermo Fisher Scientific Brno, representing Brno University of Technology (BUT) in Czech Republic
2. Marion Gus, Deputy General Director, in charge of Economic and Environmental Development, at the Regional Council of Nouvelle Aquitaine, representing Institut Mines-Télécom Business School (IMT) in France
3. Agneta Bladh, Professor Emeritus, Board member of the Foundation for the Young Academy of Sweden, former State Secretary in the Swedish Ministry of Education and Science, former Rector of the University of Kalmar and former chair of Swedish Research Council, representing Jönköping University (JU) in Sweden
4. Ulrike Albrecht, former Head of Department Strategy and External Relations, at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Bonn, representing Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) in Germany
5. Jyrki Katainen, President of Sitra, a Finnish Innovation Fund organization (www.sitra.fi), former European Commission’s Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness and former Prime Minister of Finland representing Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) in Finland
6. Andreas G. Boudouvis, former Rector of NTUA, Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering and former Dean of the same school, representing National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in Greece
7. Pavol Kukura, PhD, Board Member of Buildings for the Future association and Chairman of the Slovak Green Building Council, representing Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (STU) in Slovakia
8. Marianne Heiss, Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer, Supervisory Board and Audit Chair of Flix SE, member of the Audit Committee at Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, Porsche Automobil Holding SE and Volkswagen AG Environmental Social Governance expert for supervisory board Porsche SE, representing Technische Universität Wien (TUW) in Austria
9. Pierangelo Marcati, full Professor in Mathematical analysis at the Gran Sasso Science Institute Italy, representing University of L’Aquila (UnivAq) in Italy
10. Francisco Javier Ayala Ortega, Fuenlabrada City Mayor and President of the International Relations Commission of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, representing Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) in Spain
11. Elena Štefancová, PhD Candidate at Comenius University in Bratislava, member of the European Students’ Union Quality Assurance Student Experts Pool, and Panelist for the Slovak Accreditation Agency for Higher Education, appointed by the Student Board to represent students
12. Sascha Wellman, Student at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and Parliamentarian in the 52nd Student Parliament of Hochschule Darmstadt, appointed by the Student Board to represent students

 Moreover, there are some deputy members: 

1. Satu Sikanen, regional Mayor and leader of the Regional Council of South Karelia, representing Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) in Finland
2. George Peristeris, Executive BoD member, Chairman of the BoD and CEO of GEK TERNA, President of the Hellenic Association of Electricity Producers from RES and BoD member of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, representing National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in Greece

During the EULiST General Assembly at BUT, a hybrid joint meeting of the Advisory Council and Governing Board was held. In this meeting, all participants introduced themselves and shared their expectations for mutual collaboration. The Advisory Council also held a hybrid meeting with the Project Manager, Monika Boshinoska Lazarova, and the Central Coordinator, Markus Auditor, where they discussed the strategic objectives and organization of EULiST, as well as how the expertise of the Advisory Council can be utilized for the Alliance’s work.

To conclude, the Advisory Council is expected to play a vital role in supporting the EULiST Alliance in achieving its strategic goals and guiding its main actions throughout the project duration.