The Consortium

The Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)  is a multicultural university with more than a third of its students and researchers coming from abroad. Internationalism is a daily reality at the Université libre de Bruxelles, where students live and work on campus in the image of Brussels, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Our ULB network comprises:

Prof. Anne Weyembergh, PolyCIVIS Project Director

Anne Weyembergh is Full Professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and its Vice-Rector for External Relations and Cooperation (since 2020). She is the former President of the Institute for European Studies of the ULB (2014 - 2019).  Her main field of research concerns EU Criminal Law, i.e. police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters between the EU Member States as well as between the EU and the rest of the world. She has collaborated narrowly with various EU institutions in the field of EU criminal law. In particular, she was Special Advisor to Commissioner Didier Reynders (2022-2024); she acted as an academic expert for the European Commission and is the author or co-author of a number of studies for the European Parliament
She founded and co-coordinates the European Criminal Law Academic Network (ECLAN) since 2004. She has coordinated numerous research projects, of which PolyCIVIS is the most recent one.

Prof. François Heinderyckx, PolyCIVIS Project Advisor

François Heinderyckx is professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) where he teaches media sociology and political communication. He is currently Advisor to the Rector of the ULB for the European University Alliance CIVIS.
His research interests include journalism and news media, political communication, audience studies and media literacy. He has extensive experience in conducting and analysing public opinion surveys.
He is a member of Academia Europaea and a Fellow of the International Communication Association. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Letters, Translation and Communication at the ULB, a visiting scholar at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a Chang-Jiang Scholar Professor at Communication University of China, Beijing. 

Dan Schreiber, PolyCIVIS Scientific Coordinator

Dan has 20 years of experience in international development, humanitarian coordination, and multilateral diplomacy. He brings to our network a passion for enhancing the social contract in crisis- and conflict-affected settings, where he has led multi-disciplinary teams in challenging conditions, contributing to successful programme design and implementation. Dan has authored influential plans and policies for the UN and OECD. With a Master's degree in Public Administration and certifications in project management and public policy evaluation, his leadership roles in international organisations have equipped him to mobilise diverse epistemic communities around polycrisis challenges. He is keen to explore how PolyCIVIS can foster innovative North-South cooperation on an equal footing to address the interconnected crises facing our world.

Sebastian Seiffert, PolyCIVIS Project Manager

Sebastian has 15 years of experience in EU project development and management. With a Master’s degree in Political Science from Potsdam University, he moved to Brussels in 2008 to gain a closer insight into EU decision-making, in particular the European Neighbourhood Policy. 
He has worked in political foundations and international cultural relations, developing and monitoring educational and cultural projects in Belarus, Russia, Tanzania and Egypt, among others. 
Sebastian joined the ULB International Office in 2018, taking on various tasks such as Erasmus+ project development and developing relations with partner universities in the Near East. He enjoys managing a large network and the opportunity to expand his knowledge of specific African polities and societies. 

Aix-Marseille University is the largest multidisciplinary university in the French-speaking world, with 80,000 students and nearly 8,000 staff on 5 major campuses meeting international standards. Owner of 90% of its property, the university is present in 9 cities, in 4 departments of the South of France.

The idea of establishing a University in Greece emerged alongside with the Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution. The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, officially founded on April 14th, 1837, is the first University not only of Greece but both the Balkan peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean region. Currently, the NKUA offers 183 postgraduate programs leading to a Master's or a Doctoral degree in science and arts. 

Prof. Dimitris Gouscos, Communication & Dissemination Work Package Co-leader

Dimitris Gouscos is Assistant Professor in Design, Development and Management of Digital Communication with the Department of Communication and Media Studies, NKUA and Coordinator for the Participatory Government and Digital Social and Humanitarian Innovation MSc track. He serves/has served as Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Electronic Governance, Lead National Researcher, OGP IRM Design Report on Greece 4^th National Action Plan on Open Government 2019-2021, Consultant with UN ESCWA for Guideline on Fostering Innovation in the Public Sector of the Arab Region and InnoCook: An Innovation Model to Enhance the Operations and Services of Arab Public Institutions, Co-coordinator, WG on Open Government and Open Data (GFOSS), Coordinator for Training, WeOpenGov Network, Council Member, CIVIS Hub 4 Cities, Spaces, and Mobility, Coordinator, CIVIS BIP Child, Migrant, Refugee Voices for Viable Cities (GiveVoice), WP Co-leader Communication and Dissemination, PolyCIVIS project, and Task Leader New Digital Public Goods, Haves and Havenots, JustReDI project.

W. scholar.uoa.gr/gouscos

E: gouscos@media.uoa.gr

Prof. Dimitris Charitos

Dimitris Charitos is a Professor at the Department of Communication and Media Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He teaches human-machine communication, interactive design, digital art, virtual environment design and visual communication. He studied Architecture (NTU Athens) and CAD (University of Strathclyde) and holds a PhD in interactive and virtual environment design. He has participated in more than 15 research projects and has more than 100 publications in books, journals and conference proceedings. His artistic practice includes electronic music (1983-1993), audiovisual and interactive installations and virtual environments (1997- today). He has participated in 15 art exhibitions in Greece, UK, Canada and Cyprus. 

Prof. Aspasia Dania

Aspasia Dania (PhD), is an Assistant Professor and a Director of the Sport Pedagogy Laboratory at the School of Physical Education and Sport Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She lectures at a Doctoral, Master and Undergraduate level in the topics of Sport Pedagogy, Physical Education Teacher Education and Qualitative Research, all with a focus on equity, democracy, diversity, and inclusion. She is the mentor and facilitator of 200 pre-service and 70 in-service Physical Education Teachers, as part of the supervision of undergraduate students’ practicum in secondary and high schools as well as sport clubs. With a focus on human-centered teaching and praxis, Dr. Dania is committed to academic excellence and has coordinated a variety of Blended Intensive Programs within CIVIS, under the framework of Innovative Pedagogies. She is the (co)author of 7 books, 45 peer reviewed articles and 18 book chapters and has presented more than 80 research papers at national and international conferences. She has also participated in more than 10 research projects related to Teacher Education and currently she is the leader of the Teaching Games for Understanding and the Social Pedagogy in Physical Education Special Interest Groups. 

E: adania@phed.uoa.gr

Prof. Emmanuella Doussis

Emmanuella Doussis is a professor of international institutions at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and UNESCO Chairholder on Climate Diplomacy. She lectures, among others, on international law and international organizations, environmental policies, climate diplomacy and climate policies. She has been a Fulbright visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley (2022), visiting professor at several universities in France (Université de Bourgogne, Grenoble-Alpes, Aix-Marseille), and visiting research fellow at the European University Institute (2014). She has served as advisor to the rapporteur of the European Economic and Social Committee for the preparation of the opinion on EU Climate Diplomacy and the opinion on the Deforestation of the Amazonian rainforest. She is currently the director of the master’s programme on Southeast European Studies: politics, history and economics and she coordinates a Jean Monnet module on climate policies and diplomacy in Southeast Europe (2024-2027). She has been awarded the 2021 Natural Resources International Legal Specialist Award by the Centre of International Sustainable Development Law.

E: edoussis@pspa.uoa.gr

Prof. Emmanouil Pikoulis

Professor Pikoulis is a board-certified general surgeon, who has combined his background in emergency surgery and trauma surgical management with his special interest in global health, humanitarian aid and disaster medicine. During his career he has worked on various educational programs around development, disaster preparedness and training all over the world. Professor Pikoulis has an extensive experience in the designing, implementing, and evaluating disaster drills, in public health emergency response leadership training, as well as in humanitarian medicine field, by working with Developing Countries with emphasis in the African Continent (Tanzania).

Throughout his professional path, he has several years of experience working with WHO in the field of migrants and refugee’s health, and most recently with the WHO academy as an expert for mass casualties training. He initiated and currently coordinates in collaboration with WHO office in Greece, the medical and physiological training for aid workers in the camps, while he has also been an initiator of a series of hands-on courses in humanitarian fields such as street medicine, medical assessment of victims of torture, mountain medicine, holding also the only course in the undergraduate level of the Medical School of Athens in the theme of Global Health and Disaster Medicine. His contribution in humanitarian medicine education and his field experience has confer him as an award-winning scientist.

Université Hassan II de Casablanca (UH2C) is a public university of higher education situated in the industrial capital of the Moroccan Kingdom. It was created in September 2014 after a merger of Hassan II University of Mohammedia with Hassan II University of Ain Chock, but the first establishment was in 1975. Studies are primarily conducted in Arabic and French. The university is endeavouring to achieve national and international visibility in terms of scientific research through its various scientific structures (125 laboratories, 8 Research Centres, 2 Research Platforms and an Observatory).

The University of  Sfax (USF) was created in 1986. Endowed with a rich cultural heritage and ideal geographical location as well as both regional and international reputation, the University of Sfax includes 19 institutions of higher education in diverse disciplines and offers comprehensive trainings in four major areas: Basic and Technical Sciences, Law, Management and Economics, Languages, Arts and Humanities, Medical and Health Sciences as well as Sports and Physical Education.

Prof. Bassem Khemakhem

He obtained a PhD in biological engineering from the University of Lyon I (FR) and the University of Sfax (TN) in 2009. He joined the Higher Institute of Applied Biology of Medenine-Tunisia as assistant professor in 2011. Since 2020, he has been associate professor at the Faculty of Science of University of Sfax. His experience in academia and research extends over 15 years, he has authored more than 34 publications. Prof. Bassem is a member of EU projects (BENEFIT-Med, Cyclolive). Expertise: Bioinformatics, Microbiology, Biochemistry. See also: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bassem_Khemakhem 

The University of the Witwatersrand, commonly known as “Wits” was developed out of the South African School of Mines, set up in Kimberley in 1896. The institution moved to Johannesburg in 1904 and acquired full university status in 1922. From the start, it embraced a philosophy of non-discrimination on the basis of race, which led to intense conflict with the government – including police raids and the detention of both faculty and students – during the apartheid era. Highly research-intensive, it has made a major contribution to applied areas such as healthcare and the challenges of deep-level mining but performs strongly in subatomic physics and other fields of fundamental science. Wits is home to 381 NRF-rated researchers and 400 award-winning researchers, who regularly contribute new research in their fields and have a direct impact on policy and industry.

Makerere University was established in 1922 as a humble technical school. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious Universities in Africa. In January of that year, the school, which was later renamed Uganda Technical College, opened its doors to 14 day students who began studying Carpentry, Building and Mechanics.

The College soon began offering various other courses in Medical Care, Agriculture, Veterinary Sciences and Teacher Training. It expanded over the years to become a Center for Higher Education in East Africa in 1935. In 1937, the College started developing into an institution of higher education, offering post-school certificate courses.

Dr. Anthony Tibaingana

Dr. Tibaingana is a lecturer, researcher and manager, with a wealth of experience built in marketing and management for over 18 years. He has taught at the university as well as headed the department of Marketing and Management at Makerere University (2011-2016). Anthony’s research interest is in SME’s as well as refugees. Anthony has published and co-published more than 20 papers, supervised students at Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD. Anthony is an external examiner for more than five universities (University of Cape Town, University of Namibia, WITS University, Texila American University, Victoria University and Uganda Management Institute).

Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (PLUS), boasts six faculties with 34 departments and around 87 degree programmes in digital and analytical, natural and life sciences, social sciences and cultural studies, law and economics, and theology. Almost 18,000 students are enrolled in bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes here. Founded in 1622 by Prince Archbishop Paris Lodron and re-established in 1962, today the PLUS is the largest educational institution in Salzburg.

Created on 24 February 1957, the Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar was officially inaugurated on 9 December 1959. The university is oriented towards fundamental and applied research and is open to various fields of study. Its main missions are to provide training adapted to the needs of society; to develop research to foster the economic, social and cultural development of Senegal and Africa; to provide service to the community in order to participate in the management of environmental, socio-economic, national and continental political issues. It is located on the West coast, in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. It is composed of 48 institutions, 12 institutions with faculty rank, 22 university institutes, 14 faculty institutes, 73 departments, 7 doctoral schools and the Interstate School of Veterinary Sciences and Medicine which is scientifically dependent on the university.

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) is a public university that combines  quality teaching, intensive research and high job placement  with a firm social commitment, being a benchmark in these areas, as recognized by various global indicators. In the QS World University Rankings 2023 , the UAM is consolidated among the 220 best universities in the world.

Founded in 1303, Sapienza University of Rome is the oldest university in Rome and the largest in Europe. Its mission is to contribute to the development of a knowledge society through research, excellence, quality education and international cooperation.

• 700 years of history
• 122,000 students (2022-2023 academic year)*
• 3,576 professors
• 2,320 employees, technicians and librarians
• 1,260 administrative staff in university hospitals

Fiorenza Deriu

Sociologist (methodologist), Fiorenza Deriu is Associate professor at the Department of Statistical Sciences of Sapienza University of Rome. Since February 2022 she has been being Scientific director of the Jean Monnet Module "SPEAK-UP" SPreading women's Empowerment and AKtive citizenship values to enhance Union Policies combating gender discrimination and violence in a globalized world funded by the European Commission under the umbrella of the Erasmus+ Programme. She is currently consultant for the Italian Ministry of Defence within the Training Programme on Gender Advisor. From 2005 to 2015 she was Scientific responsible for the Observatory on women victims of violence and their children of the "Solidea" Institution of the Province of Rome. Her studies and research activities are characterized by interdisciplinarity and the constant attention to social policies. Over the years she has paid particular attention to gender studies and their interconnections with social issues of interest for policymaking. On this theme she has established international research and teaching relationships with colleagues from foreign universities in Uganda, Tanzania, Taiwan, Argentina and Mexico, Turkey and Kosovo.

Education and research at Stockholm University are divided into two subject areas: the human science and the science. Each area is governed by a board, headed by a deputy vice president. The board for human sciences has three faculties under it: the Faculty of Humanities, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Law. These are governed by faculty boards each led by a dean. The natural sciences area and the Faculty of Science are one in the same and have their own faculty board.

With a history of over 160 years and a constantly confirmed prestige, the University of Bucharest is a dynamic and inclusive academic milieu, student-centered and characterized by creativity, innovation and pragmatism. Gathering 19 faculties, with 95 undergraduate programs, 223 master’s programs, 8 didactic master’s programs, 23 doctoral schools in specific fields and a school for interdisciplinary doctoral studies, over 50 centers and 9 research units, the University of Bucharest is well-known as an institution of excellence in education and research that has made it a priority preparing its students for life and profession.

Innovative, interdisciplinary, international: These three words summarize what makes the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen special. Excellent research and teaching are Tübingen’s answer to the challenges of the future in a globalized world. We maintain exchanges with partners around the globe - both at institutions of higher education and at non-university research institutions. The University of Tübingen has:

• Some 28,000 students
• Over 200 study programs
• 7 faculties
• More than 500 professors
• More than 4,900 scientists and academics

The Université de Lausanne is a higher teaching and research institution composed of seven faculties with approximately 17,100 students and about 4,400 research, teaching and technical staff. Its research activities focus on three main themes: human and social sciences, life sciences and medicine, and environmental sciences.

The University of Glasgow is a major research-led university operating in an international context with the following fundamental aims:

* to provide education through the development of learning in a research environment

* to undertake fundamental, strategic and applied research

* to make a major contribution to local, regional, national and international communities through widening access and through working in partnership to support economic regeneration

* to sustain and add value to Scottish culture, to the natural environment and to the national economy.

University Eduardo Mondlane is the oldest and biggest public institution of higher education in Mozambique, located in Maputo. This university is a comprehensive and multidisciplinary institution based on training, research and extension services. Established on 21 August 1962, UEM is ranked among Africa’s top 35 universities (Aicu 2021). Its vision is to be a university of national, regional and world reference in the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge and extension, underscoring research as a foundation to teaching and learning processes and extension. 

University of Cape Coast is an equal opportunity university, uniquely placed to provide quality education through the provision of comprehensive, liberal and professional programmes that challenge learners to be creative, innovative and morally responsible citizens. Through distance learning, it also extends expertise and facilities to train professionals for the education enterprise and business by employing modern technologies. The University constantly seeks alternative ways to respond to challenging needs.

Established in 1955, Université de Lubumbashi is a non-profit public higher-education institution located in Haut-Katanga. The university offers courses and programs leading to officially recognized higher education degrees such as bachelor degrees in several areas of study. This 65 years old Congolese higher-education institution has a selective admission policy based on entrance examinations.

Egerton University is the oldest institution of higher learning in Kenya. It was founded as a Farm School in 1939 by Lord Maurice Egerton of Tatton, a British national settled in Kenya in the 1920s. In 1950, the School was upgraded to an Agricultural College offering diploma programmes. In 1986, Egerton Agricultural College was gazetted as a constituent college of the University of Nairobi. The following year, 1987, marked the establishment of Egerton University through an Act of Parliament. Egerton University has two campuses, Main Campus in Njoro and Nakuru Town Campus College and ten faculties.
 

Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo is the oldest and largest university in Burkina Faso. Joseph KI-ZERBO University was established as a Public Scientific, Cultural and Technical Institution (EPSCT) by Decree N°2000-469/PRES/PM/MESSRS of October 6, 2000. In recent years, Joseph KI-ZERBO University has been ranked among the top universities in French-speaking Africa. It occupies a prime position on the international stage in terms of scientific output, the contribution of its teaching and research staff to debates, and their presence and participation in scientific bodies (learned societies, international research projects and programs, colloquia and seminars), etc.