Mervin Bakker

EAIE - European Association for International Education, Netherlands

Mervin Bakker has been working in international education for 25 years. He is currently the Executive Director of EAIE. Before joining the association, he was a Director of International Strategy & Relations at the University of Groningen, where he was responsible for the university’s international strategy and for the management of relations with strategic partners and networks globally. Before the experience, Mervin was Regional Director at Nuffic’s Netherlands Education Support Offices in South Africa and Indonesia. Mervin had worked at the University of Amsterdam as Manager International Programmes and as Head of Marketing & Communications for the Faculty of Economics and Business. He also worked for an education agent in Thailand and ran a student-related business in the Netherlands. Mervin holds an MSc in International Economics & Economic Geography from Utrecht University and an MBA in Higher Education Management from the Institute of Education in London. 

: mervinbakker

Sagar Bahadur

Acumen, India

The Executive Brief
Sagar Bahadur has close to two decades of experience in international education
across institutions, startups, and consulting. He established multiple Amity institutions across the globe, launched and built Gradstar Global as an education consulting venture, and has held senior roles at the University of Queensland and MDI Singapore.
What has remained constant across every role is the ability to move from strategy to execution, taking an idea, building a team around it, and bringing it to life. He now leads Asia growth and regional strategy at Acumen, working with institutions and governments
across high-growth markets. He has been recognised by the Philip Kotler Awards and
named in Business World's BW 40u40.
Scope of Influence
Global Campus Establishment — Led the establishment of multiple Amity institutions
internationally across Greenfield and Brownfield models, building the teams and
operational structures to make each one function and has worked in both directions,
supporting international institutions entering India as well.
Entrepreneurial Venture — Founded and built Gradstar Global from the ground up,
growing it into an education consulting business with a network of 50+ international
collaborators, building the team, the product, and the partnerships simultaneously.
Institutional Strategy — Worked with the University of Queensland to reimagine its
India strategy, translating market research into a clear, executable approach that has
since been referenced widely across the sector.
Growth & Partnerships at Acumen — As Executive Director, leads market
development and institutional partnerships across Asia, focused on building the
ecosystems, teams, and delivery infrastructure that allow partnerships to move from
conversation to outcome.
Team Building — Across every role and every geography, has consistently identified the
right people, built the right structures, and created teams that deliver in complex, fastmoving
markets.

: sagarbahadur

Filip Van Depoele

European Commission, Belgium

Filip van Depoele is an economist by training (University of Leuven, Belgium) and subsequently studied European Economic Integration (College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium) and International Relations (Johns Hopkins University, Bologna, Italy). He worked for a number of years in the private sector (banking) before joining the European Commission in 1997. Filip held several positions in the Directorate General for Employment and Social Affairs and the Directorate General for Competition before moving to the Directorate General in charge of Education, Youth, Sport and Culture. After having managed the Policy Coordination unit for 5 years, he is currently heading the International Cooperation unit.