09:30 – 10:30 CEST, 19 September 2024 ‐ 1 hour
Panel session
Building strong and sustainable university partnerships, bilaterally and multilaterally, is not an easy task. Partnership development needs a comprehensive approach, involving students and academic and administrative staff to address teaching and learning; research and innovation; and governance and administration. Is community building the key to successful partnerships? How can we foster this? In this session, three experts will engage in dialogue about good practices and challenges.TO Tecnologico De Monterrey - ITESM, Mexico
Mirko Varano serves since June 2024 as Vice Rector for International Affairs at Tecnologico De Monterrey - ITESM, Mexico. Mirko has been active in the field of internationalisation of higher education for the past 30 years. He covered different positions of responsibility at the Turin Technical University between 1992–2008 in the field of international relations. He was appointed as CLUSTER network coordinator from 2008 to 2010. He was previously Senior Advisor for International Projects at KTH Royal Institute of Technology with a focus on Erasmus+, Joint Programmes, and university networks. At the same institution he was appointed a member of the international strategy group from 2013 to 2016, and Key Liaison Officer for the Unite! European University Alliance since November 2019. Mirko holds a Master’s degree in Political Science with a specialisation in International Relations and European Studies from the University of Turin, Italy. Mirko was elected Chair of the Expert Community European Collaborative Programmes for the 2022–2024 term, and has recently been appointed as member of the Thematic Committee “Partnerships” Steering Committee. Mirko has an extensive competence in the development and implementation of international Dual Degrees and Joint Programmes.Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), Austria
Sabine Prem is the Director of the International Office - Welcome Center at Graz University of Technology. She has served in various positions and looks back on over 30 year of experience in international relations. In the past ten years she has led several strategic internationalisation projects at the University and at the same time she has been actively involved in the development of an internationalisation strategy on the national level. Sabine Prem is Key Liaison Officer in Unite!, the University Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering, for TU Graz. She has served in several professional committees at the University and in Austria over the years. Her areas of specialisation are (strategic) cooperations, joint programmes and joint/double degrees. For several years she has carried out intercultural competence trainings for staff.Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt), Germany
Dr. Jana Freihöfer is an experienced professional with a diverse background in international affairs, which is reflected in various leadership positions and activities in academia and diplomacy. She has been Dean of International Affairs at Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, since 2022. Previously, she led and developed the international relations unit at TU Darmstadt for eight years. As Secretary General of the CLUSTER network from 2018 to 2020, she coordinated the inauguration of the European university alliance Unite! (University Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering), which is coordinated by TU Darmstadt. Jana is Key Liaison Officer of TU Darmstadt in Unite!