EWORA 2026 Conference, 10 June 2026

Katarína Slobodová Nováková

Rector, Univerzita sv. Cyrila a Metoda v Trnave

Prof. Katarína Slobodová Nováková is a Professor of Ethnology and Cultural Antropologyand an experienced academic leader with more than two decades of engagement in higher
education, research and international cooperation. As Rector of the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava (2022–2026), she has led a comprehensive public university through a period of institutional transformation, strengthening research capacity, international partnerships and the societal role of universities. She has overseen the strategic development of an institution with approximately 7,000 students and 550 employees, including the management of an annual budget of approximately €22 million and the successful acquisition of significant European funding. Her leadership has been characterised by a strong commitment to open, responsible and internationally connected universities. She has developed more than 100 international partnerships across Europe, Africa and North America and actively contributed to European academic cooperation, including participation in Horizon 2020 projects and coordination of Erasmus+ initiatives focused on gender equality and institutional development. In addition to her executive leadership, she has extensive experience in academic governance and advisory roles. She is a member of the Cultural Commission at the Office for Slovaks Living Abroad and serves on the Scientific Councils of five universities. Through these roles, she contributes to policy discussions in higher education, cultural heritage and international academic cooperation. Her academic work focuses on cultural heritage, minority communities and identity processes, linking research with broader societal and policy challenges. This perspective informs her engagement in national and international debates on university governance, academic freedom and the role of higher education institutions in democratic societies. As a member of the European Women Rectors Association, she contributes to a network of academic leaders committed to strengthening leadership, equality and the core values of European higher education. Her experience from the Slovak higher education system—characterised by dynamic policy environments, evolving funding frameworks and frequent legislative change—provides a distinctive and valuable perspective on the relationship between academic freedom, institutional autonomy and governance stability.

Oliver Günther

President, University of Potsdam

Professor Oliver Günther has been President of the University of Potsdam since 2012. From 2020 to 2023 he has also served as Vice President for Governance and Academic Affairs of the German Rectors' Conference. From 1993 to 2011 he was Professor of Information Systems at Humboldt University in Berlin, since 2005 also Dean of the Faculty of Economics. Professor Günther has also taught at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, ESMT Paris, the University of Cape Town, and at FAW Ulm. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from UC Berkeley (1985/87) and a Diploma in Industrial Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe (1984). His research is focusing on IT strategy, IT efficiency, data protection, and information security.

Vanessa Castejon

Board Member, AFDESRI

Vanessa Castejon is an Associate Professor at Sorbonne Paris Nord University and a researcher within the Pléiade interdisciplinary team. She holds a PhD in Anglophone Studies from Sorbonne Nouvelle University and was honored as a Chevalier des Palmes Académiques in 2025. Vanessa served for four years as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Sorbonne Paris Nord University, where she
contributed to strategic leadership and institutional governance. She has also held key academic roles, including Deputy Director of the Pléiade research team and member of the Conseil National des Universités.

Vanessa has been an active member of AFDESRI (Association of Women Leaders in Higher Education and Research) since 2022 and joined its Board of Directors in 2024. She has participated in the
organization of AFDESRI’s training programs and the organization of an international seminar on Women in leadership in Higher Education and Research, in January 2026.
She is commited to fostering equity in higher education, both in France and across Europe.

Malin Ideland

Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Doctoral Education, Malmö University

Malin Ideland is Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Malmö University, where she leads university-wide strategic work in research and doctoral education. Her work focuses on e.g. research quality, funding, communication, academic freedom, and the role of universities in society. She is also Professor of Educational Sciences with a specialization in Ethnology. Her research spans science and technology studies and educational sciences, with recent work examining how commercial actors shape compulsory education.

Annick Castiaux

Rector, University of Namur

Initially a researcher in computational physics, Annick Castiaux moved to the private sector in 1998. As an information management consultant at I.R.I.S. SA, she gained insight into the workings of both public and private organisations. After a few years, she began to miss the world of research. She was fortunate to be appointed as a professor in the Management Department at UNamur, where she developed research and teaching in innovation management. Since 2002, she has been teaching technology and innovation management as well as strategy and leadership, increasingly integrating a critical perspective on societal responsibility and sustainable development. In 2015, together with a few colleagues, she founded the Creativity and Innovation Research Center. This research focuses on studying innovation ecosystems and innovation managerial practices. Annick Castiaux has always been committed to service missions within the university, culminating in her election as rector in 2021. The four years of her first mandate have provided her with a deeper understanding of the university and the higher education sector, knowledge that she uses now in a second term that began in September 2025.

Silja Bára R. Ómarsdóttir

Rector, University of Iceland

Professor Silja Bára R. Ómarsdóttir was elected Rector of the University of Iceland and President of the University Council in 2025. She also chairs the Icelandic Rectors’ Conference. Prior to taking office, she was a professor of International Affairs in the Faculty of Political Science. She has previously served on the University Council of the University of Iceland from 2022-2025. Professor Ómarsdóttir earned her PhD from University College Cork in Ireland. Her research focuses on Iceland’s foreign and national security policy, feminist international relations, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Fadime Üney Yüksektepe

Rector, Istanbul Kültür University 

Prof. Dr. Fadime Üney Yüksektepe was born in Salihli, Manisa, in 1980. After graduating from Sekine Evren Anatolian High School, she completed her undergraduate education at Istanbul Technical University, Department of Chemical Engineering, in 2003, ranking first in the department and faculty. She received her master's degree in Industrial Engineering and her doctorate in Business Management and Industrial Engineering from Koç University in 2005 and 2009.

She worked as a research assistant at Koç University between 2003 and 2009 and received a TÜBİTAK postgraduate education scholarship. After her doctoral graduation, she started her Assistant Professor position at Istanbul Kültür University Department of Industrial Engineering in 2009, received the title of associate professor in 2014 and the title of professor in 2020. She served as Deputy Head of the Department of Industrial Engineering at Istanbul Kültür University between 2016-2018, Head of the Department of Industrial Engineering between 2018-2022, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering between 2021-2023, and Vice Rector in 2022.

Between 2009 and 2023, she served as Senate Member, University Board Member, Faculty Board Member, Ethics Committee Vice President, Quality Commission Member, Deputy Quality Coordinator and Vice President of the Quality Unit at Istanbul Kültür University.

She has many published articles, many papers presented at national and international congresses, and book chapters. She worked as a consultant in industrial projects and as an evaluator for KOSGEB and TÜBİTAK. On November 30, 2023, she received the Alumni Inspiring the Future award from Koç University in the academy category.

She was appointed as principal on 15 September 2023, to the position of rector, which she started to serve as deputy on 01 February 2023.

Carlien Scheele

Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) 

Carlien Scheele is the Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in Vilnius, Lithuania. EIGE is the EU’s knowledge centre on Gender Equality. By providing reliable and policy-oriented data and information, it supports the EU and its Member States to strengthen the promotion of gender equality.

At EIGE’s helm since February 2020, Ms Scheele oversees the Agency’s strategic programmes of activities and budgets. She aims to cement EIGE’s position as the EU’s knowledge centre on gender equality and deepen collaboration within and beyond Europe.

Before taking up her post at EIGE, Ms Scheele worked as a Senior Gender Equality Adviser/Senior Human Resources Adviser in the Council of Europe, seconded from the Dutch government.

Previously, she worked as the Director for Gender and LGBT Equality for the Dutch government, where she coordinated the national gender and LGBT equality policies. 

Ulrike Beisiegel

Former President, University of Göttingen

Ulrike Beisiegel was president of the University of Göttingen 2011-12019 and has been Professor of Biochemistry (1996-2010) and Director of the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2001-2010 at the University Hospital in Hamburg Eppendorf. 2001-2005 she was Vice Dean Research at the Medical Faculty.

1984 to 1996 she was scientist in the Clinic of Internal Medicine at the University Hospital in Hamburg. After her dissertation in Biochemistry and Genetics at the University of Marburg, she worked for a postdoctoral fellowship in Dallas 1980-1982, in the laboratory from Joe Goldstein and Michael Brown at the University of Texas Health Science Center. Her scientific work in medical research was on lipid metabolism and cardio-vascular disease.

In the German academic system, she has been member of the Review Panel for Biology, Chemistry and Physic of the German Research Foundation (DFG) 2000-2008 and Spokesperson for the Ombuds Commission of the DFG 2005-2010. 2006-2010 she was Member of the German Science Council, where she chaired the Scientific Commission from 2008-2010.  

In non-university research institutions, she served 2009-2017 as Senator of the Leibniz Association and 2011-2023 as Senator of the Max-Planck-Society. In the Helmholtz Association she has been Member of the Foundation Council of DESY in Hamburg (2013-2018) and of the supervisory board of the Research Center Juelich 2013-2023. Since 2020 she is Head of the Ethics Committee of DESY.

In the university system she was member of the University Council of the University of Graz 2018-2022, the University of Frankfurt (2020-2023) and the University of Passau since 2020.

International she was Chair of the European Atherosclerosis Society 2002-2005 and received honorary doctor awards 1996 from the Medical Faculty of Umea (Sweden) and 2015 from the University of Edinburgh (GB).

Sondan D. Feyiz

Former Rector, Kadir Has University

Prof. Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz graduated from the Physics Department of Istanbul University’s Faculty of Sciences in 1989. She completed her Master’s in Physics at the University of Wisconsin (1992), and her Ph.D. at the Physics department of Kansas State University (1999). During her doctoral studies, Feyiz served as a teaching assistant at Kansas State University from 1994 to 1997, as a research assistant at the same university from 1997 to 1999, and as a postdoctoral researcher during 1999 and 2000.  From 2000, she continued her academic career as an assistant professor at Istanbul Technical University, becoming an associate professor there in 2006, and in 2011 she became a full professor at Sabancı University. Between 2010 and 2018, she served as the Vice Rector of Sabancı University responsible for Education, International Relations, Individual and Academic Support and Summer Schools.  She was then appointed as the Rector of Kadir Has University in 2018.

Durukanoğlu Feyiz has held numerous positions such as Member of the Senate Accreditation Committee of Istanbul Technical University (2002-2006); Visiting Scientist at Kansas State University (Summer 2002); Associate Editor in Chief of Istanbul Technical University Bulletin (2002-2007); Visiting Assoc. Prof. of Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (2007-2009); Senior Researcher at Feza Gürsey Institute (2007-2009) and, co-translator of Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by David J. Griffiths (2010). She served as an Executive Board Member of the Nanotechnology Research and Application Center at Sabancı University (2014-2016), as the Chair of the Quality Assurance and Strategy Committee of Sabancı University (2015-2018).

Durukanoğlu Feyiz, who was the only female in 1991 to receive the Ministry of Education scholarship to study abroad in the field of physics (1991-1995), was also a recipient of the TUBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) Research Fellow Support Funding (BİDEP scholarship) and

Hanne Leth Andersen

Former Rector, Roskilde University

Hanne Leth Andersen is Professor at Roskilde University, where she served as Rector from 2014to 2026, and as prorector responsible for education from 2010 to 2014. She holds a Master of Arts
in Romance Philology, a PhD in French Language (UCPH) and has served as professor, director of studies, vice-dean and centre director at Aarhus University, director and professor at CBS
Learning Lab.

Hanne has chaired the educational committee of the Danish Rectors’ Conference, and she is a frequent member of Danish ministry councils, such as in the committee for Quality in Education or
a new Danish grading scale, and she headed the committee for a Danish National Language Strategy for the Danish Minister of Education. She serves international committees such as the International Advisory Board for the Research Council of Norway and the expert evaluation panel for The Academy of Finland for Competitive funding to strengthen universities’ research profiles.

She is President of the international expert committee for the French Government’s investment program on University Program Development, Nouveaux Cursus à l’Université and member of the
jury of the French Excellences Initiative. She has been expert for the Norwegian Quality Assurance Agency, NOKUT, and for the European University Association, EUA, and member of the Danish
Accreditation Council.

Hanne is the author of more than 130 scientific articles and several monographs, with research in the fields of education, university development, quality assurance and development, evaluation
and assessment, and language teaching. She frequently participates in debates and public roundtables. In 2021, she received the French Legion of Honor, and in 2015 the title of Commander of the Order of Academic Palms. She is Knight of the Danish Dannebrog Order. In 2005, Aarhus University Awarded her its Price for Excellent and Innovative Teaching.

Inga Žalėnienė

Rector, Mykolas Romeris University

Inga Žalėnienė is an alumna of Mykolas Romeris University (MRU), Vilnius (Lithuania), where she finished her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Law. After graduation she joined the Department of Law at Lithuanian Savings Bank and worked as legal adviser. In parallel, she lectured the discipline of Family Law at Mykolas Romeris University and started her academic career as university lecturer at MRU. Inga Žalėnienė defended her doctoral thesis "Representation in Civil Procedure (Theoretical and Practical Aspects)" and obtained her PhD in Law, in 2006. She was appointed as Vice-Dean of Law Faculty of Mykolas Romeris University in 2009 and was responsible for the development of education policy, formation and coordination of research groups, organization of scientific project activities, planning and accounting of scientific results. Inga Žalėnienė was appointed as Vice-Rector for Research and International Relations in 2012, then in 2017 as Vice-Rector for Education and Research and since March 2019, she holds the position of Rector of Mykolas Romeris University – was re-elected for a second 5 year term in 2024. In 2022, Prof. Inga Žalėnienė was awarded a honorary title of Dongseo University’s (Republic of Korea) Doctor Honoris Causa. Inga Žalėnienė is a Vice-President at the International Association of Universities (IAU) since 2023 and a member of European Women Rectors Association (EWORA) Board of Directors since 2021. In December 2025, after a year in the role of Vice-President, she was elected to serve as President of the Lithuanian University Rectors’ Conference.

Birgitt Riegraf

Former President, Paderborn University

Prof. Dr. Birgitt Riegraf, born 1961, studied political science, sociology, psychology and religious studies as well as the interdisciplinary supplementary course "Qualitative Methods in Social Sciences" at the Free University of Berlin. She did her doctorate in 1995 at the Free University of Berlin and completed her habilitation in 2004 at the Faculty of Sociology at Bielefeld University. After visiting professorships and interim professorships at the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Technical University Carolo-Wilhelmina in Braunschweig and the Georg-August University in Göttingen, she has been Professor of General Sociology at Paderborn University since 2009. She has been the President of Paderborn University from April 2018 to April 2025.

Research Priorities

Social, justice and state theories, inequality, work and organizational sociology, science and university research, theories and methodologies of women and gender studies

Current Functions, Shortlist:

From 2021, board member of EWORA (European Women Rectors Association)

Since 2021, member of the working group “Research-Oriented Equal Opportunities Standards” of the DFG

Since 2020, Member of the speaker group of the LRK NRW

Since 2020, member of the "Expert advisory committee for cooperation between Qingdao and Germany"

Since 2019, Shandong Province Ambassador of Friendship

Since 2019, Member of the advisory board of the Sino-German Eco Parc Qingdao

Since 2019, chairwoman of the University Alliance (UA) 11+ / German University Alliance

Since 2018, Member of the HRK's Permanent Commission for Organization and Governance

Since 2018, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Johannes Rau Research Association
 

Since 2018, Member of it's OWL's Cluster-board
 

Since 2018, Elected member of the board of the Digital University of NRW
 

Since 2018, board member of the OWL Employment Initiative
 

Since 2018, member of the board of the association "Economy and Science for OWL e.V."
 

Since 2018, President of the University of Paderborn
 

Since 2018, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Heinz Nixdorf Institute
 

Since 2015, board member of the Gender Center of the University of Paderborn
 

Since 2014, member of the executive board of the NRW Research College Light - Efficient - Mobile
 

Since 2010, member of the women's and gender research network in NRW

Current publications, Shortlist:

Riegraf, Birgit (in collaboration with Lena Weber) (2021): FEMEN’s transnational fight for women’s rights: multiple modernities, transnational spaces, and plural gender orders. In: Winkel, Heidemarie and Angelika Poferl (ed.): Multiple Gender Cultures, Sociology, and Plural Modernities, Routledge, 252 S.

Riegraf, Birgit (in collaboration with Beate Kortendiek and Katja Sabisch) (ed.) (2019): Handbuch zur Interdisziplinären Geschlechterforschung, Reihe Geschlecht und Gesellschaft Band 65, Grundlagenwerk mit 168 Artikeln, sowohl in Print-Version als auch Online, ISBN: 978-3-658-12500-4 (Print); 978-3-658-12500-4 (Online), 1566 S.

Riegraf, Birgit (in collaboration with Barbara Rendtorff and Claudia Mahs) (2019): Struktur und Dynamik – Un/Gleichzeitigkeiten im Geschlechterverhältnis, SpingerVS, 185 S.

Riegraf, Birgit (in collaboration with Martina Althoff, Magdalena Apel, Mechthild Bereswill and Julia Gruhlich) (2017): Feministische Methodologien und Methoden. Traditionen, Konzepte, Erörterungen. Lehrbuchreihe zur sozialwissenschaftlichen Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung der Sektion Frauenforschung in der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie Band 2, (2. erweiterte und aktualisierte Auflage) (1. Auflage 2001), Wiesbaden, 442 S.

Riegraf, Birgit (in collaboration with Romy Reimer) (2016): Geschlechtergerechte Care-Arrangements? Zur Neuverteilung von Pflegeaufgaben in Wohn-Pflege-Gemeinschaften, Reihe Arbeitsgesellschaft im Wandel, Weinheim/ Basel, 137 S.

Isabel Capeloa Gil

Rector, Universidade Católica Portuguesa

Isabel Capeloa Gil is the Rector of the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP) and President of the International Federation of Catholic Universities. She is a Full Professor of Culture Studies at the School of Human Sciences. Having grown up in China, she studied in Lisbon (U. Lisbon), Munich (Ludwig Maximilian University) and Chicago and holds a PhD in German Studies (UCP). Previously, she was Vice-Rector for Research and Internationalization (2012-2016) and the Dean of the School of Human Sciences (2005-2012) of the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP). Isabel Gil has been especially interested in researching issues of diversity and conflict and has structured her work around the exploration of the disciplinary boundaries between the arts and other disciplines.
 

She is a passionate advocate of international education and works consistently to develop international research networks, exploring the different ways in which the practice of the arts and humanities is pivotal to advance a more sustainable and intellectually robust global education agenda. Her research is currently published in Portuguese, English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. She is the author of over 182 publications, bridging cultural theory, interarts studies, visual culture, culture and conflict. Her latest books are Hazardous Future: Disaster, Representation and the Assessment of Risk (with Christoph Wulf, New York, 2015) and The Ballets Russes. Modern Times After Dhiaghilev (with PcPinto, Lisbon, 2018) . She was a founding member and is a senior researcher at the Research Centre for Communication and Culture (CECC), where she coordinates the research group Culture, Art and Conflict (CAC). As an international scholar, Prof. Gil has held numerous visiting professorships at prestigious universities such as LMU University, Munich, Hamburg University,Ca’Foscari University, Venice, the Houston School of Film at the National University ofIreland, PUC Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and USJ (Macao). She was a Visiting Fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg (Berlin) and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (U. Stanford). Amongst her honours are a Fulbright Fellowship, and DAAD, FLAD and Gulbenkian Scholarships.

 

Isabel Capeloa Gil has been a regular consultant for research foundations such as the Danish Research Council, FAPESP (Brazil), the FCT and FLAD in Portugal as well as the Luso-American Comission (Fulbright). She was an evaluator of the prestigious Excellence Initiative of the Germnan Federal Government and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and is Chair of the Humanities panel at the Danish Research Council.

Isabel Capeloa Gil is furthermore Honorary Fellow at the IGRS, School of Advanced Studies, University of London. In 2018, she became Chair of the Research Leadership Forum of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils. She is also a Member of the European Council of Foreign Relations, as well as a member of the Advisory Board of the Gulbenkian Foundation. Since 2016, she has been the President of the Board of the UCP Foundation.

Lucyna Wozniak

Vice Rector, Medical University of Lodz

Professor Lucyna Woźniak, PhD, DSc, graduated from the Technical University of Lodz. After PhD from the Polish Academy of Sciences and a post-doc in Kings College London, she got habilitation (DSc.) from The Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies Polish Academy of Sciences. Professor at the Medical University of Lodz (www.umed.pl) working in the field of medicinal chemistry and molecular biology. Research: diabetes in context of gestational diabetes (GDM) as an early predictor of T2M in women population, metabolomics, lipidomics. Vice Rector for Science and International Affairs, Head of Chair of Medicinal Biology & Department of Structural Biology at MUL, chairwoman of EIT HEALTH INNOSTARS (www.eithealth.eu/innostars) Supervisory Board, and Member of Supervisory Board of EIT HEALTH (www.eithealth.eu). Member of High Level Group on maximizing impact of EU Research and Innovation Programmes (Pascal Lamy Group), and Strategic Innovation Board of EIT HEALTH.

Gulsun Saglamer

Founding Honorary President, EWORA (2015-2023)

Prof. Dr. Gulsun Saglamer, Former Rector of Istanbul Technical University (1996-2004) is a professor of architecture at Istanbul Technical University. She graduated from Istanbul Technical University with a Master of Architecture degree in 1967 and received her PhD from the same university in 1973. She became Associate Professor in 1978, Full Professor in 1988 at ITU.  She taught Architectural Design, Computer Aided Architectural Design, Logic Model of Design, Architectural Design Methods and Theories at ITU since 1973 until she retired in 2012.

She carried out her post-doctoral studies at the Martin Centre, Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge, UK 1975-1976 and continued her studies at the Martin Centre for short periods in 1987 and 1989.  She was a member of the Scientific Committee of TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey) INTAG between 1990 and 1996. Prof Sağlamer was invited to Queen's University of Belfast as a Visiting Professor between 1993 and 1996 and was also invited to be an external examiner at the same university for four years between 1999 and 2003.  She is a member of the Editorial Boards of “Open House International”, “International Journal for Housing Science and Its Applications”, “ITU Journal AZ/ Architecture Design” (in Turkish). She has been on numerous architectural competition juries at national  level and also at international level such as the jury for the prestigious Daimler-Chrysler-UNESCO Mondialogo Engineering Prize 2005.

She was a Board Member of EUA (European University Association) (2005-2009) and a member of the Steering Committee of the EUA’s Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP) (2009-2013), a chair of evaluation teams in IEP evaluations since 2011 and a member of the Research Policy Working Group of EUA since its establishment in 2005 till 2017.  She has been an Executive Committee Member (2003-2021) of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) and the President of CMU (Community of Mediterranean Universities) (2012-2016). She was invited to the Marie Curie People Programme (EC) Advisory Group for five terms: 2006-2018 and has been the Chair of the Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions Advisory Group in Horizon 2020 (2013-2016). She was invited to the” Expert Working Group on The External Research Funding of Universities”, established by the EC (2007-2008). She was a member of the Steering Committee of the OECD/IMHE Quality Teaching Project (2009-2012).

She is a Member of the Board of Trustees of Kadir Has University (2006-2014)(2020-2024) and the President of the Council for Technology and Technoparks in Turkey (2006-2010). She is the Founder and a Board Member of ITU’s Technology Park and Incubation Centre, ARI Techno-City and a Board Member of ITU Development Foundation (2009-2021). She is the founder of ITU Development Foundation’s K12 Schools: Nursery (1998), Primary School (2001), High School (2006) to provide better work-life balance for ITU academic staff. She was the Chair of the Academic Council of these schools for 8 years (2000-2008)

Professional experience

Gulsun Saglamer is a registered architect at the Chamber of Architects of Turkey, Istanbul. She designed several important architectural projects and received awards at national and international levels such as First Prize in the Architectural Competition of the Aydin-Kusadasi Tourism Complex, Organized by the Ministry of Public Works, 1982; Best Buildings of the Year 2000 by Kolleksiyon, ‘Sedat Üründül Nursery’. Same project also received a prize from OECD PEB 2nd Compendium of Exemplary Educational Facilities, 2000.  She designed a five-star hotel building with 320 beds (Trabzon-Grand Zorlu), a housing group with 360 dwelling units (Trabzon-ATAŞEHİR), a research centre, and villas in different parts of Turkey.  She has served as jury member in many national architectural design competitions. She is the founder and president of “the Association for Architectural Education” (MIMED)(ArchED)(1997-2019) MİMED has been organizing very prestigious “Architectural Students Projects Competitions” since 2001 at National level.  She is the first female Vice-Rector (1992-1995) and the first female Rector (1996-2004) of Istanbul Technical University since its establishment in 1773.

Research interests and experience

Major research areas are Computer Aided Architectural Design (CAAD), Architectural Design Theories, Computer Applications in Housing, CAAD of Dwelling Units, Morphological Studies of House Forms, Housing for Low Income Groups,Immigration from Rural to Urban Areas, Squatter Settlements, Comparative Studies in Housing, Space Syntax in Housing, CAAD in Housing, Higher Education and Research Management, and Women Academics in Science and Engineering. She did her PhD in CAAD in 1973. She is the pioneer of the CAAD courses at undergraduate and graduate levels at ITU and supervised 11 PhD theses together with 25 master theses at ITU Graduate Schools.

She coordinated a Med Campus Project titled “Housing for Low Income Groups in Turkey” under the 4th Framework Programme in 1995 and established “The Housing Research Centre” at ITU in 1997. This centre has taken part in many research projects and has organised international meetings for international networks. This centre also designed a master degree programme for “Earthquake Resistant Housing”(2000- ).

Prof. Saglamer established a centre at Istanbul Technical University titled “Women Studies in Science Engineering and Technology“ in 2009 and served as the director of this centre 2009-2012. She organised the “European Women Rectors Conferences” at ITU in Istanbul four times (2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014). Prof.Saglamer also chaired the “European Women Rector Platform” (EWRP) that was established in 2010. She has led the ITU team in 5 of the EC funded (FP6 and FP7) projects on Women in STEM (2006-2017). In December, 2015 European Women Rectors Association (EWORA) has been established under the Belgian Law in Brussels and Prof. Saglamer is the founding Board member and the President of EWORA. She is re-elected as the President of EWORA for the second period of 2019-2023. She has been representing Turkey in ERAC Standing Working Group on Gender in Research and Innovation (Former Helsinki Group) since 2o18. She has been  an “External Assessor of Senior Academic Leadership Initiative 2020” of the Ireland Higher Education Authority.

Prof. Saglamer has a great interest in graduate programmes and under her leadership all the graduate programmes of ITU were restructured and new graduate programmes were created on “Advanced Technologies in Engineering” in 2000. The aim of these programmes was to train doctoral candidates for employment not only in academia but also in industry. This project was funded by the State Planning Organisation of Turkey and was successful in attracting funds from industry as well.

She has continued her work on graduate programmes after stepping down from her rectorship and established a research group on “Doctoral Education in Architecture”, and organised the first Conference on “Doctoral Education on Housing Studies” in 2008. After completing the pilot study at international level on “Doctoral Education in Architecture” she co-chaired the first international workshop on this subject at ITU in November 2011. She has established a research group on “Doctoral Education in Architecture and co-authored the book titled “Doctoral Education in Architecture” by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015.

She is also representing Turkey in the network titled “European Research in Architecture and Urbanism” and chaired the EURAU 2014 Conference on “Composite Cities” and Co-authored a book titled “Reinterpreting and Restructuring Composite Cities” (2016).

She has given over 90 keynote speeches and invited lectures on architecture and different aspects of higher education (such as research policy, doctoral education, quality assurance, quality enhancement, funding) at international meetings besides her keynotes on gender equality in HE&R, that has been her major research area since 2008. 

Other significant events and prizes

• Honoris Causa by
  • Carleton University, Canada (2001),
  • Universitatea de Nord Din Baia Mare University, Romania (2002),
  • Ovidius University of Constantza in Romania (2009),
  • Queens’ University Belfast (2018)
• American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honorary Fellowship (Hon FAIA) in 2006
• “Leonardo da Vinci Medal” by SEFI (Société Européenne Pour la Formation Ingénieurs - European Society for Engineering Education) in 2005-2006
• Founding Board Member, Global Relations Forum (2009-2017)
• Member of European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters since 2011
• Member of the Selection Committee for Fulbright Prize 2014
• Chair of the Selection Committee of the Vehbi Koç Educational Prize, 2015.

She has led the ITU team in 5 of the EC funded (FP6 and FP7) projects on Women in STEM (2006-2017)

1. UNICAFE–Survey of the University Career of Female Scientists at Life Sciences versus Technical Universities, funded by European Commission, 2006-2008

2. Meta Analysis – Meta-analysis of gender and science research, funded by European Commission, 2008-2010:

3. SHEMERA–Euro-Mediterranean research cooperation on gender and science: SHE Euro Mediterranean Research Area, funded by European Commission, 2011-2014

4. FESTA–Female Empowerment in Science and Technology Academia, funded by European Commission, 2012-2017 http://www.festa-europa.eu/

FESTA Resistance Handbook on Resistance to Gender Equality in Academi a (www.resge.eu)

Authors: Gülsün Sağlamer, Mine Tan, Hülya Çağlayan, Nina Almgren, Minna Salminen-Karlson,Liv       Baisner, Eva Sphia Myers, Gitte Toftgaard Jorgensen, Manuela Aye, sabine Bausch, Pat O’connor,          Clare O’Hagan, Ita Richardson,Mario Conci, Georgi Apostolov, Irina Topuzova

5. COST Gender STE, Science, Technology, Environment. genderSTE is a network of policy makers and experts committed to promoting fair representation of women and better integration of gender analysis in research and innovation http://www.cost.eu/about_cost/strategy/targeted_networks/genderste

Eva Åkesson

Former Vice Chancellor, Uppsala University, Sweden

Eva Åkesson is currently professor of chemical physics and senior advisor at Lund University, Sweden. Eva Åkesson served as vice-chancellor of Uppsala University, Sweden, during the years 2012-2020. From 2003 to 2008 she was vice rector at Lund University, with special responsibility for undergraduate education and the Bologna Process. From 2009 to 2011 she was Deputy Vice- Chancellor, with responsibility for first and second cycle studies, quality assurance and enhancement, and related internationalization issues. After undergraduate and doctoral studies at Umeå University 1989, and a postdoc at the University of Minnesota, USA she was selected in 1996 by the Swedish Research Council as senior researcher in photochemical reaction mechanisms and joined the staff of Lund University. Eva Åkesson has primarily pursued research in femtochemistry – a field that makes use of ultrafast spectroscopy to follow chemical reactions and dynamics on the timescale on which chemical bonds are formed and broken. She has studied isomerisations, dissociation reactions and electron transfers. Her research has also addressed energy conversion in artificial systems for solar cells. Eva Åkesson is a member of the board of Chalmers. She has served on numerous boards, including the board of CSN (the Central Board for Student Aid), Kristianstad University, the Swedish Institute, and Council of the University of Tartu, Estonia. She has served as titular member, secretary and deputy chair of the IUPAC Committee on Chemistry Education, and currently a member of the Scientific Committee. Eva Åkesson is former chair of the Matariki Network of Universities and the Southern African–Nordic Centre (SANORD), and vice-chair of the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities. She chaired the international expert panels for evaluating leadership and governance of education at Helsinki University in 2008, evaluation of Aalto School of Science in 2011 and the QQI institutional review of University College Dublin, Ireland in 2019 and chair of the audit team of the FINEEC evaluation of University of Eastern Finland 2022 and Arcada 2023. In 2015 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. In 2018 she was awarded H.M. The King’s Medal of the 12th size with the ribbon of the Order of the Seraphim for “exemplary work in Swedish higher education” and in 2019 she received the Skytte Medal of the University of Tartu in recognition of her contributions to international cooperation.

Kerstin Tham

Former Vice Chancellor, Malmö University

Kerstin Tham was vice-chancellor of Malmö University from 2015 to 2024. She previously served as Deputy Vice Chancellor at Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Stockholm. She has extensive experience from research, teaching and academic leadership positions within the field of health sciences.

Professor Tham is professor in occupational therapy (2009) and has a doctoral (phd) degree in Neurology (1998). Her research focuses on aspects of rehabilitation after stroke and the overall aim is to build knowledge, develop and evaluate personcentered health services for people with stroke and their families. Professor Tham has conducted internationally unique research identifying the lived experience of individuals with neuropsychological impairments after stroke, as unilateral neglect, by applying an occupational science perspective. The research has contributed to the development of new models, methods and strategies for rehabilitation after stroke. Professor Tham has extensive numbers of scientific publications and has served as supervisor of 15 doctoral students at Karolinska Institutet.

Professor Tham has led the strategic development of Malmö university which is the youngest university in Sweden. When the Swedish government decided on giving Malmö university the full research university status 2018, she has focused her work on strengthening the research and research education in interdisciplinary research centers and programs addressing complex societal challenges such as sustainable city development, migration and integration, life- and material sciences, internet of things and people and learning for change.

Malmö university has a strong global and societal engagement and has during the years built and extensive experience in widening participation in higher education. Collaboration with different societal stakeholders within public, private and the nonprofit sectors is very important for the further development of the university and professor Tham is therefore involved in several national, regional and local boards.

Pamela Gillies

Former Vice Chancellor, Glasgow Caledonian University

Pamela Gillies, CBE FRSE, is a Professor Emerita in Public Health and former Vice Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University where she held the role for 17 years. She currently Chairs the Board of The Circle, a charity founded by Annie Lennox to promote gender equality, women’s economic opportunities and to reduce gender -based violence globally. She also serves on the Research Committee of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s National Academy, on the Board of the National University of Science and Technology in Oman and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She is an elected member of the Academy of Social Sciences, Royal College of Physicians and Faculty of PublicHealth. In her career she has worked with the World Health Organisation on HIV/AIDS prevention; been a Harkness Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health; established with Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, the Grameen Caledonian School of Nursing in Dhaka as a social business; partnered the development of the African Leadership University and, as its President, created the first international degree awarding College for the Common Good in New York City. She has served on many Boards including the British Council and RFK UK Human Rights and, with a PhD in epidemiology, has written widely on social action for health and inequalities reduction.