Below are the ICER Biographies of the Conference and Programme Chairs, Key Note Speakers and Mini-Track Chairs.
Conference and Programme Chairs
Florinda Matos is a Professor of General Management at ISCTE Business School, ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon, and an associate research fellow at DINÂMIA’CET – IUL – Centre for Socioeconomic and Territorial Studies, where she leads several international projects, including the relevant CoVE Future Skills Factory. As the editor of several journals and books, she has authored numerous works on knowledge and intellectual capital management, resilience, sustainability, and digital transformation. She is a distinguished conference chair for numerous conferences in the fields of intellectual capital and knowledge management, as well as innovation. Additionally, she is a board member of the Institute of Public and Social Policies at Iscte, the founder and president of the ICAA – Intellectual Capital Association, and Portugal’s ambassador for The New Club of Paris.
Isabel Flores graduated in Economics and holds a PhD in Public Policy. Researcher at CIES-Iscte, Executive Director of the Institute of Public and Social Policies at Iscte, and guest lecturer in the Master's in Education at FSCH Universidade Nova de Lisboa and in the PhD in Public Policy at Iscte. Currently represents Portugal on the OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI). Her main research areas focus on education topics, particularly Evidence-Based Decision Making. Recently has worked on the characterization of the teacher profession and policy development to minimize the lack of teachers crisis.
Susana da Cruz Martins, PhD in Sociology. She is an associate professor at Iscte - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and a researcher at the Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology (CIES) in the Department of Political Science and Public Policy. She is co-coordinator of the Education and Science Research Group at CIES-Iscte. She is a member of the Inequalities Observatory and Director of the Doctorate in School Administration and Management Policies (at CIES-Iscte). She was awarded a post-doctoral scholarship by the Foundation for Science and Technology and a Gulbenkian Professorship by the F. C. Gulbenkian. She has coordinated and participated in national and international research projects. Of particular note is the national coordination (in Portugal) of the European project EUROSTUDENT - Social and Economic Conditions of Student Life In Europe (II, III, VI, and VII) and the national external evaluation of the Global Schools2030 Programme, implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation. She is the author of a number of national and international publications, mainly in the areas of education and higher education policies, comparative education systems, school performance and success, evaluation of public policies and social inequalities.
Key Note Speakers
João Costa is Director of the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, since January 2025. He served as Minister of Education of Portugal from 2022 to 2024. He integrated the Portuguese Government in 2015, serving as Secretary of State for Education until 2019 and as Deputy Minister of Education until 2022, when he was appointed Minister of Education. Chair of the Advisory Group of the OECD Global Forum “Future of Education and Skills 2030”, since 2024. Chair of the OECD Education Policy Committee, since January 2024. Chair of the Governing Board of “Teaching and Learning International Survey – TALIS”, and co-chair and member of the Advisory Board of the Global Forum “Future of Education and Skills 2030”, at OECD. Member of the UNESCO Steering Committee for SDG4, from 2022 until 2024. Full Professor of Linguistics at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, he holds a PhD in Linguistics (1998), from Leiden University and was a visiting scholar at MIT in 1996. Dean of Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa until November 2015, and Chair of the Scientific Council for Social Sciences and Humanities from the Portuguese Research Council (FCT), until November 2015. He was a Member of the Scientific Council of the National Reading Plan, of the National Commission of the International Institute for Portuguese Language, and of the Advisory Board of Camões Institute. President of the Portuguese Linguistics Society (2006-2008). Invited professor at universities in Brazil, Macao, Spain, The Netherlands and Italy. He dedicates his research activity to the domains of theoretical syntax, language acquisition and development, and educational linguistics.
Dr. Coetzer is a senior higher education manager with over 25 years of experience in higher education. Focusing on instructional design and programme management, delivery and assessment practices, and academic and quality assurance management in the ever-changing landscape of higher education. He also worked as Project Coordinator in Strategic Crisis Management Training for the Swiss Federal Presidency in Bern from 2010 - 2015. Jon-Hans has also worked as senior delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) responsible for training the armed forces in the Law of War and the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols, during 1995 - 2002, in more than fifteen countries at war. He currently serves as Team Leader for the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), including establishing collaborative partnerships with institutions of higher education and universities focusing on Inclusive Pedagogy, Business, Conflict, Peace and Sustainable Development Studies. Jon-Hans’ research interests focus on the cross-cultural challenge of framing attuned leadership in the international classroom for positive change in higher education for sustainable development in the 21st century, including developing transformational learning for delivering results within the UN 2030 Agenda-framework through advocating for more inclusive pedagogical practices. He continues to publish academic papers and essays, including participating in conferences. Jon-Hans led the planning of UNITAR’s First International Research Conference hosted at the UN Bonn Campus in November 2023 focusing on the Climate Security: Peace and Security Consequences of Climate Change.
Mini Track Chairs
Dr Adrian A. Adascalitei is Professor at Technical ”Gh. Asachi” University, Iasi, Romania. His specialist area is Blended STEM Teaching and Learning. He is a certified student teachers’ trainer, reviewer in international journals and conference proceedings and member of scientific associations. He has authored and co-authored various papers in International and European conferences and journals. His research focuses on blended learning and use of virtual laboratories in STEM Education.
Dr Ockert R. Pretorius is a lecturer at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His research interests include regional policy and economic resilience, and he has an industry background in development economics.