QS Higher Ed Summit: Americas 2024

Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona, was born in the city of Santo Domingo on July 12, 1967, married to Raquel Arbaje Soni, and is the father of three daughters, Esther Patricia, Graciela Lucía and Adriana Margarita. He is the son of businessman and political leader José Rafael Abinader Wassaf, and Mrs. Rosa Sula Corona Caba,

He studied high school at Colegio Loyola, obtained a degree in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo. He completed postgraduate studies in Project Management at the Arthur D. Little Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He also studied Corporate Finance and Financial Engineering at Harvard University and Advanced Management at Darmouth College in New Hampshire. Elected vice president of the Dominican Revolutionary Party at the 2005 National Convention.

He is currently Executive President of the ABICOR Group, which has developed and operated important tourism projects in the country. This family group directed the business project of what is today the company Cementos Santo Domingo, of which he is Vice President He has been president of the Association of Hotels of Sosúa and Cabarete and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants (ASONAHORES), Member of the Board of Directors of the Fundación Universitaria O&M

Recognized by the State Congress of Rhode Island, United States, for his career in the public, educational and business fields. He also received recognition from the Mayor of Boston and the Massachusetts State Senate for his contributions to higher education, civic engagement, and community service.

He was a candidate for the vice presidency of the Republic for the Dominican Revolutionary Party, in the 2012 presidential elections. Luis Abinader was elected presidential candidate at the PRM convention held on April 26, 2015.

His candidacy is chosen with more than 70% of the votes assuming a victory recognized from the first bulletin by the rest of the applicants. He worked to achieve a presidential project that unified all the opposition and the majority of society with a view to the May 2016 elections.

Despite participating in very adverse conditions, with a party that barely had a year and a half of existence and competing with a president who had all the resources of the State in his favor, Abinader obtained more than 35% of the votes in the elections of May 15, 2016, leaving the PRM as the second political force in the Dominican Republic.

For 2019 he is elected again as a candidate for the presidency in the internal convention of his party, becoming the President Elect of the Dominican Republic in the presidential elections of July 5, 2020, for the period 2020-2024.

Mauro Alejo Guevara is the Director of International Managment of the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs of the Buenos Aires City Government. He is also the co-creator of Study Buenos Aires: the Buenos Aires City Government Policy for international education.

He has been working for over 7 years with the local universities in other both to promote Buenos Aires as an educational hub and improve international students’ experience in the city.

He has a degree in Political Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and did his master’s in Regional Integration (UBA) where he specialized in international education as a tool for regional integration in South America.

Carlos Ortega Maldonado is the first rector and founder of the Espiritu Santo University (UEES) and currently serves as its Chancellor. UEES is a 5-star university in the QS Stars program and ranked #1 in Ecuador by THE. In 1994 he founded UEES as a private university, since its inception the university has set the standard for higher education in Ecuador, managing to occupy the top positions in international rankings. It is renowned for its educational programs, particularly in the areas of medicine, business, economics, and law. The academic offer includes graduate and postgraduate programs across various fields of study, postgraduate courses in medicine and dentistry, and doctoral programs (PhD) in Business and Education.

Since the onset of the pandemic in Ecuador, Carlos devised ways in which the university could contribute to the country’s response. He took the initiative to establish the UEESCLINIC and UEESBIOLAB, a university teaching clinic and a biomolecular laboratory, both dedicated to providing essential care for patients requiring Covid-19 testing, as well as those who lacked access to intensive care beds in the local hospital facilities. Furthermore, he is currently leading the development of a groundbreaking project—a new University Teaching Hospital with a capacity of 150 beds.

Carlos Ortega Maldonado comes from a line of distinguished Ecuadorian educators, each leaving an indelible mark in the academic realm. His great-grandfather established Guayaquil’s first high school. His grandfather served as the rector of the University of Guayaquil, the largest university in Ecuador, on three occasions. Additionally, his uncle founded the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil, where Carlos completed his professional studies.

He is a lawyer and has fourth-level studies in Strategic Management, Finance, and Communication, and obtained a PhD in Education. In recognition of his contributions to academia, he was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by Pacific University in Oregon. Moreover, the national government of Ecuador bestowed upon him the Medal for Merit in the Rank of Commander. He was the governor of the province of Guayas, president of the Transit Commission, president of the Legal Commission of the National Council of Universities of Ecuador, and vice-president of the Assembly of the Ecuadorian University System.

In addition to his duties as UEES Chancellor, he is the Honorary Consul of Japan, and a member of the National Board of Directors of the Society for the Fight Against Cancer (SOLCA).

Aída Mencía-Ripley, Ph.D., is the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation and the Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Intersectional Gender Studies in Education and Psychology at UNIBE. Dr. Mencía-Ripley is a graduate of St. John´s University (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.), and The New School for Social Research (M.A.), both in the city of New York.

While at St. John´s University, she was Doctoral Research Fellow at the Social Stress and Health Research Unit, a research unit that carried out research funded by the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health. She was also Teaching Fellow, where she taught the research methods in psychology laboratory.

Her clinical training was conducted at the St. John’s University Center for Psychological Services and Clinical Studies, Queens Hospital Center and Roberto Clemente Center, the latter of which are part of NYC Health & Hospitals. Prior to her doctoral training, Dr. Mencía-Ripley worked for supported housing and welfare to work programs that focused on social functioning of people with disabilities and with chronic mental health diagnoses.

Upon returning to the Dominican Republic in 2007, she joins UNIBE´s Department of Psychology where in 2009 she begins her research projects. Since 2009, she has been research coordinator, director, and dean of research. Under her leadership, UNIBE began building its research infrastructure along with the creation of UNIBE´s research policies and research programs.

From 2013-2017, she was UNESCO Chairholder in Inclusive Education for People with Disabilities and Special Education Needs and she also represents UNIBE for the UNITwin Network on Gender, Media, and ICT. She also represents UNIBE at CINDA and ADRU´s research networks. Her academic work has been recognized by the Association of Hispanic Mental Health Professionals.

She has won several awards for her work including the Enerio Rodríguez Arias Prize from  FUNDEPSIC and the Interamerican Psychological Society´s Salazar Prize for best publication. In 2022, she received a special award from the Dominican Republic´s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for her contribution to science in the Dominican Republic and abroad.

Since 2018 she is a member of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology´s researcher accreditation system, holding the highest level of accreditation.

Her work has been published in several international journals such as Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Revista Interamericana de Psicología, Frontiers, among others. She has presented

Jeff Maggioncalda joined Coursera as CEO in June 2017 and since then helped the company grow to over 100 million learners and 7,000+ institutions, served by high-quality learning content from 300+ of the world’s top universities and industry educators. He previously served for 18 years as the founding CEO at Financial Engines Inc, a company co-founded by economist and Nobel Prize winner William Sharpe. Financial Engines grew rapidly under Jeff’s leadership, providing high-quality online investment advice that has helped millions of people save and prepare for retirement. Jeff has also worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company and Cornerstone Research, and serves as a director of SVB Financial Group. He holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and English from Stanford University. In his free time, Jeff is a lifelong learner and proud dad, and enjoys studying music theory and spending time with his wife and three daughters.

Antonio Alonso graduated in Physics from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1988 and later obtained an Executive MBA from the European School of Business. He began his professional career in the field of innovation within the aerospace sector and currently has more than 30 years of experience in the higher education sector. He is the president of the Spanish Association of Business Schools and Postgraduate Centers, of which he was one of the founding partners. He is currently also vice president of EUPHE (European Federation of Private Higher Education)

Bachelor’s Degree in Communication, with concentration in International Journalism, graduated Magna Cum Laude (“With the highest honors”). Diploma in Curriculum Management by Competencies, Diploma in Educational Management, Master’s Degree in Educational Management and Leadership. Doctor of Philosophy. President of the Latin American Association of University Public Relations Careers (ALACAURP) from 6 years. Experience in university teaching and educational management for twenty years. She is a full-time professor at ECOTEC University, where she has served as Coordinator, Vicedean and Dean of the Faculty of Marketing and Communication. Subsequently, she was Academic Vice Principal and is currently Principal of the institution.

Harold Castilla is a Eudist priest who served as lecturer and dean at UNIMINUTO before becoming its academic vice-rector and president. He studied philosophy at the Juan XXIII Major Seminary and Santo Tomas University, and theology at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He is a specialist in social ethics and the social doctrine of the Church, having studied at the Gregorian University in Rome.

F. Harold holds a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University in the US. He has been trained in Senior Management and participated in the President’s program at the Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia).

Father Harold is also a member of some boards of directors in which they stand out. UNIVERSIA, Connect Bogotá, ASCUN, APICE, Red Mutis, among others.

PRESENT POSITIONS

Rector. Universidad del Caribe (UNICARIBE). Since February 2023.

Emeritus Professor in Nuclear Engineering at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)

President of the Spanish Nuclear Society (SNE). Since March 2023.

Member of the Expert Committee of the Spanish Nuclear Regulatory Commission (2020-2024)

President of Madrid Industrial Engineering Association. Since November 2022.

PAST POSITIONS

Dean of College of Industrial Engineering at UPM (April 2014 – April 2018)

Vice-Rector for Academic Degrees and Doctorate at UPM (2012-2014)

Vice–Rector for Academic Management and Professors at UPM (2004-2012)

President of the European Nuclear Society (ENS) (January 2020 – December 2021)

Vice-President of ENEN (2009- 2012)

Member of the Scientific Technical Committee of Euratom (2014- 2018)

Expert Member of the International Assessment of the Discipline of Nuclear Science and Technology. Harbin Engineering University (R.P. of China). (July 2019)

INVITED PROFESSOR

Visiting and invited professor in more than 20 Universities and Research Centers as:

Harbin Engineering University (R.P. China), 2020

University of Florida (USA). (June- August 1992)

University of Nevada. Reno (USA). (September 2000)

Norhwersten Polytechnical University (NPU), Xi´an (China). (July 2018)

Polytechnical University of Saint Petersburg (Rusia). (July 2018 and July 2019)

Instituto Balseiro (Argentina) (September-November 2019)

Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana (Chile) (December 2019)

Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) (from January to March 2020)

Tec Monterrey (Mexico) (October 2015)

Instituto Politécnico Nacional (México) (October 2015)

Universidad Autónoma (México) (March 2017)

Purdue University (USA)  (December 2016)

Tongi University (China) (December 2017)

Beihang University (China) (December 2017) (October 2018)

Xi´an Jiaotong (China) (October 2018) (April 2019)

Harbin Engineering University (April 2019)

OCDE-NEA Data Bank. Paris (September-November 1981)

Institute Lebedev. Academy of Sciences URSS, Russia. (December 1985)

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. (September 1985)

Ispra Research Centre (Euratom). Italy. (November 1986)

Los Alamos National Laboratory, EEUU. (September 1987, November 1993)

Livermore National Laboratory. EEUU. (November 1989, October 1992)

INP kfk Karlsruhe. Germany. (July-August 1995)

CEA Limeil Valenton. France. (May 1996, May 1997, April 1998)

PUBLISHED PAPERS & SPEAKER AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

Over more than 150 published papers in journals and about 200 papers at International Conferences.

Es Rector del Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), desde enero de 2021, tras finalizar dos periodos rectorales de 2013 a 2020 como rector de la universidad pedagógica dominicana, el Instituto Superior de Formación Docente Salomé Ureña (ISFODOSU).

Es egresado de State University of New York at Albany donde obtuvo un Doctorado en Estudios Organizacionales y Gerenciales de su Escuela de Negocios. Sus estudios de grado los hizo en la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), donde obtuvo el título de licenciado en Psicología. También realizó estudios de Postgrado en Planificación y Administración de la Educación Superior en el Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC).

En el INTEC fue vicerrector de Investigación y Vinculación (2008-2013); decano del Área de Negocios (1994-1995); director ejecutivo de Educación Permanente y Divulgación Científica (1985-1986), y ha impartido docencia en programas de grado y postgrado.

Como consultor ha servido tanto al sector privado, especialmente en el ámbito bancario, minero e industrial, como al sector público, en los ámbitos de educación superior y reforma del Estado y la administración pública, y en organismos internacionales como el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional y programas de la Unión Europea. Su labor como consultor y docente le ha llevado además a Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guyana, México, Nicaragua, Perú y Trinidad-Tobago, entre otros países.

Como investigador ha participado en proyectos en los ámbitos de educación superior, sistemas nacionales de ciencia y tecnología, desarrollo socio-económico e instituciones y desarrollo con el Instituto Internacional de la UNESCO para la Educación Superior en América Latina y el Caribe (IESALC-UNESCO, el Centro para el Estudio de las Migraciones de Princeton University, el Consorcio UNIVERSIA-CINDA, el Grupo de Consultoría Pareto, y el Centro de Investigación y Documentación Social (CIDOS). Ha publicado en Ciencia y Sociedad, en la Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, en el Organizational Behavior Bulletin y en Organization Studies, entre otras publicaciones.

Ha publicado también seis casos de estudio de éxito de micro, pequeña y mediana empresa, con los auspicios del CAMPE-INTEC y de la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID) y otro para Saskatchewan Trade Export Partnership, en Canadá. Mantuvo por dos años la columna Mercado en la Sección de Económicas del periódico Hoy y por un año (2000) la columna Temas Gerenciales en el periódico El Caribe. Es miembro de The Academy of Management Association y revisor para distintas revistas académicas en la región. Fue miembro del Consejo Editorial de INCAE Business Review.

Sus intereses principales de investigación son en las áreas de educación superior, liderazgo y desarrollo gerencial, poder e influencia en las organizaciones y evolución y transformación organizacional e institucional.

En la actualidad es miembro del Consejo Asesor de la Agencia para la Calidad del Sistema Universitario de Galicia, del sistema de agencias acreditadoras del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior, así como de la directiva del Grupo Compostela de Universidades (GCU) integrado por universidades europeas y latinoamericanas

También, ha sido miembro de diversas organizaciones internacionales como la American Management Association, secretario ejecutivo de la Red Educativa Universitaria de Conocimiento y Acción Regional (Reducar); de la Coalición Latinoamericana para la Excelencia Docente y miembro del Comité Coordinador del Programa Regional para el Desarrollo de la Profesión Docente en América Latina y el Caribe.

Gustavo Mizraim González Rodríguez is an educator, philosopher and academic consultant, with a doctorate in Education Sciences. Passionate about teaching and continuous training, he has dedicated his academic life to Didactics, School Management and the impact of Information and Communication Technologies in Pedagogy. He has more than 20 years of teaching experience at different educational levels. He has been Professor of Organization and Institutional Management of the Department of Educational Administration of the Central University of Venezuela. He is Rector of ISAE University in Panama.

Master in Educational Administration, with a 31-year career in private higher education.

Ms. Gazel has held different positions, such as a Professor and Director of University Studies, Director of University Extension, Executive Secretary, as well as a teacher at preschool and primary level. In Universidad Fidélitas, she has served as Director of Academic Processes, Vice Provost, and currently as Provost, accumulating more than 15 working years in this institution.

She has extensive experience leading processes of creation and improvement of university careers and other degrees, as well as processes of accreditation and implementation of the STEM methodology at university level. She is also an international evaluator of the EQUAA Accreditation Agency.

Certificates:
She is constantly updating her professional academic profile at international level:
– Play, Learning and Creativity Symposium. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. ChileLearning.
– Strategies in E-learning, Universidad Católica de Ávila, Spain.
– Leadership, University Governance, and Active Hybrid Learning. Laspau, Harvard-affiliated institution.
– STEAM Diploma. Bolivarian University of Colombia and the Organization of American States.

In addition to her academic skills, Ms. Gazel is a professional with impeccable ethics, natural leadership, with ease of communication at all levels. She is highly executive, decision-maker, very proactive, with proven problem-solving skills, as well as a fervent promoter of the STEM methodology, essential aspects that favor the path towards the digital transformation that we are implementing.

Patricio Lopez-Jaramillo was born in Quito, Ecuador, 10 February 1953. He is Medical Doctor by the Universidad Central del Ecuador in 1978, Endocrinologist by the Colegio Medico de Pichincha, Federación Médica del Ecuador in 1984, PhD in Pharmacology by the Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto, Universidad de Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1987 and Clinic Specialist in Hypertension by the Latin American Society of Hypertension (LASH) and the Guadalajara University, Mexico 2004. Dr Lopez-Jaramillo has worked in Wellcome Research Laboratories, London, UK, with Sir Salvador Moncada in 1987-1990, participating of the discovery and characterization of the L-Arginine-Nitric Oxide Pathway in the vascular endothelium. Nowadays is Professor and General Rector of the Universidad de Santander (UDES) and Scientific Director of the Masira Research Institute. Is a Member of the Lancet Commission on Hypertension and the National Leader in Colombia of the PURE and others clinical and epidemiologic studies.  Dr Lopez-Jaramillo received the Scientific Merit Award of the Colombia Society for Advance of Sciences 2006, the Award of the Colombian Scientific Associations and Medical Schools of Bucaramanga to a Life dedicated to the Medical Research in 2018, the Award of Honorary Member of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) in 2018 by the extraordinary contributions to research in hypertension, the Alberto Zanchetti Life Achievement Award of the ESH in 2022 and the Angela Restrepo Award of the Colombian Government as the Better Researcher in  Life Sciences and Health.  Have published more that 340 articles in hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular risk factors, with more that 100 articles in the top medical journals: NEJM, Lancet, BMJ, JAMA, Circulation, Eur Hearth J. His H index is 97 and the number of citations of his work is over 118.000 citations (Google Academic, March 2023), and is or has been member of the Editorial Committee of Hypertension, Journal of Hypertension, Acta Médica Colombiana, Revista Colombiana de Cardiología. Dr Lopez-Jaramillo has participated as author o reviewer of the Latin American, Word Health Organization and International Society of Hypertension guidelines on hypertension. Has been President of the LASH 2014-2016, is a Fellow Member of the ISH, ESH and nowadays Dr Lopez-Jaramillo is the Honorary President of the next ISH Biannual Meeting to be held in Cartagena, Colombia 2024.

Victoria Bamond is currently Chief Academic Officer (CAO) and Provost at Schiller International University. She holds a BA in Anthropology and a BA in Spanish from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMASS) where she was also a Top NCAA Athlete and graduated Cum Laude. Additionally, she received a Licenciatura (equivalent to BA) in Hispanic Philology from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, and her PhD in Humanities from the Universidad Carlos III, Madrid. She has over 20 years’ experience in Higher Education holding positions as Professor and Researcher, Chair for the Department of Education, Vice Dean of Internationalization and Academic Projects, and Academic Director at Universidad Europea of Madrid where she led the implementation of Challenge-Based Learning Academic Model and played a key role in the internationalization of the School of Social Sciences and Communication reaching agreements with prestigious universities such as London School of Economics and Heriot Watt in UK, UC Riverside and George Mason in US. She has published in high impact Q1 and Q2 journals, was visiting Researcher at London School of Economics and holds a Management Certificate from Harvard Business School Online.

CEO and founder of SenecaLab, co-founder of the Podcast EdUp en Español and leader of the Panama chapter of the Inter-American Association of EdTechs Holds IAEE, Member of the Board of Directors of APEDE, permanent advisor of REALCUP, and member of CONEAUPA. She was rector of two universities in Panama and President of the Association of Private Universities of Panama, Director of the Board of Directors of the National Council for Private Enterprise and moderator of the Panama table in NAFSA.

She is an international speaker and has published articles in newspapers and magazines such as the Revista Colombiana de Computación. She is certified in Project Management from the University of Texas at Arlington and in Finance from INCAE. She has a Master’s degree in E-Learning from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), in which she obtained the distinction of meritorious thesis and is a Systems Engineer from the UNAB.

Dr. Águeda Benito is one of the Cintana founding members, leading the academic initiatives of the Cintana Alliance. In her role, she provides guidance and support to the academic leaders globally, focusing on the quality of the students´ learning experience and their employability, as well as faculty development, research and innovation, accreditations and the enhancement of the institutional reputation, focusing on making every one of the Cintana Alliance partners a World Class University.

She comes originally from Spain, where she started working as a professor for Universidad Europea de Madrid, one of Laureate’s leading universities. She spent 17 years at UEM, serving as Rector and chairing the Laureate European Academic Committee before moving to Chicago and serving as Provost of Kendall College. Before her present role at Cintana, she was the Chief Academic Officer for Laureate Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Águeda has been a member of the boards of European University of Cyprus, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (Peru) and Stamford International University (Thailand).

Her academic merits are extensive and include numerous publications, research projects, direction of PhD theses and evaluation of institutions and programs.

Alejandro Hernández earned a B.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from ITAM, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Economics (1989) from the University of Rochester (USA). Since 1993, he has been a member of ITAM’s Department of Economics. From 1997 to 2010 he served as ITAM’s Dean of the Division of Social Sciences and Law, and since 2010 he is the Provost. He is a member of several professional and academic associations, including the Econometric Society, where he was Chair of the Latin American Chapter from 1999 to 2003. Provost Hernandez has published scientific articles in the fields of Economic Theory and International Economics in major academic journals, including the American Economic Review and the Journal of Economic Theory. He is a Fellow of the Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory. He serves or has served as member of the Board of Directors of several companies listed in the Mexican Stock Exchange.

Since October 2016, Dr Jaime Javier Gutiérrez González has served as Vice-Rector of Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Panama. He supervises and coordinates the growth of activities related to Graduate Studies and Research, and acquires and manages funds to support Research and Innovation initiatives. Dr Jaime has 36 years of teaching and academic experience, involved in the administration of Higher Education in Panama, and
devoted to training professional mathematicians, especially in the fields of Number Theory and General Topology. Since April 2020, he has served as a Regular Professor in the University of Panama’s Department of Mathematics.

Academic background
– Bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Panama
– Master of Science specializing in Pure Mathematics from the University of Panama.
– Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Bielefeld, Germany

20+ years building Value Added Reseller programs, System Integrators, and leading global sales teams in emerging markets and domestic.

Dr. David Julien currently acts as Secretary General of the Inter-American Organization of Higher Education (OUI-IOHE) and Executive Director of the Conference of the Americas on International Education (CAIE). He also serves on the Administrative Board of the International Association of Universities (IAU).

He holds a Doctorate and a Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Sherbrooke where he has been appointed Ambassador in 2022. He also has taken courses in leadership and management at Harvard University and McGill University. He has accumulated 20 years of management experience in three distinct organizations including IOHE, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and UNESCO where he has been responsible for developing inter-governmental partnerships and different capacity-building programs.

He has taught at the Confucius Institute in Montreal, University of Sherbrooke, Marie-Victorin College and Kaifeng University (China). He has also offered training seminars in various Latin
American universities.

Sean Manley-Casimir is executive director of the 501c3 nonprofit Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC). CONAHEC connects over 150 member higher education institutions of various sizes and profiles, all sharing interest in collaborating with North American institutions.  This includes Affiliate Member institutions headquartered outside the North American region in addition to a strong core of members in the USA, Mexico and Canada.  CONAHEC is a vehicle through which members collaborate to address humanity’s most important challenges; exchange students, faculty and staff, create virtual international partnerships and internationalize their curriculum and engagement incorporating technology and the latest pedagogical approaches.

Currently director of the Institute for Integral Wellbeing from Tecmilenio, where she served as Vice Rector of High School Education until 2017. She holds a PhD in Humanistic Studies from Tecnológico de Monterrey, and a master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, USA.

She is also certified in Compassion Instruction by Life University, (2020) with a methodology selected by UNESCO as central to approach the goals of the United Nations Development.

She is chairwoman of the IPPA (International Positive Psychology Association) in its professional chapter of Education. Global Representative for Latin America of IPEN (International Positive Education Network) and Member of the Board of the World Happiness Foundation, which seeks to bring wellbeing to one billion people.

Nathalíe Galeano is Director of Research Intelligence at Tecnologico de Monterrey, responsible for analyzing research trends and the participation of the university in international research rankings; the analysis of these two insights results in internal reports that support the process of developing research strategies at the university. She served as Director of the Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer (CIT2), and also coordinated Tecnologico de Monterrey’s Incubation Cell Program, promoting the creation of technology-based start-ups by researchers and graduate students. As Director of the Research Internships Program at Tecnologico de Monterrey from 2010 to 2013, Nathalíe integrated undergraduates from different majors into research groups with faculty on campus as well as abroad through collaborative research exchanges. She is the (co-)author of more than 30 papers in journals, book chapters and international conferences.

Leigh Kamolins is Director of Analytics & Evaluation at QS. He is responsible for the organization’s acclaimed rankings and ratings as well the suite of Analytics solutions that provide comparative. He has a background in performance evaluation, quality assurance and evaluation system design spanning the public and private sectors in the United Kingdom and Australia. Before joining QS, Leigh led a team at the UK Department for Education reporting on the performance of England’s biggest school reform program in 100 years. He also has previous experience in the public sector in Australia, designing anti-corruption and human rights monitoring frameworks. He is passionate about equalities and access to quality education. He has undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Monash University in Australia which included a period of studying abroad at King’s College London. Leigh speaks widely about evaluation frameworks and performance trends at a range of international forums. 

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, currently appointed as Director of the Fundación madri+d, Quality Assurance Agency of High Education for Madrid Region (accredited by ENQA).  Instrument of the Regional Government of Madrid (Spain) for technological entrepreneurs’ support and scientific culture actions.

Senior Investigator and cofounder of the Center of Astrobiology (CAB, INTA-CSIC) associated to NASA Astrobiology Institute. Has been deputy Director of National Bioinformatics Institute, Spain (INB).

Postdoctoral experience in the Université Libre de Bruxelles, USC LA and UC Irvine. Visiting Scholar at Stanford University developing a research collaboration with Prof. John Ross.

Research activity in the Biophysics Group, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UCM, in the field of Theoretical and Systems Biology. Principal Investigator in successive competitive grants, both national and internationally supported. Have published more than hundred reviewed papers (JCR), edited thematic books and coauthor of a textbook on Biophysics.

Laura Hervert-Escobar is head of the Scientometrics office at the Research Vice-Rectory of Tecnologico de Monterrey. She received a PhD degree in Engineering Sciences from Tecnologico de Monterrey and a PhD degree in Systems and Engineering Management from Texas Tec University. She is member of faculty of the Computer Science Graduate Program and she is ascribed to the Research Group on Data Science and Optimization. Her research include, but are not limited to the development, analysis and implementation of metaheuristic techniques for solving complex real-life combinatorial problems with several objectives. Work experience includes the development and implementation of different real-life models such as pricing model for convenience stores, product analysis for retail strategy, manufacturing process scheduling, etc. Current research is focus on the use of Data Science applied to research performance, forecast in sports, socialdemographic analysis, etc.

Neil Hernandez Gress is Research Director at Tecnologico de Monterrey, National Contact Point for CONACYT and Mexico, Member of the SNI and founder and CEO of the startup Softdecisions, with more than 25 years of experience both in France and Mexico. He is responsible for defining the research vision and evaluation activities for more than 1000 confirmed and junior researchers at the institution. He is also in charge of the institutional rankings in which he made use of his Data Science capabilities to analyze the academic data coming from all the institution. Increasing Human Resources Skills devoted to research is one of his activities as well. He has been teaching continuously for more than 52 semesters in mainly two areas: Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Strategies. He is the author of more than 50 Research papers and the recipient of more than 50 million US in research grants.

Bachelor of Business Administration and an MBA from Eastern Michigan University and more than 15 years of dedication to the higher education sector, eager to forge meaningful alliances between universities, governmental and non-governmental entities in the Latin American and Caribbean region to improve student outcomes, which ultimately represents a benefit to society as a whole. Elson’s goal is to help develop solutions to some of the pressing challenges facing academic institutions and entities. International minded, 28 amazing countries visited, speaking Portuguese, English, Spanish and French (learning Italian in spare time), skills that he has developed in personal and professional intercultural experiences in LATAM (incl. Brazil) the Caribbean, USA, Asia and Europe.

Sandra Verónica has led various projects from the administrative and academic management of Higher Education Institutions in Colombia and Central America; He has worked in the structuring and implementation of scenarios and strategic plans, based on agile methodologies, organization and establishment of standards in the realization and execution of projects with an emphasis on university institutions.

Industrial engineer, master’s degree in project management and master’s degree in organizational coaching. Focused on the alignment of quality assurance system models and their alignment with planning, business intelligence and guidance on improving university governance management.

PhD of Education; Phd of Law. 4 Postdocorats. Economist; Distance Education Specialist; Marketing Specialist; Master in Educational Management. He is currently Academic Director of the Universidad de la Empresa (UDE) of Uruguay, Chancellor for Latin America of the National Open and Distance University (UNAD) of Colombia and Director of the Virtual Educa Observatory. He is a Level II Researcher in the National System of Researchers of Uruguay. At the international level, he was Director of the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) and Rector of the Institute of Higher National Studies (IAEN) of Ecuador. In Uruguay he was Director of the National Book Institute, Director of the National Television System and Vice President of the Official Broadcasting, Radio-television and Entertainment Service (SODRE). He has writen 27 books. He received the Uruguayan National Literature Award three times and was distinguished with 7 Honoris Causa Doctorates by universities in the region.

Carlos Manuel Estévez-Bretón, currently serving as a Customer Consultant for Research Management at Elsevier and a doctoral candidate in Systems Engineering and Computer Science, specializes in integrating academia, technology, and data analysis to transform research projects. His scholarly pursuits at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Universidad del Rosario have significantly contributed to higher education’s innovation and technological advancement. He demonstrated his expertise in intellectual property management and technology transfer as a Technology Transfer Officer. He further showcased his leadership skills as the Director of Campus Labs at Futura Networks, where he managed and executed numerous innovation challenges.

Lisdey Espinoza Pedraza is the Head of the Education and Insight Hub for the Americas for the British Council. Her portfolio includes student recruitment, alumni relations and strategic research on Higher Education. She holds PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. She studied her master’s degree in International Relations and World Order at the University of Leicester, England and her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana, Campus Santa Fé, Mexico City. She is currently studying the Advanced Certificate in Terrorism Studies and Political Violence at the University of St Andrews, in Scotland. She is also holds of the Associate Fellowship of the UK Higher Education Academy (HEA) demonstrating compliance with the UKPSF Professional Teaching Standards for teaching at UK and European universities. She has participated in numerous international and national conferences on political science and international relations and has written on topics such as democracy, the European Union, British politics, Russia and the Caucasus, and contemporary Mexican politics. She has published various articles on these topics in indexed journals. Her research interests include democratisation processes, governance and theories of the state, contemporary Mexican politics, Latin American politics, political parties, geopolitics; United States foreign policy; Latin America; Russia and Caucasus; European Union and United Kingdom.

Nilly is Consultant at QS. Prior to joining QS in 2021, Nilly worked in strategic leadership roles within the higher education sector in Germany and Colombia for over 10 years. Nilly’s expertise lies in Product Management for QS Analytics; Academic Programmes Management – Curriculum Planning, implementation, quality assurance and evaluation; Online learning – building, maintaining, and improving e-learning educational offer, Sustainability and Global Engagement; Nilly holds a MA Latin American Studies – Political Sciences (Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III), and a BA in International Relations (HEI – Paris). 

Dr Nigel Healey is Professor of International Higher Education and Vice President (Global and Community Engagement) at the University of Limerick. He is currently serving as Interim Provost and Deputy President. Prior to his appointment at the University of Limerick in April 2020, he held senior academic positions at Fiji National University, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Canterbury and Manchester Metropolitan University, as well as teaching positions at the University of Leicester and Leeds Beckett University.

Dr Healey has served as an economic policy advisor to the prime minister of Belarus and the deputy minister of economy of the Russian Federation and managed a number of multinational research and economic development projects in Europe and Asia. His current research interests are in the internationalization of higher education, transnational education and higher education policy and management.

PRESENT POSITIONS

Rector. Universidad del Caribe (UNICARIBE). Since February 2023.

Emeritus Professor in Nuclear Engineering at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)

President of the Spanish Nuclear Society (SNE). Since March 2023.

Member of the Expert Committee of the Spanish Nuclear Regulatory Commission (2020-2024)

President of Madrid Industrial Engineering Association. Since November 2022.

PAST POSITIONS

Dean of College of Industrial Engineering at UPM (April 2014 – April 2018)

Vice-Rector for Academic Degrees and Doctorate at UPM (2012-2014)

Vice–Rector for Academic Management and Professors at UPM (2004-2012)

President of the European Nuclear Society (ENS) (January 2020 – December 2021)

Vice-President of ENEN (2009- 2012)

Member of the Scientific Technical Committee of Euratom (2014- 2018)

Expert Member of the International Assessment of the Discipline of Nuclear Science and Technology. Harbin Engineering University (R.P. of China). (July 2019)

INVITED PROFESSOR

Visiting and invited professor in more than 20 Universities and Research Centers as:

Harbin Engineering University (R.P. China), 2020

University of Florida (USA). (June- August 1992)

University of Nevada. Reno (USA). (September 2000)

Norhwersten Polytechnical University (NPU), Xi´an (China). (July 2018)

Polytechnical University of Saint Petersburg (Rusia). (July 2018 and July 2019)

Instituto Balseiro (Argentina) (September-November 2019)

Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana (Chile) (December 2019)

Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) (from January to March 2020)

Tec Monterrey (Mexico) (October 2015)

Instituto Politécnico Nacional (México) (October 2015)

Universidad Autónoma (México) (March 2017)

Purdue University (USA)  (December 2016)

Tongi University (China) (December 2017)

Beihang University (China) (December 2017) (October 2018)

Xi´an Jiaotong (China) (October 2018) (April 2019)

Harbin Engineering University (April 2019)

OCDE-NEA Data Bank. Paris (September-November 1981)

Institute Lebedev. Academy of Sciences URSS, Russia. (December 1985)

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. (September 1985)

Ispra Research Centre (Euratom). Italy. (November 1986)

Los Alamos National Laboratory, EEUU. (September 1987, November 1993)

Livermore National Laboratory. EEUU. (November 1989, October 1992)

INP kfk Karlsruhe. Germany. (July-August 1995)

CEA Limeil Valenton. France. (May 1996, May 1997, April 1998)

PUBLISHED PAPERS & SPEAKER AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

Over more than 150 published papers in journals and about 200 papers at International Conferences.