Experts

The State Institute of Vocational Education

Ľubica Gállová

Deputy Director of the State Institute of Vocational Education and Lifelong Learning, involved in linking European and national policies in education, particularly in improving the quality, flexibility and accessibility of vocational education and training and adult education and promoting systemic changes. She is a member of the European Commission’s Advisory Groups on the European Qualifications Framework and Europass, the EC Working Group on Adult Education and the OECD Working Group on Vocational Training. In 2020, she coordinated the preparation of the Strategy for Lifelong Learning and Guidance 2021-2030.

Katarina Šmálová

Senior expert in adult learning and project management, team member of the National Coordinator of the European Agenda for Adult Learning in Slovakia and other projects in the field of adult education run by the State Institute of Vocational Education, the Lifelong Learning Department. Three years of working experience in the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency of the European Commission and fifteen years in the Erasmus+ National Agency in Slovakia. Experienced in managing the Erasmus+ project cycle, good orientation in the adult-learning scene at national as well as European level.

Zuzana Izáková

Project specialist at the State Institute of Vocational Education with extensive experience in the projects on adult learning, currently working at the Lifelong Learning Department. Zuzana Izáková worked as a project manager at the Erasmus+ National Agency in Slovakia for 12 years. She was responsible for working with and supporting stakeholders active in adult education in the areas of transnational cooperation and implementation of international projects. Strong skills in communication activities and dissemination.

Governmental Information Tech Technology Development Agency (KIFÜ)

Erzsébet Szlamka

Works for the (Hungarian) Governmental Agency for IT Development as the project leader, one of them being the Digital Individual Learning Accounts in the Visegrad Countries. Currently she also participates in other ILA- and micro-credential-related projects. Formerly, she used to work as a qualifications system and framework expert; she was a member of the team developing the Hungarian Qualifications Framework, where she was responsible for international cooperation and the management of NQF-related projects, including the coordination of the NCP and harmonisation of SROP projects. She was a member of the EQF Advisory Group and she also participated in the Polish and Macedonian referencing process as an international expert. Today, in addition to qualifications systems and frameworks, her main field of expertise are micro-credentials and individual learning accounts.

György Salomvári

Led the creation of the nationwide Public Education Information System (PEIS) as a professional manager. Later, also as a professional leader, he led the development of the national action plan against early school leaving without qualifications. He was also responsible for the development and implementation of the Public Education Indicator Management System. As a software developer, he was involved in the Tempus Public Foundation’s CroCooS project. He has worked as Head of the Data Development and Services Department of the Ministry of Human Resources, dealing with EU calls for proposals. He has been involved in the development of digital pedagogical solutions and monitoring systems, including the development of an indicator system to monitor the implementation of Hungary’s Digital Education Strategy and the concept of a national register system for digital competence training. He is currently involved in the design and implementation of an Erasmus+ project to create an adult learning data model linked to the Individual Learning Account that can be tested using AI.

National Training Fund

SGH Warsaw School of Economics (WSE)

Horacy Dębowski

Researcher at WSE and Vice director of Central Examination Board – an agency responsible for conducting exams in general and vocational education and training within the formal education system in Poland. He specialises in lifelong learning and labour market policies. Involved in numerous international projects related to skills development conducted for DG EMPL, Cedefop, ETF, Norway Research Council and others. Author of articles related to skills development (including individual learning accounts) policy papers and documents prepared for the Polish national and regional authorities and the European Commission. Member of the European Qualifications Framework Advisory Group to the European Commission. President of Integrated Qualifications System Council in Poland. Advisor to the authorities of the Republic of North Macedonia, Georgia, England and Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. He was the leader of the international TRACK-VET project “Developing, assessing and validating transversal key competences in the formal initial and continuing VET” financed from the Erasmus+ KA2, VET, funds.

Wojciech Stęchły

Researcher at WSE and qualifications system expert at the Educational Research Institute, Warsaw, responsible for a strategic overview of qualifications system development and building a skills ontology. Member of Sectoral Skills Councils and the Polish Ministerial Micro-credentials Team. He is the author of numerous publications about the education system, and qualifications in Poland, including the Polish referencing report. He is also a regular speaker at national and international events concerning skills and qualifications. His experience includes co-developing the market qualifications standard, method for levelling qualifications to the Polish Qualifications Framework, and actively supporting levelling of over 400 qualifications and developing over 35 new market qualifications by stakeholders. He is involved in monitoring and evaluation of the qualifications system in Poland.