Speaker Bios
Ms. Ingrid Portenkirchner is the Head of secretariat of Donor Committee for Dual Vocational Education and Training (DC dVET).
Ingrid holds a degree in International Business Administration and a Masters degree in eEducation/Digital Learning as well as several diplomas for organizational development and training management.
Ingrid is a technical expert in education and training, organizational development and digital learning. She has more than 15 years of experience in the implementation of dual TVET programs, incl. partnering with companies, chambers and business associations in TVET, the definition of occupational standards, certification processes, curricula development, training of in-company trainers and TVET teachers.
As part of her work for the DC dVET, she works with various aspects of the implementation of dual VET in partner countries and promotes exchange between dual VET projects of different donors. One important topic is "Green dual VET" and the question of what role dual VET can play in the just transition to a green economy.
Dr. Tania Rödiger-Vorwerk is Deputy Director General at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). She leads the directorate “Global Health, Equal Opportunities“.
Over the last 25 years she has served in various leading management functions in the public and private sector. As Head of Political Staff she led the Ministry’s divisions responsible for strategic planning and policy analysis, communications and relations to parliament and cabinet. As Director for Environment, Energy and Infrastructure she was involved in the Habitat III process. As Director Sherpa-Post-2015-Agenda she lead the staff supporting former President Prof. Dr. Horst Köhler developing a SDG Agenda proposal to GS Ban KiMoon and the UN.
Before joining BMZ she has worked in the private sector. Recently she has supported a world marked leaders management in the steel industry sector by planning, financing and negotiating large infrastructure projects in mega cities.
Mr. Borhene Chakroun is an engineer and has a PhD in Education Sciences from Bourgogne University in France.
Borhene worked, during the 1990s, as trainer, chief trainer, project manager. He has also worked as short-term consultant for the EU, World Bank and other international organisations before coming to the European Training Foundation (ETF) in 2001. At the ETF, Borhene worked as Senior Human Capital Development specialist.
He is now Director of Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems Division at UNESCO-HQ. Borhene conducted a range of policy reviews and skills systems diagnosis in different contexts.
He has authored and coauthored various articles and books in the field of skills development and lifelong learning. Much of his most recent work focuses on global trends in reforming education and training systems and global agenda for skills development in the context of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. He is also the coordinator of the Global Education Coalition launched by UNESCO to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
Dr. Margarita Langthaler has been working at the Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE) since August 2003.
Currently, she holds the position of a senior researcher. She is a social scientist and philologist with research focuses on educational strategies in development cooperation, education policies in a global perspective as well as vocational training and skills development, including skills for green and just transitions
Dr. Léna Krichewsky-Wegener has been a consultant for education and research at the Institute for Innovation and Technology (iit) since January 2017.
She studied Political Sciences at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po) and at the Institute for Eastern European Studies at Freie Universität Berlin. She received her PhD in educational sciences from the University of Osnabrück.
Before joining iit at VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH, Léna Krichewsky-Wegener worked as a policy analyst at UNESCO, as an expert at the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH, and as a research associate at the Institute for Vocational and Industrial Education at the University of Magdeburg.
Her focus is on international cooperation in vocational education and training (VET). Her latest work on behalf of the GIZ was on digitalization and just transition in VET, with specific attention paid to skills development in the informal economy.
Ms. Kirsten Freimann is an expert in skills development and employment promotion.
She is director of the GIZ-implemented project “Career Path Development for Employment (CPD4E)” financed by the German and Swiss governments. In the context of the Just Energy Transition partnership the project supports the development of innovative solutions for inclusive employment creation in South Africa’s transition to a decarbonised economy to address the emerging opportunities for enterprise and skills development.
Kirsten Freimann is passionate about innovation in skills development and sustainability and has been gathering 20 years of experience in managing projects for sustainable development on three different continents. Since 2020 Kirsten is supporting the skills development for South Africa’s transition to a green economy.
Before joining the “Skills for a Green Economy (SD4GE)” Project she was director of the “More Job Opportunities for Palestinian Youth” project, which successfully introduced the first dual study programs in the Middle East. Her team established partnerships with more than 250 private companies to unlock employment opportunities for youth. Previously she worked as a project manager for further education at the German Academy for International Cooperation and at the Alice Salomon University in Berlin. Different short-term assignments brought her to Israel, India, Philippines and Afghanistan.
She holds a master’s degree in education from the Catholic University Berlin and another master’s degree in political science with focus on international cooperation from the Free University in Berlin.
Dr. Heike Kuhn is Head of the Education Division at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ, Bonn/Berlin).
Ms. Kuhn holds a Ph.D. in Administrative Sciences from the University of Speyer (Germany) on "The Social Dimension of the European Community". She is a fully qualified lawyer, having studied in Germany, Italy, USSR, Great Britain and the USA. She has worked for more than 30 years in European and multilateral development cooperation, human rights, financing and programming and human resources with longstanding experience in leading and managing multilateral negotiations at European and UN level, lately with the European Commission, Global Partnership for Education –GPE– and Education Cannot Wait –ECW– (since June 2023 co-chair of the ECW’s Executive Committee together with Norway).
Before, she served as Executive Board Director to the International Fund of Agricultural Development in Rome/Italy, also in charge of the World Food Programme (2007-2011). Ms. Kuhn is interested in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, building a more equal, inclusive and sustainable world for all.
Esther Goodwin Brown is the Lead of the Circular Jobs Initiative at Circle Economy Foundation.
She works internationally with stakeholders in governments and industry to understand the people, skills, and enabling conditions that are needed to unlock the social benefits of the circular economy so that it can be put into action: with and for people. Esther leads key partnerships to realise these objectives, including UNESCO-UNEVOC, International Labour Organisation, the World Bank and the UN Environment Programme. Esther previously authored the report Closing the Skills Gap: Vocational Education & Training for the Circular Economy.
Christine Hofmann is a Skills and Employability Specialist in the ILO’s SKILLS Branch in Geneva and leads the work area on skills for social inclusion.
She holds a degree in International Business and Area Studies. Before joining the ILO, she worked in political consulting and coordinated development projects for trade unions in Africa and Asia for a German labour foundation.
She co-authored the book Skills for green jobs. A global view, arising from a global policy-applied research project covering 21 countries world-wide, in collaboration with Cedefop. Through policy advice, global tools and applied research, she supports ILO constituents in making skills systems more inclusive and promotes just transitions through skills and lifelong learning including for people in the informal economy.
Mr. William Osawa is currently the Deputy Director, Research and Development at TVET Authority, Managing Editor of KJTVET, and Coordinator of the TVET Authority UNEVOC Centre, and has a great passion for renewable and green energy.
He is a Renewable Energy scientist and a PhD graduate in Chemistry (biodiesel) from the University of Nairobi. He has published many papers in international journals on biodiesel and environmental pollution. He has worked both in the training and regulatory sectors of the Kenyan TVET subsector for a total of 24 years.
Ms. Bolor Baasandorj is the Project manager of DeveloPPP “Energy savings through qualified professionals for efficient heating systems in Mongolia” project.
She holds a Master in Development Studies from the University of Melbourne. She worked at GIZ cTVET project since 2013, mostly responsible for the development partnership with the private sector cooperating such as:
- Festo Didactics, Oyu Tolgoi LLC – establishing course in the field of mechatronics in Mongolia
- Haas Fertigbau, Papneburg and 6 other mongolian companies – strategic alliance in construction introducing sustainable building modules at TVET schools
- WILO group – integrating energy efficient heating system modules at the TVET schools
Ms. Mariam Kobalia is leading on the development and delivery of inclusion and gender policy engagement programmes in the energy sector at the EBRD.
Her focus is on creating equitable access to employment and skills, reflecting the specific needs of women, youth, aging populations, migrants and others. Ms. Kobalia has over ten years’ progressive experience in the design and delivery of multi-sectoral inclusive development programmes on regional, mainly in South Caucasus, and global settings.
Prior to joining the EBRD, she led gender and inclusion work at the USAID Economic Security Program, developed Gender and Youth Engagement strategy and ensured increased access of disadvantaged groups to productive economic resources. She brings the combination of expertise and lessons learned on human capital development, organizational development, grant making, and gender equality and gender mainstreaming working with IFIs, local NGOs, private and public sector representatives. Ms. Kobalia is a Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology and holds MScs in Gender Studies (Tbilisi state University).
Mr. Rohan Modi is regulatory expert, with a decade of experience in energy and mobility sectors across Asia & Africa.
At TUMI he is on an ambitious journey supporting procurement of 100000 E-buses in partner cities by 2025. Rohan holds a Master’s degree in energy management. He is affiliated with GIZ since 2014 and specializes in cross sectoral project approaches.
Ms. Apoorva Shankar is a Senior Labour Market Consultant in the Circular Jobs initiative team at Circle Economy.
She works to support governments, businesses and educators in enabling a just transition by placing people at the heart of the circular economy transition. Apoorva’s work at Circle Economy focuses on researching the impact of circular strategies on jobs and skills and building the capacity of institutions to support the circular transition, including through skills initiatives and training.
Previously, Apoorva worked as a Social Policy Advisor at the Economic Policy Research Institute. She has a double master's in Public Policy and Human Development from Maastricht University and United Nations University (UNU-MERIT).
Ms. Stelina Chatzichristou is an expert in the department for VET and skills at Cedefop, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training.
She is leading Cedefop’s research on jobs, skills and VET for the green transition and sectoral skills developments. Stelina coordinates the skills intelligence and foresight team and contributes to the Centre’s research on skills anticipation and skills governance.
Before joining Cedefop, Stelina worked for almost a decade in the private sector as a researcher and policy analyst. In that capacity, she has worked on and managed projects on national and EU comparative analysis on VET, skills and entrepreneurship.
Ms. Inga Schallau has been Skills Development Advisor for the last 8 years for the German NGO Welthungerhilfe.
In this role, she supports local partner organizations in implementing programmes and strategies to strengthen non-formal TVET structures. For more than 4 years, she has been working as a Programme Coordinator for a multi-country programme that empowers vulnerable youth in fragile contexts to increase their employability and improve their livelihoods. Her work focuses on the linkages and leverage points of TVET in relation to sustainable food and nutrition security and food systems transformation.
Ms. Schallau's holds a Master's degree in Geography and has many years of professional experience in development cooperation. Her commitment to channelling her skills seamlessly aligns with the promotion of Green TVET principles, fostering sustainable progress through the transformative potential of adult learning.
Dr. Amy Proulx is Professor and Academic Program Coordinator of Culinary Innovation and Food Technology at Niagara College Canada.
Her academic specialization is in innovation and change management practices for food manufacturing systems. She is the founder of the National Technology Access Centre for Food and Beverage Innovation at Niagara College, which supports small business capacity building for innovation.
Her research focuses on curriculum development and CBET application for agriculture and food skills development, with past projects in Vietnam, Jamaica, Cambodia and Peru. She has served the Canadian skills development sector with national leadership with Food Processing Skills Canada and the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology. She is a senior mentor with FAO’s World Food Forum Education Working Group. Outside of work, Amy’s family runs a small agroforestry farming operation in rural Niagara.
Mr. Friedrich Huebler is the Head of Office at UNESCO-UNEVOC.
He joined the organisation in November 2021. Prior to this, he was the Head of the Education Standards and Methodology Section at the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. In that position, he contributed to the methodological development of the global monitoring framework for Sustainable Development Goal 4 on education. He also supervised the documentation of UIS indicator methodology and the production of education statistics and analysis based on household survey and census data, including literacy and educational attainment.
Before he moved to the UIS, he worked as Statistics and Monitoring Specialist at UNICEF, with a focus on child labour and school attendance. Mr. Huebler holds an M.A. in Business Studies and Economics from the University of Bremen and a Ph.D. in Economics from the New School for Social Research.
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