Key Skills and competences

Projects

Communication skills

Communication skills

In English, Greek and Spanish.

  • Written communication skills:, acquired through my longstanding experience in authoring and co-authoring various publications, including analytical reports, presentations, speeches, policy briefings, academic articles, and books, since 2000.
  • Moderation and facilitation skills: Through my work at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, I have extensive experience in moderating workshops, leading discussions, steering project networks, and communicating with stakeholders in English, Greek and Spanish.
  • Presentation skills: Since 2015 I have delivered presentations at many research and policy events across Europe including keynotes (e.g., BETT show 2020), panel discussions (e.g. the European Education Summit organised by the European Commission in January 2018), technical presentations (e.g. ICERI conference 2016), presentations in workshops and working groups (e.g. expert group Platform of European Associations of VET providers organised by DG EMPL in June 2017) presentations in policy conferences (e.g. Educate to Create flagship conference on education of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union) and presentations in high-level policy events (e.g. the launch of the SELFIE tool for schools by the European Commissioner for Education Tibor Navracsics on 25-10-2018).
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    Organisational skills

    Organisational skills

    • Project management skills: I am highly experienced in project planning, public procurement,managing budgets and risks, and working with external service providers and stakeholders. I have successfully steered a range of complex and policy-relevant research projects following a participatory leadership style and the Commission's PM² project management methodology. Also, I have managed several tendered studies such as on computational thinking, digital education policies and educational technologies foresight.
    • Organisational skills: I have successfully designed, organised and facilitated workshops and other events for a range of target groups at European and international level such as the SELFIE 2019 conference with 200 participants. Also, I have participated in steering committees of a number of national and international conferences.
    • Leadership: experience acquired as a project leader of various complex and policy relevant research projects as well as through my work as a school head. Between 2017 and 2020 Ι led the European Commission´s multicultural and multidisciplinary team responsible for the design and development
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    Job-related skills

    Job-related skills

  • Knowledge of EU institutions, policy developments and priorities: Through my current work at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre I have developed an excellent knowledge of European education, employment and skills policies through strategic EU networks (e.g. the ET2020 Digital Education - Learning, Teaching and Assessment Working Group) and direct engagement with policy makers and education and training providers within the EU and beyond (e.g. Western Balkans, Turkey, Russia, Hong Kong...).
  • Stakeholder engagement: I have participated in high-level policy events and meetings with ministers and senior policymakers as well as in international conferences presenting the work of the Commission, steering project networks, moderating workshops and project meetings and communicating effectively with stakeholders from policy, research and practice.
  • Design thinking and client focus: I have an excellent track record in meeting and exceeding clients´ expectations regarding the quality of deliverables and the ability to anticipate future needs. For instance, I proposed and led an exploratory study on Computational Thinking. When the issue became politically relevant the report was a useful reference point for curriculum reform.
  • Research competences: I have strong research competences encompassing subject knowledge and multi-level professional experience in my field of expertise (supporting evidence-based educational policy making): acquired through work in science for policy projects at the JRC; through work in other EU-funded projects; and during my PhD multi-method research.
  • Analytical and conceptual skills, persistence, and accuracy: Mainly gained through my work in research projects and through my doctoral thesis.
  • Negotiation skills: acquired through my work as project manager of more than 25 tendered studies and contracts with external providers at the JRC.
  • Teamwork and collaboration skills: gained through working in various types of teams (e.g. research teams, teaching teams, orchestras) with national as well as international team members, also on an interdisciplinary basis.
  • Intercultural competences: acquired through working in multicultural research teams and contexts since 2005 as well as through stays abroad (i.e. 4 years as PhD researcher in Finland; more than 8 years as a scientific officer at the JRC in Spain).
  • Create, apply and share knowledge: I particularly enjoy developing my knowledge in the fields of education, training and lifelong learning, skills development, digital transformation and sharing new ideas and expertise with colleagues and the wider community of practice. I am experienced in delivering internal training to colleagues or act as a mentor to share my knowledge and expertise and maximise the impact of my work.
  • Command of public procurement procedures: acquired through training as well as my work experience as head teacher and as a scientific officer at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (more than 25 public contracts).
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    Digital skills

    Digital skills

    IT-minded attitude and excellent digital skills acquired through training, peer learning and hands-on experience. Specific knowledge and experience in the following:

    • Microsoft 365™ and Google Docs productivity suites as well as internal tools used by the European Commission (e.g. ARES and PUPSY).
    • Project management and team collaboration tools such as Trello, BaseCamp, MS Teams and Mural.
    • Moodle 3.0™ Learning Management System, EndNote™ X9 reference management software package and with several online survey software (e.g. EU Survey, Survey Monkey).
    • Software for quantitative and qualitative data analysis such as SPSS™ 17 and Vivo 11™.
    • I hold the European Pedagogical ICT Licence having completed 120 hours of training.
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    Other Skills

    Digital skills

  • Lifelong learning skills: I am strongly committed to continuous professional and personal development through formal training at the workplace (e.g. courses on project management, public speaking and participatory leadership) and informal and non-formal training outside the workplace (e.g. participating in various Massive Open Online Courses).
  • Artistic skills and competences: playing the guitar and percussion; creating handmade musical instruments and toys.
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    Top skills & competences

    Research competences
    Organisational skills
    Leadership skills
    Teamwork and collaboration skills
    Create, apply and share knowledge
    Intercultural competences
    Design thinking and client focus
    Stakeholder engagement
    Digital skills
    Communication skills