EAIR Forum 2026

Strengthening trust between higher education and society

Forum information

Track CHAIRS

Jannica Budde (CHE)


Jannica Budde is Senior Project Manager for Hochschulforum Digitalisierung at CHE Centre of Higher Education. With a background in cultural studies, her work focuses on digital transformation in higher education at the levels of strategy, curriculum development and assessment culture.

Edel Cassar (MCAST)


Ms Edel Cassar is the Director Strategy Implementation at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology. She is a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta. She graduated in Psychology and in Human Resources and Training. She is currently a doctoral candidate focusing on persistence and attrition of Maltese part-time doctoral students.

Anne Gannon (UCC, EAIR EC)


Anne Gannon, Ph.D., is Staff Wellbeing & Development Manager in University College Cork (UCC). Her main research interest is institutional change and the impact of government policy within the university. Anne is a member of the EAIR Executive Committee and was on the organising committee for the 2024 Cork Forum

Elisabeth Hovdhaugen (NIFU)


Research professor Elisabeth Hovdhaugen has more than 20 years of experience as an educational researcher at NIFU in Oslo. Most of her work has centered around students focusing on themes such as progression, completion, dropout and time spent studying, as well as quality of education.

Dr. J.K. Jorrit Snijder


Since October 2020, Jorrit Snijder has served as the President of the Executive Board at Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas).

Jorrit studied Public Administration in Leiden and obtained his PhD in Higher Education Policy Studies at the University of Twente. He worked for twelve years as Executive Director at University College Roosevelt (UCR) in Middelburg, and previously held positions at the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) and Leiden University.

Karl Ledermüller (WU Vienna)


Dr. Karl Ledermüller leads the Unit of Evaluation and Quality Enhancement at WU Vienna, coordinating internal quality assurance and advancing evaluative tools. His main research interests in the field of institutional research focus on assessment analytics, predicting students at risk, aspects of the social dimension and the employability of students and graduates, as well as relative performance feedback applications in higher education settings.

Jessica Nooij (Avans Hogeschool)


Jessica Nooij, PhD, is Associate Professor at Avans University of Applied Sciences, specializing in transdisciplinary collaborations and Inner Development Goals (IDGs) in higher education. She is affiliated with the Centres of Expertise for Future-Proof Education. Her current research focuses on integrating sustainable development principles into academic frameworks, fostering transdisciplinary collaboration, and enhancing educational and research strategies for long-term societal impact.

Mark O'Hara

Mark O’Hara (Advance-HE, EAIR EC)


Professor Mark O’Hara is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is Senior Consultant (Education) at Advance-HE. He has over 30 years’ experience in Higher Education and is both a National Teaching Fellow (NTF) and a winner of the UK’s Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE).

Panourgias Papaioannou (TU Dortmund, EAIR EC)


Panourgias Papaioannou is a PhD candidate in HE at TU Dortmund University and a board member of EAIR. He holds an Erasmus Mundus master’s degree in research and innovation in higher education, where he was awarded the Masterlab prize. His research focuses on academic performance appraisal and digitalization in HEIs.

Barbara Sporn (WU Vienna)


Univ. Prof. Dr. Barbara Sporn studied social sciences and business administration at Vienna University of Economics and Business and obtained her habilitation in 1999. At the time of her employment as a professor in the Department for Information Systems, she was appointed Vice Rector for Research, International Affairs and External Relations in 2002 and continued working in this position until 2015.

Elke Welp–Park (UWK Krems)


Dr. Elke Welp-Park is a senior scientist at the department for higher education research at the University for Continuing Education Krems. Her research focuses on governance issues in higher education, with a special interest in the role of projects in HE, as well as the governance of academic careers and hierarchies in higher education.

Herbert Wubben (Hogeschool Utrecht)


Herbert Wubben is a senior project manager at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht. He has a background in information science and a passion for data. His work focuses on institutional research in higher education, from institutional strategy to individual education

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Sustainable Travel Ideas for the EAIR Cork Forum

Travelling from Europe

Visitors from Europe can travel via Eurostar from Paris to London and from there by train to Wales and by boat to Dublin. Travellers can then take the train or bus to Cork. Alternatively, there is a daily boat connection from Roscoff or Calais (in Northern France) directly to Ringaskiddy, Cork.  

Link for Direct Ferries: https://www.directferries.ie/

Travelling from the UK

There are ways to travel to and from Ireland without flying, as there are train and bus services that link with ferry services across the Irish Sea which connect several ports in England, Wales and Scotland with Irish ferry ports of Rosslare, Dublin or Belfast with ongoing travel by car, bus or train. 

Cross County Rail Services

Where taking a flight is necessary, attendees are encouraged to consider direct flights to Ireland (Cork, Dublin) airports and to use cross country rail services where a direct flight to Cork is not possible.

Link for Irish rail: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/

Travel options in Cork

Cork is a city where active travel options are both available and encouraged – walking and cycling.  Visitors to Cork City can get a 3 day TFI bike subscription.

Link to TFI Bike Subscription: https://www.bikeshare.ie/pricing-and-subscriptions.html

All accommodation options and EAIR Forum venues in Cork can be accessed easily by foot. 

Offsetting Travel Emissions

Forum attendees are invited to offset the unfavourable impact of air travel by combining attendance at the Cork forum with other meetings in Ireland, the UK and Europe. 

Forum attendees who wish to consider sustainable travel options may also wish to combine their attendance at the Cork EAIR Forum with their annual holiday and by so doing minimise the number of air flights taken in 2024.