Keynote speech:
Navigating the 2030 Digital Europe Challenge: Reskilling, Upskilling, and Shaping the Future of Professionalism
As Europe embarks on its ambitious Digital Europe 2030 agenda, the need for re-skilling and up-skilling across all sectors has never been more important. The rapid evolution of technology is reshaping the workplace, creating new demands for digital skills, but also posing significant challenges for the workforce. This keynote will explore the key challenges that lie ahead, from bridging the digital skills gap to fostering a culture of continuous learning. We will discuss the opportunities presented by digital transformation, as well as practical ways to build a resilient workforce that can thrive in a digital-first economy. By addressing key strategies for reskilling and upskilling, we can ensure a future where professionalism aligns with technological advances, empowering individuals and organisations to thrive in a rapidly changing world
Ernestina Mensalvas
Full professor, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Dr. Ernestina Mensalvas is a computer scientist and PhD in Computer Science. She leads the MIDAS “Data Mining and data simulation group” at the Center of Biotechnology in UPM and she is databases and data mining professor at UPM. Associate Dean of studies and Associate Rector for Graduate Studies (2004-2012). She actively participates in EIT-Digital and EIT-Health, especially in the education activities. Co-leads the task force on skills in the BDVA-DAIRO. Her research integrates different aspects of data analytics with the involvement in different real-world problems with special emphasis on health. She has participated actively in project development under programs H2020, FP7 and EIT.
Panel on IT professionalism and education:
Moderation: Mary Cleary
Chair, CEN/TC 428 “ICT Professionalism and Digital Competences”; CEPIS, Board Member, ICS; Board Member
Mary Cleary is an experienced ICT and business leader with a track record in education, certification, professional development and standards. She is the current Chair of CEN/TC 428 (ICT Professionalism and Digital Competences), and the former Secretary General of the Irish Computer Society (ICS). She has designed and implemented several CPD programmes for IT professionals focussing on competence and credentials as hallmarks of IT professionalism. She is an accredited company director (Institute of Directors (Ireland)), and sits on the boards of the ICS and CEPIS.
Panellist: Wanda Saabeel
Higher Education consultant, CEN and CENELEC, European Committee for Standardization
Wanda Saabeel is a higher education consultant and has been working with the European e-Competence Framework (e-CF) for more than 10 years. She chairs the education and training working group of CEN TC428, the European standardisation committee on ICT professionalism and responsible for the e-CF. She co-authored the European Standards for ICT Curriculum Development and the ICT Body of Knowledge, both based on e-CF.
She has used the e-CF for drafting educational profiles and curricula at various educational institutions and as a basis for drafting role profiles, training profiles and curricula at the EU projects ESSA (for software professionals), ARISA (AI professionals) and Digital4Sustainability. She is also involved in activities of the ISO with a focus on software and systems engineering professionals and is an expert in qualification assessment at the Dutch NLQF and in the national Dutch VET ICT qualifications.
Panellist: Eduardo Vendrell
Associate professor, Universitat Politècnica de València; EQANIE, member of the Executive Board
Eduardo earned an informatics BSc and PhD. He serves as Associate professor at Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain. he has also been President of the Spanish Council of Deans of Informatics, CODDII (2017-2017), president of the European Quality Assurance Network for Informatics Education, EQANIE (2015-2017), at present member of the Executive Board. He is Member of the ANECA Technical Committee ANECA-IIE-CCII-CONCITI-RSEQ, responsible for the International Quality Label assessment procedure. Eduardo is also Member of the EC of IGIP (International Society for Engineering Pedagogy).
Panellist: Gabriela García-Castellanos
Senior Manager, Business Value Area, Vass
With over 20 years in the industry, Gabriela has worked with leading organizations in business consultancy and digital solutions to accelerate the digital transformation of companies. Currently at VASS, she leads value creation initiatives in the Innovation & Business Value department, spearheading innovation initiatives to facilitate the implementation of cutting-edge technologies and methodologies, including AI, blockchain, immersive experiences, and IoT. Gabriela is also active in consortia promoting innovation across sectors in Spain and dedicates time to mentoring emerging talent and startups.
Panel on Digital skills: training and certification
Moderation: Luis Fernández-Sanz
President and chair of Digital Skills Policy expert group, CEPIS
Luis Fernández-Sanz serves as full professor at the Department of Computer Science, Universidad de Alcalá. Luis has a degree in informatics in 1989 and earned a PhD in Informatics in 1997. More than 30 years in academia and research in three universities (UPM, UEM and UAH), he has also been involved in industry and IT sector as free-lance consultant and CEO of a small It services company. Luis has been a project leader in 20 EU-funded projects druing the last decade. He is the only one expert who was officially hired or appointed for the development of the three main EU IT and digital skills and professional references: the ESCO labour classification, the standard EN16234 (e-Competence Framework) and the DIgComp 2.2 framework. After being involved since 2011 as Vicepresident and Board Member of the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies, Luis is the president of CEPIS from 2022.
Panellist: Jude Cosgrove
Scientific Project Officer, Joint Research Centre, European Commission
Jude Cosgrove joined the JRC (Seville) in June 2022 in the Digital Economy unit. Prior to joining the JRC she was Chief Executive Officer of the Educational Research Centre in Dublin, overseeing and guiding a range of projects and activities such as test and survey development, large-scale assessment implementation and analysis, programme evaluation and policy advice. She has worked on the topic of digital education and skills over the past 10 years. She has a Master’s in Psychology and a PhD in Education.
Panellist: Mª Jesús García
Coordinadora de Área, Subd. General de Talento y Emprendimiento Digital, D.G. de Digitalización e Inteligencia Artificial, Secr. de Estado de Digitalización e Inteligencia Artificial, Ministerio para la Transformación Digital y de la Función Pública (Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service)
María Jesús has a degree in English Philology from the University of Oviedo and has worked in different public administrations since 1991, always with a focus on digital competences and lifelong learning. From 2013 to 2015, she served as Technical Teaching Advisor at the National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teacher Training (INTEF), Subdirectorate of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of the Government of Spain. Between 2015 and 2018 she was the Head of the Area of Online Training, Social Networks and Educational Digital Competence in the same Subdirectorate. Since 2021, as Area Coordinator at the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence of the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration, she has been monitoring the National Digital Skills Plan in Spain.
Panelist: Javier Avilés
Head of Permanent Placement Division, Adecco Staffing
Javier Avilés is currently Adecco’s Head of Permanent Placement Division in Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Canarias. Former Litigation lawyer and passionate about Human Resources, Javier switched to the Executive Search arena and later to his present position. With a team of more than 60 consultants in its territory, Permanent Placement Division is an active participant in the development of new bespoke products and solutions, exceeding the needs of clients. In a blink of an eye, Employer branding; Candidate Experience; Candidates Search; Massive Recruiting; Recruitment Processes Outsourcing: Assessments and Young Talent are some of the many areas Adecco and Javier are more than happy to help with.
Panel on Female talent in the IT profession
Moderation: Raquel Lacuesta
Associate professor, Universidad de Zaragoza
Dr. Raquel Lacuesta has been a lecturer and researcher at the Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of Zaragoza for more than 20 years. She has served in numerous prominent program committees for international conferences and hse has been the main researcher of several significant research projects, with more than 150 research papers published. She has also served as part of the management team of the Polytechnic School of Teruel (Universidad de Zaragoza). Additionally, Raquel has actively participated in initiatives with the Association of Women Researchers and Technologists. She is a member of the CEPIS Women in ICT expert group representing the Spanish Body of CEPIS, ATI.
Panellist: Alena Kanabova
Associate director, Slovak branch of Accenture
During her over 25-year career, she has worked for both local and international Accenture’s clients in the fields of business consulting and systems integration, including major transformation initiatives and complex IT solution implementations. Currently, she oversees projects delivered within the Health and Public Service sectors from Accenture’s regional advanced technology center, that employs over 2700 IT specialists in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary,Romania and Bulgaria. Additionally, she also leads local Accenture activities with a positive social impact as a country Corporate Citizenship Lead, focusing mainly on improvement of the education system in Slovakia. She serves on the boards of educational non-profit organizations Teach for Slovakia and Dasato, Board of Directors’ member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia and a vice-chair of the chamber’s Corporate-Academic Cooperation Committee. Alena is an active ambassador for inclusion and diversity in the workplace, with a focus on increasing women’s representation in the IT sector and in leadership positions.
Panellist: Covadonga Rodrigo
Associate professor, Dept. of Languages and Informatic Systems, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)
Covadonga Rodrigo serves as Associate professor at the Dept. of Languages and Informatic Systems, UNED since 2000. She has a degree in telecommunications engineering in 1993 and earned a PhD in 1999. With more than 30 years in academia and research in three different spanish universities (UPM, Universidad Antonio de Nebrija and UNED), she has also been involved in quality assurance and design of on-line learning, been an auditor in institutions in Cyprus, Costa Rica, Greece, UK, Sweden and Switzerland. She has held several academic positions as Vice Rector of Technology (2010-2013), member of the Executive Committee in the CRUE ICT – technology sector of the Spanish Rectors’ Conference (2012-2013), Deputy Vice Rector of Applied Technologies in Study Centers (2006-2010), Director of the Chair ‘Digital Inclusion’ co-funded by the Vodafone Spain Foundation (2013-2018), and currently Vice-Dean for Research, Transfer and Innovation at the Faculty of Computer Science. She is participating in the WG Diversity and Inclusion of Informatics Europe.
Panellist: Begoña Vazquez Merayo
Begoña Vazquez Merayo, CEO of Why Consult powering Net4Tec
Begoña Vazquez Merayo is an entrepreneur in the field of organizational development, diversity and innovation management. She is a true cosmopolitan with studies in Spain and France and an international career in brand management for global corporations on different continents. With over 20 years of experience up to C-level positions, she founded Why Consult in 2011. Since then, Begoña has been leveraging her expertise, intercultural competence and passion to promote more diversity in organizations as a key to innovation and growth. Begoña stands for innovation, internationality and pioneering spirit. As a convinced networker and mother of two children, she is committed to the reconciliation of family and career and has been involved in the Working Moms DACH Network for years (as co-founder and board member in Munich). With her global network net4tec | 4 WoMen Careers in Technology, she is shaping the New Face of Leadership while fostering gender diversity in tech with the power of an international ecosystem and a committed community of top diverse executives and C-Level tough leaders. Begoña is a serial entrepreneur, advisory board member, coach, mentor and inspiring keynote speaker in Germany and internationally.