Research Network 5: Learning Transitions Members
Network Coordinator:
Lyndsey currently holds the role of Assistant Director (Programmes) in Adult Continuing Education (ACE) at University College Cork where she is responsible for growing and sustaining ACE’s broad portfolio of part-time programme for adult learners. Prior to this, Lyndsey led the Continuing Education & Enterprise Engagement team in ACE. A core focus for Lyndsey in her work at ACE is to improve engagement with enterprise, industry and community organisations to offer adults across a wide range of sectors a variety of opportunities to return to higher level education on a part-time basis.
Lyndsey has also led the university’s involvement in the HEA’s Springboard+ scheme since 2012, whereby she and her team work with academic units in UCC to design and deliver part-time programmes for adults in areas of identified skills needs. From 2008-2012, she was the UCC representative on the Irish government funded research project, ‘Roadmap for Employment Academic Partnerships (REAP)’, during which time her research focused on the interface between academia and industry and the wide span of engagements that this entails. From 2005 to 2009, Lyndsey worked in the Department of Government, University College Cork (UCC) delivering undergraduate lectures and tutorials on international relations and European politics.
Lyndsey holds a BA in European Studies and MA in International Relations from UCC. She is currently an EdD (Higher Education) candidate at the University of Liverpool.
Network Co-Coordinator:
Dr. paed Søren Ehlers is a Guest Faculty at the Helmut Schmidt University of the Federal German Army in Hamburg, Germany. Before that, he was a guest researcher at Julius Maximillians University of Wuerzburg and held a Professorship for Adult and Continuing Education, Institute of Pedagogy at Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg, Germany.
He holds a Doctoral Degree in Education Science from the Royal School of Educational Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Network Co-Coordinator:
Dr. Shalini Singh is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Institute of Adult & Lifelong Education. Currently, she is a Visiting Faculty and Researcher at the Helmut Schmidt University of the Federal German Army, Hamburg, Germany. She works as a Policy Analyst with the Center for Policy Analysis, India and a Senior Consultant with PLC Advocates, India. She has been teaching and doing research in Denmark, Germany, Slovenia and India. Her current areas of interest include: Resource Mobilisation, Stakeholders’ Engagement, Employability, Impact Assessment, Digitalisation, Sustainability, Comparative Studies, Policy Analysis and Working with Sources in Research. She is a volunteer for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace (POSH) and is associated with the Naman India Foundation, India.
Network Members:
Dr. Sabine Schmidt-Lauff is a Professor for Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning at the University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg. Before that, she was a Professor for Adult and Continuing Education at the Technical University Chemnitz.
She is a member of the University Senat Council for Studies and Teaching at HSU/UniBw H, the Faculty Council for Humanities and Social Sciences at HSU/UniBw H, the University Senat Council for International Affairs at HSU/UniBw H, and the Curriculum Committee for Education and Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at HSU/UniBw H. She is Deputy Chair of the Examination Committee for the Master’s Program Leading Diversity (M-LeaD) at HSU/UniBw H and Deputy Dean of Education of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at HSU/UniBw H. Recently, she was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame (Class of 2022).
Dr. Jan Schiller is a researcher at Helmut-Schmidt-University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg with the Professorship for Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning. He currently works on international and temporal perspectives on adult education and digitalization in higher education.
Contact: schiller@hsu-hh.de
Dr. Amit Choudhury is an Associate Professor at the University of Science & Technology, India. Before that, he was a Registrar at the University of Science & Technology, Meghalaya and an Assistant Professor and Head of Department of Business Administration at the Regional College of Higher Education, Guwahati, India.
He received a PhD from the M. S. University of Baroda in 2015 with a thesis titled ‘Development of an E-Learning Program for Enhancing Professional Competencies of Secondary School Principals in the State of Assam’.
His research interests include educational administration and management, education for sustainable development, outreach and extension activities involving students of higher education institutions, management development, ICT, e-learning & blended learning, international/regional cooperation on ensuring sustainable development.
Mr. Nitish Anand is a Research Scholar and Guest Faculty Member at the Department of Adult, Continuing Education and Extension, University of Delhi, India. Before that, he was a Guest Faculty Member at the Indira Gandhi National Open University.
He holds a PhD in Higher Education Employability Policy from the University of Delhi, India.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad is an Assistant Professor at the University of Burdwan, West Bengal, India. Before that, he worked as and Assistant Professor on Ad-hoc basis in the Department of Political Science, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi.
He received his PhD in 2021 with a thesis titled ‘Political Economy of the Egyptian Uprising: Removal of Mubarak and Morsi Regimes’.
Dr. Rajesh Kumar is a Professor and Head of DACEE at University of Delhi, India.
His research interests include adults continuing education, lifelong learning and population education, counseling and guidance, elderly population and transgender people. He is a lecturer on adult and lifelong learning, social development, and elderly population.
Jenny Siung is Head of Education in the Chester Beatty, Dublin, Ireland. She developed the first intercultural learning programme in an Irish museum. Her work involves engaging with the museum’s Islamic, Asian, North African, East Asian and European collections, devising numerous programmes including intercultural projects for schools and creating links with local multi-ethnic communities.
She has sat on a number of advisory boards; Dublin City Council Chinese New Year Festival (2008-2015), Asia Europe Museum Education Exchange Programme, Cultural Diversity Policy of the Arts Council and the European Open Method of Coordination on Intercultural Dialogue (2010-2015). Jenny regularly writes and talks on cultural diversity and the role of national identity and Irish museums as well as creativity and innovation.
She participated in the Getty NextGen for museum leaders in 2012 and Learning in Museums, ICOM China in 2014. She is the lead partner in The 4C’s project (2021-2023) funded by the EU and is one of the coordinators of The Creative School (2019-2022) and Making Museum projects, (Erasmus + 2014-2019).
Gaia Del Negro, PhD in Education (Canterbury Christ Church University, UK), is an independent researcher and practitioner. Graduated in Intercultural Studies, MA in Training and Development of Human Resources in the University of Milano-Bicocca, after a sabbatical in South East Asia and since her MA thesis on non-traditional students and resilience she has been interested in narrative and performative approaches to look at professional lives. Her study about “An Auto/biographical, Cooperative Study on our Relationships to Knowing” in higher education, health and social work produced an interdisciplinary framework illuminating professionals’ struggle to resist dominant discourses of professional knowing, and some methodological recommendations about how to foster reflexive processes through aesthetic engagement with cultural artefacts. 
Andra Fernate, Doctor of Pedagogy, Professor and Vice-rector of Studies since 2009 at Latvian Academy of Sport Education in Latvia. She is the author of more than 70 papers on sport science, LLL quality, effectiveness, quality assurance in education, sociocultural approach to developing core competences in the life wide learning, etc. in internationally reviewed editions, one monograph and four book chapters on education and learning in HEIs, development of core competences. She is also member of the editorial board of the Journal ‘LASE Journal of Sport Science’. She was a member of ASEM LLL Hub, Research NW5 ‘ASEM LLL Core Competences’ and is a Vice-president of the Baltic Sport Science Society, a Co-convenor of EERA NW11 ‘Educational Improvement and Quality Assurance’ and Expert of the Academy of Sciences of Latvia in Educational Sciences and was Expert of the Sport Science. Currently Andras Fernate’s research interests are related to the investigation of the telework, development of the professional identity and LLL quality.
Doctor of Pedagogy, Karine Oganisjana, is a professor and senior researcher at Riga Technical University, Latvia. Her participation in the activities of ASEM Lifelong Learning Research Network 5 started in 2011. As the leading researcher of the project “The development of teachers’ professional competence for work in interdisciplinary study environment to link studies to real life and promoting students’ entrepreneurship” realised within the ESF project “Support to Education Research”, she collaborated with ASEM RN5 colleagues from the University of Latvia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The research outcomes were published in the scientific monograph “Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning for Promoting Entrepreneurship” written by her in 2015. The findings of that research project have also been published in scientific journals co-authored with ASEM colleagues. Currently Karine Oganisjana’s research interests are related to the exploration of new pedagogical means for promoting students’ thinking and metacognition, self-directed learning and problem solving skills, creativity and entrepreneurial mindsets.
ADONIS P. DAVID is Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Educational Policy Research and Development Centre (EPRDC) in the Philippine Normal University (PNU), Philippines. He is currently teaching graduate courses on educational research methods and applied statistics in the same university. He also presently serves as an educational testing and data analysis consultant with a private company specialising in educational assessment of learners in basic education schools.
Dr. David is actively involved in research projects encompassing a broad range of research themes within counseling, educational assessment, and educational psychology. He has published research articles and books in these areas. His current research interests center on culturally-rooted beliefs and academic outcomes, educational policy analysis, lifelong learning and career development, and psychological well-being of teachers and learners.
Dr. David is a registered guidance counselor and a Fellow of the Philippine Educational Measurement and Evaluation Association (PEMEA) where he also serves as a board member since 2014. He obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology from De La Salle University, Philippines.
Paula is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Education of the University of Lisbon since January 2012. She is a lecturer of subjects concerning adult education such as Adult Education, Local Development and Community Intervention, Training in Work Contexts and Social Economy and Education. She is a member of the Unit for Research and Teaching on Policies of Education and Training of this Institute since January 2012.
She was a researcher at the Unit for Adult Education of the University of Minho from February 1992 to December 2011. She is a member of several national and international research project teams on adult education, policies of adult education, training in work contexts, practices of adult education.
She was an Invited Professor at the Juluis-Maximilians University of Würzburg (Germany) within the COMPALL – Winter School on Comparative Studies in European and International Strategies of Lifelong Learning and part of the ERASMUS Intensive Programme (2013-2014/2014- 2015).
Dr Katarina Popovic studied Andragogy at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Serbia, and has PhD in philosophy/adult education from University of Aachen, Germany. She is Professor at the Department for Andragogy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade.
Dr Katarina Popovic is Secretary General of ICAE – International Council for Adult Education and Vice-President of the ISCAE – International Society for Comparative Adult Education, and the President of the Serbian Adult Education Society. For many years she was the vice president of EAEA (European Association for the Education of Adults), and coordinator of German DVV International for South East Europe, participating and coordinating numerous projects, both research and applied ones, also national, regional and global.
She currently holds the position of the co-chair of the Academia and Education Stakeholder Group in the UN DESA system and she is member of the Steering Group of the HLPF Coordination Mechanism in that system.
Dr Popović is member of International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame and Honorary fellow of UNESCO Institute fir Lifelong Learning.
Dr Popović is member of several relevant European and international organisations, editor in chief of the journal “Andragogical studies” and author of numerous publications, articles and books on andragogy, lifelong learning and adult education. She is certified trainer (Swiss) in adult education with rich experience in trainings worldwide.
Borut Mikulec is Associate Professor for Adult Education at the Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. He teaches several bachelor and master courses: Comparative adult education, International perspectives on adult education, and Sociology of adult education.
His fields of research are: comparative adult and continuing education, the role of transnational organisations (EU, OECD, UNESCO) in education policy, European and national qualifications frameworks, professional development of adult educators, recognition of prior learning, continuing vocational education and active citizenship.
He is currently involved in research project “Lifelong learning of adults for sustainable development and the digital breakthrough” and project “Pedagogical and andragogical studies – Learning and education for a good-quality life in community”.
He is a member of international associations in the field of adult education, such as European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA) and International Society for Comparative Adult Education (ISCAE).
From 2017 on, he is editor in chief of the international scientific journal “Studies in Adult Education and Learning”.
Wirathep Pathumcharoenwattana is an Associate Professor and the Head of Department of Lifelong Education, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; the Director of Children and Youth Development Research Unit and Research and Innovation Development Center of Lifelong Learning for Elderly. He is providing teaching for Bachelor, Master and Doctoral Degree Students in Non-Formal Education at the Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. He has researched in Non-Formal Education, Lifelong Education, Adult and Elderly Education and Alternative Education published more than 30 titles. He has more than 60 peer review papers on Non-Formal Education, Adult and Older Adult Education, Lifelong Education and Alternative Education. He is a Board of East Asia Forum for Adult Education (EAFAE) and he is also a reviewer for >10 journals.
Martin Mulder (1951) is Emeritus Professor of Education and past chair of the department of Education and Competence Studies of Wageningen University, the Netherlands. Most of his recent research is in the field of competence-based vocational, professional and higher education, training and development. He recently edited ‘Competence-Based Vocational and Professional Education. Bridging the Worlds of Work and Education’ (2017, Cham, Switzerland: Springer). He (co)authored and edited numerous books and articles in peer-reviewed scientific research journals in the field of vocational education, higher education, teacher education, science and engineering education, technology-enhanced learning, management, entrepreneurship and mainstream educational research. The work of Mulder has been widely acknowledged.
He received an Outstanding Reviewer Award of the Journal of Workplace Learning twice (2017 and 2018), the European Researcher of Vocational Education and Training Award by the European Commission (2016), and is an honorary member of the Vocational Education and Training Research Network of the European Educational Research Association (since 2011). Furthermore, he has several Awards more from Dutch, American, Asian, and other European organizations. Martin Mulder has served, and still serves, on a number of editorial committees of international journals, and held various leadership positions in national, European, American and World educational research associations. He has presented his work widely in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Currently he is a member of the Academic Board of NCOI and an independent consultant in the field of education and training. He maintains his own website www.mmulder.nl