Registration  - Hotel Sheraton
Tirana, Albania
Tel: +(355)(4) 274707

Registration//Information Desk will also be
operational as follows:
October 25:  8:00-17:00
October 26:  8:00-12:00

Welcome Address:
Genc Pollo, Minister of Education and Science, Albania
Mr. Berisha, Prime Minister, Albania
Tamar Manuelyan Atinc, Director for Human Development Department, and
Camille Nuamah, Country Manager for Albania, World Bank (WB)

Overview of the Conference
Fred Nunes, Conference Facilitator

Plenary Session 1
“Setting up the Stage: Persistent and Perennial Issues in TVE and Upper-Secondary Education”, Session led by Mamta Murthi, Sector Manager, WB (presentation by Joshua Hawley, Ohio State University (OSU))

Coffee Break

Instructions for the Small Group Sessions: Fred Nunes
Small Group Session 1
Based on Data Profiles participants will discuss:
• Lack of alignment between identified weaknesses and the policies being implemented
• Preparing Brief Presentation

Small Group Presentation and Open  Debate

Lunch (Hotel Sheraton)

Plenary Session 2
“Current reforms in upper-secondary education and TVE”, Session led by Mary Canning (presentations by Madlen Serban (Romania), C.J. Lee (Korea), and Minister Pollo (Albania))

Coffee Break

Parallel Sessions 1

A) National Qualifications Framework (I): What is it and why you need it. Session led by Vaclav Klenha ETF; presenter - Loukas Zahilas, ETF
B) National Qualifications Framework (II): Reviewing qualifications, validating non-formal learning. Vincent McBride ETF
C) From School to Working Life - Guidance and counseling to make transitions work. Session led by Mika Launikari, CEDEFOP; presenter - Lumnie Mehmetaj

Closing of Day 1:
Small Group Reflections  (Fred Nunes)

Plenary Session 3
“Paths, Crossroads and Transitions: Contemporary structural reforms of upper-secondary education and TVE"
Session led by Madlen Serban (presentations by Mary Canning (Ireland), Jerzy Wisniewski (Poland))

Coffee Break

Parallel Sessions 2
D) Issues and Choices in Financing TVE. Session led by Ernesto Cuadra, WB; (Presenters: Jean-Raymond Masson (ETF), Kari Pitkänen, C.J. Lee (Korea))
E) Partnerships between education and business: public/private sector. Session led by Keiko Miwa, WB; (Presenters: Joshua Hawley, OSU ; Timo Kuusela, ETF)
F) Managing Quality in TVE: Session led by Mr. Georg Sticker, InWent (Presenter: Mr. Uwe Wieckenberg, InWent)

Lunch (Hotel Sheraton)

Instructions for the Small Group Sessions: Fred Nunes 
Small Group Session 2
(Focus on the impediments to structural flexibility of upper-secondary education and how to tackle them)
• Country Focus Session
• Discussions and Conclusions

Coffee Break

Plenary Session 4
Messages from the Small Groups, (facilitated by Fred Nunes)

Aviana Bulgarelli is the 5th Director of CEDEFOP (the European centre
for the development of vocational training).

Aviana Bulgarelli comes from the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social
Policies, where she has been Director-General for Guidance and
Vocational Training Policies since 2002.

She co-coordinated the Leonardoda Vinci Programme, the European Social Fund Community SupportFramework, and other programmes and policies at the national level. Mrs Bulgarelli also represented Italy in meetings of the EU
Directors-General for Vocational Education and Training (DGVT) and
participated in various EU-level negotiations in the fields of
vocational training and cohesion policy.

Her experiences at the forefront of vocational education and training
policy-making were preceded by an illustrious career as a researcher in
labour market issues. She was for many years Senior Researcher in the
Italian Vocational Education and Training Research Institute (ISFOL)
where she later became Director of Research. She has numerous academic
books, journal articles and conference contributions to her name.

Mary Canning is a member of the Higher Education Authority, Ireland and a Board member of the Children’s Research Centre, Trinity College, Ireland.   Until 2006, Dr. Canning worked as lead education specialist in the Europe and Central Asia region of the World Bank, specializing in the education systems of post transition economies.

She led the Bank's educational policy dialogue and sectoral analysis in the new EU countries and the Russian Federation.  She holds a PhD in Literature as well as an advanced Diploma in Education Studies, both from University College, Dublin .  She taught at high school and university levels both in Ireland and the United States.  

She was subsequently employed in management positions in the Irish Government.  In 1990, she was seconded to the European Union Phare Program and worked in an advisory capacity to the Hungarian Government from 1991-1992.   She joined the World Bank in 1992 and was based in Washington until 1998 when she was posted to Budapest and, until 2006, Warsaw.

Recent publications include:  lead author for the World Bank Review of Polish Tertiary Education ( 2004) and the World Bank studies, in the new EU member states on Financing Higher Education (2006) and on Vocational Education: enhancing Labor Market Outcomes and Fiscal Efficiency (2007);   co-author of the World Bank/OECD Review of Higher Education in Kazakhstan ( 2007) and of the OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education in China (forthcoming). 

Josh Hawley is Associate Professor, Workforce Development and Education, The Ohio State University and (by Courtesy) John Glenn School of Public Affairs. He received his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and an MA and BA from the University of Wisconsin. He is also affiliated with the UNESCO/UNEVOC Center for the United States, located at Ohio State.

His primary responsibility at Ohio State includes teaching workforce policy and comparative education policy for PhD and MA students. In addition, Prof. Hawley has worked with a range of countries on vocational and technical education policy, including Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Uganda. He primary academic interests include the evaluation of vocational or adult education, as well as comparative studies of education policy more broadly.

Mr. Mika Launikari, Finland, is the holder of the Lifelong Guidance Project Manager´s post at the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training CEDEFOP in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Before moving to Greece Mr. Launikari worked for the Finnish National Board of Education 2005-2007. There he coordinated a large-scale guidance project (CHANCES - Developing Career Counselling Services to Prevent Exclusion of Young People) funded by the European Social Fund. The project was bࡡsed on increasing cross-level interaction (individual, organisational, institutional, local, regional, national, European) to contribute to a systemic change in the way guidance and counselling services are delivered to young people outside of formal education and at risk of social exclusion, students with special needs, and ethnic minority groups.

Chong Jae Lee is Professor of Educational policy and administration at the Department of education, Seoul National University. He had served Korean Education Development Institute(KEDI)  as President in 2002-2005. He also participated to Education Committee of OECD as member of Vice chairs in 2004-2005. He served the Presidents of Korean Society for the Study of Educatioanl Administration(KSEA) and several positions of advisory committee for the Ministry of education.

He graduated Seoul National University and had Ph.D from Florida State University in 1974, majoring Educational planning and Economics of education. He had been Senior researcher at KEDI in 1974-1980 and joined to the faculty at Seoul National University in 1980.

   His major works include:
- The development of education in Korea: Approach, Achievement and Current challenges(2006), Background report to World Bank
- The Integration  model of two Korean educatinal system of North and South (1999): Policy report
- The selection system for University entrance: Policy report (1995)
- The Governance system for the Pohang Science and Technology Institute(POSTECH),1994

Vincent McBride has been involved in policy development and implementation in employment, education and training since 1986.  He has held a variety of positions in the field including Ministerial and Policy advisory roles, Programme manager, Technical assistance team leader, and technical manager in vocational educational development. 

Vincent has worked in Australia, South Africa and Romania and since 2003 with the European Training Foundation (ETF) in Torino, Italy, where he works as part of the ETF’s planning and evaluation team. Vincent has been a member of a range of national and international working committees including European Union Expert working groups for the European Qualification Framework, the Common principles for the Validation of Informal and non formal learning.

His expertise covers a wide area, including public development, systems and methodologies for the development and assessment of competence against recognised standards, social partnership structures and processes, and the financing management of vocational education. He has produced various guides and materials on assessment design, qualifications development and the identification of competencies and learning outcomes.

Ms Lumnie Mehmetaj works as a Local Consultant on Career Education and Guidance-KOSVET, which is an EU founded project for support to VET in Kosovo.

Ms Mehmetaj has a diploma degree in chemistry. She began her career as a chemistry teacher in a vocational school in the city/town Peja. Since 2000 she has been working for different international projects supporting education reform in Kosovo, for example, as a local Consultant responsible for career guidance and teacher training in the 3 phases of EU support to VET reform in Kosovo.

She has been responsible for career guidance including the development of Career Education and Guidance-CEG strategy, planning for establishment of National Career Guidance Resource Centre, coordinating CEG working group, liaising with CEG stakeholders, organising CEG training, training teachers for the Ministry of Education Science and Technology -MEST Life Skills pilot. She was also a co-author of the “Review of Career Guidance Policies in the Western Balkans: Kosovo”, for ETF, Torino, 2004

Madlen Serban, Director of the National Center for TVET Development
Romania started her carrier as car engines designer-engineer, she switched to education, acting as teacher and TVET school manager, and since 1996 she is coordinating the TVET reform process at national level in Romania. Since 1999 she is the director of the Romanian TVET Agency.

She received her PhD in educational sciences, on the topic of partnership in education and training, and took part as lifelong learner in training courses provided by Harvard University – JF Kennedy School of Government, Salzburg seminar and by L’Ecole Nationale d’Administration in France just to name three of those related to effective management and governance. As first president of the National Adult Training Board, acting in our days as the Romanian Authority for Qualifications, as well as considering her current position, Madlen Serban is taking part actively to the dynamic process of restructuring and modernization of VET in Romania.

She is involved into the European VET processes as Director General for VET (DGVT), Advisory Council for VET policies (ACVT), former ETF Governing Board member and recently as CEDEFOP Governing Board memberon behalf of the Romanian Government.

Former co-chair, since August 2007, Madlen Serban is the chair of the Task force for Education and Youth which operates under the Stability Pact for the South East of Europe. She is also representing the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth in the Governing Board of European Reform Initiative for SEE (ERI SEE).

Uwe Wieckenberg is Managing Director of Institut für Bildungstransfer e.V. (Institute for Education Trans¬fer) Ruppertsweiler, Germany, a non-profit organization providing consultancy services in e-learning, quality assurance, and quality development