EDEN

EDEN is the most comprehensive European association in the field of open, flexible, distance and e-learning.
Over the last 30 years the EDEN society has built a European character while being open to non-European members as well. The society has currently 180 institutional members, of which 26 are strategic partners (networks and associations). The main goal of EDEN is to support its members and partners in their endeavours to modernise education in Europe.

The Association aims to facilitate knowledge and practice exchange and, by this, foster developments in open, distance and e-learning in all sectors and on all levels (from individual through institutional to international) of education. EDEN provides a constant moderated online platform and recurrent face-to-face events for professional collaborations and networking and strives to inform its members about relevant educational research, pedagogical, technological and policy advancements via its publications.
The internationally renowned EDEN Annual Conferences have been held in different countries every year since 1992. The Multiplier Event organized by EDEN for PLEIADE is planned to be held as a satellite workshop of the EDEN Annual 2022 or 2023 Conference.

People

Dr. András Szűcs graduated as bio-engineer in 1980. After ten years of university teaching at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, since 1990 he has held international posts as Director of the EU TEMPUS Programme in Hungary (1990-95), Director of the EU PHARE Central-Eastern European Distance Education Programme (1994-96). He was Executive Director of EDEN, the European Distance and E-Learning Network, from 1997, and since 2000 EDEN Secretary General. He was Director of the Centre for Learning Innovation and Adult Learning at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics from September 2000 until the end of 2015. András has solid experience in applying for and managing the implementation and successful completion of ERASMUS+ funded actions and has shown deep commitment in realizing the European Commission policies in e-learning through connection to higher education institutions and professionals in the field.

Ferenc Tátrai graduated as chemical engineer at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), and got his MA diploma in applied mathematics at the University of Arts and Sciences Lóránt Eőtvös. He made his postgraduate studies at the Ecole Politechnique Federal de Lausanne, and got his PhD from the BME. After his PhD he spent two years at the University of Brisbane (Australia) doing research and writing a textbook in computer simulation of chemical plants. In 1996 he was appointed director of the Phare Office of the Ministry of Education, in 1998 he became the CEO of the first information technology science park „Infopark” in Budapest. From 2000 he became the educational director of the Centre for Informatics of BME. A year later he was asked to organise the work of the European Social Fund National Implementing Agency. He was the director and the Authorising Officer of the Phare programmes and later responsible for the ESF programmes mostly in the area of education and training. He is expert in drafting, implementing, managing and monitoring EU funded projects and programmes. After eight years he went back to the BME where he has been teaching for almost 40 years and retired as associate professor from the Department of Chemical Technology of the same university. Published over 50 scientific papers, co-author of 3 patents and several textbooks in chemical and environmental technology. Five years ago he joined EDEN Secretariat as senior advisor and takes part in the research work of EDEN in the area of recognition of open education credentials in higher education.

Linda Citterio obtained a Master of Science at the University of Copenhagen in 2013 and a PhD degree in Microbiology-Biochemistry at the Technical University of Denmark in 2017. Linda has experience in K-12 education from tutoring and teaching in IB schools (Copenhagen International School and International School of Hellerup). In 2018 Linda has worked in the teachers’ training unit (LearningLab DTU) of the Technical University of Denmark, where she gained coordination skills aimed at organising international education events in the STEM field. After having spent eight years in Denmark, in 2019 Linda moved to Hungary where she worked as international coordinator in the Directorate for International Relations at BME and in 2020 she joined EDEN Secretariat, where she takes part in project development and implementation in the area of open, distance and e-learning.