European Commission Director Pierre Mairesse will introduce the new EC Policy "Opening Up Education", starting a discussion about future EU member states’ educational systems in regards to openness, innovations, and the integration of learning technology. His responsibility and experience in the Europe 2020 initiative and contact to member states’ coordinated efforts in the fields of education and training have bestowed him with a well-rounded perspective of EU policy for lifelong learning, including open education.

Professor Vijay Kumar from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will support LINQ and EIF with his experience as Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education at one of the world’s most respected universities. His work on the advisory committee of the exemplary MIT OpenCourseWare and his time as executive officer for MIT’s Council on Educational Technology show the depth of his commitment to advancement in technology and learning.

Professor Zhu Zhiting from Shanghai’s East China Normal University (ECNU) will share his expertise in Smart Education, a unique approach combining Chinese and Western innovations in pedagogy. As the Dean of the School of Open Learning and Education and the Director of e-Education Engineering System Research Center at ECNU, he has been at the center of knowledge exchange between European and international innovators in technology-enhanced learning and essential efforts in Chinese learning policy.

The Head of the Innovation and Measuring Progress Division (IMEP) for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Dirk van Damme has priceless knowledge in evidence-based innovation in education. His position has enabled him to comparatively analyze different educational systems and evaluate their developments in learning sciences and knowledge management.

The Development Manager in eLearning, June Breivik from the Norwegian Business School will present her perspectives from leading effective national ventures in educational innovation in Norway. As member of the Norwegian Ministry of Education’s MOOC Committee, she has been able to gain valuable, personal insight from the first waves of MOOC courses.

Attendees of LINQ and EIF 2014 have chance to hear and meet these important figures in international educational innovation discuss quality management, approaches for open education, technology-enhanced learning, and more.