Secretariat

The Secretariat supports all other bodies in their work, ensures the information exchange between the different bodies, serves as contact point for third parties and represents and promotes EQAR both within the EHEA (European Higher Education Area) as on international level.

Colin Tück - Director

  • Management of the Register: general oversight
  • DEQAR: communication with key stakeholders, infrastructure and technical matters
  • External representation
  • Statutory meetings
  • Financial and HR management
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Colin Tück has been working for EQAR since October 2007, initially as Project Manager on behalf of its founding members (ENQA, ESU, EUA and EURASHE). Prior to joining EQAR he was involved in quality assurance-related topics as a member of the European Students’ Union’s (ESU, formerly ESIB) Bologna Process Committee. He was a member of the Executive Board of the National Union of Students in Germany (fzs) before his involvement in ESU.

Phone: +32 2 234 39 11
Mobile: +32 485 28 23 55
Email: colin.tueck@eqar.eu

Melinda Szabó - Deputy Director

  • Management of the Register: coordination and primary contact for applications, Substantive Change Reports, annual updates
  • Knowledge base of national QA systems
  • Support of EHEA monitoring and peer support activities
  • Monitoring of European and national policy developments, analyses, statistics
  • Content and programme of EQAR events
  • DEQAR: Pilot studies
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Melinda Szabó joined the Secretariat in March 2013. Melinda has done her master studies in Educational Management in Romania and complemented her degree with studies in political science at the Universite Libré de Bruxelles. She has previously worked in the Bologna Follow-Up Group Secretariat in providing support for the activities of the Working Groups and Networks (mainly the Social Dimension Working Group and Network of Experts on Student Support in Europe).

Phone: +32 2 234 39 15
Email: melinda.szabo@eqar.eu

Annelies Traas - Communications Officer

  • Communication planning and content
  • Organisation and planning of all EQAR events
  • Contact for general and media inquiries
  • DEQAR: Communication and dissemination, organisation and planning of events
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Annelies Traas joined the EQAR Secretariat in 2009. She has a Master Degree in European Studies (Amsterdam) and complemented her degree with a post-graduate degree in European Law (Bilbao, Spain). Previously, Annelies has held various positions (operations manager, legal advisor, director of the board of an international pre-school in New-York) in different fields of expertise (non-profit organisations, business incubation, financial services, education), based in different countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Malta, USA and Austria).

Phone: +32 2 234 39 12
Mobile: +32 474 9009 74
Email: annelies.traas@eqar.eu

Pooja Venkatesh - Project Reporting & Finance Officer

  • General finances and accounting
  • Financial reporting for the DEQAR CONNECT project
  • Office management and other administrative tasks
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Pooja joined the EQAR Secretariat in November 2020 as staff member, having worked already for EQAR in 2019 as temporary agency worker to coordinate the DEQAR project financial reporting.

She has a Master degree from KU Leuven in International Business Economics and Management, and a degree in Commerce from India. Prior to joining EQAR she worked as a tax consultant, project reporting officer, finance assistant and tax analyst at various international organisations, based in India, Belgium and London.

Aleksandra Zhivkovikj - Policy and Project Officer

  • Support the Register: analyse applications & Substantive Change Reports, review & update information, guidance for agencies
  • DEQAR: general maintenance, contact with agencies, handling questions from agencies & end users, maintaining data on HEIs
  • DEQAR CONNECT: manage & implement project activities, peer support for QAAs, contact with ENIC-NARIC centers
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Aleksandra Zhivkovikj joined the Secretariat in July 2020. She holds a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University “SS. Cyril and Methodius”-Skopje and a master’s degree in educational policies and development from the University of Oslo, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Malta. She has been working in the civil society sector in North Macedonia for a few years, participating in several research projects about higher education, exploring topics such as malpractices in academia, disadvantaged groups in higher education, student services and guidance, student activism and organising. Before joining the Secretariat, Aleksandra worked as a consultant at the OECD’s Directorate for Education and Skills.

Email: aleksandra.zhivkovikj@eqar.eu