Masterclass With Fearless Educator

Tekin Baransel was born in Germany in 1975. He lived there until he was 10. He graduated from Boğaziçi University as a Math teacher and started working as a math teacher in a private school and taught math to middle and high school students. In his 3rd year he became the head of math department and dean of students in a new establishing private dormitory school. In his fifth year he became the school principal in a k-8 school and afterwards continued his administrative roles in different private high schools applying the IB programmes. During his career he took several IB trainings such as IB Coordination (cat1&2), Administration (cat1&2), joined several IB symposiums, also attended and graduated succesfully from the PTC(Principals’ Training Center) programmes. The 4 subjects he took during his PTC trainings are Leadership and Group Dynamics, Curriculum Leadership, The Effective Prinicpal, Instructional Supervision and Evaluation. He had the opportunity to experience k-12 school leadership as a teacher, mid-level and high level administrator. And also, had the opportunity to start up two IB World schools. He also had the experience as a boarding school administrator. He is still the head of a foundation school in İstanbul which is on the way to be accredited both by IGCSE and IB and also shares his experiences with different school administrators, teachers in different occasions. He is married and has a daughter  and a son.

Dr. Sakena Yacoobi is the CEO of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), which she founded in 1995 in response to the lack of education and health care that the Afghan people were facing after decades of war and strife. Since its founding, AIL has either directly or indirectly impacted the lives of millions of Afghans. Under her leadership, AIL continues as an innovative organization working at the grassroots level helping communities and individuals.  She is also co- founder and Vice President of Creating Hope International (CHI). In addition, Sakena has established private facilities in Afghanistan: 4 schools, a hospital and a radio station. Dr. Yacoobi has 6 honorary doctorates from institutions, including Princeton University. Dr. Yacoobi was honored in 2017 with the Sunhak Peace Prize and in 2016 as the Harold W. McGraw Prize in Education awardee, the 2015 WISE Prize for Education Laureate and the 2013 recipient of the Opus Prize.  She is both a Kravis Prize and  Gruber Prize awardee. Sakena is a Skoll Social Entrepreneur, Schwab Social Entrepreneur, Ashoka fellow and was nominated as one of 1,000 women for the Nobel Peace Prize.

José Francisco de Almeida Pacheco (born 1951) is a Portuguese educator who pioneered a school called Escola da Ponte (Bridge School), in Vila das Aves, Portugal. He is also a published writer, with some books and a wide range of articles. Specialist in Music and Literacy, he holds a master's degree in Science of Education by the School of Psychology and Education of the University of Porto (Universidade do Porto).  Pacheco was the principal of Escola da Ponte since 1976, which was founded by him. The school has international prestige for its innovation and good inclusive practices. Pacheco is the author of several books and articles on Educational practice. He has been living in Brazil for the last ten years, attracted by the bigger innovative movement in the area of education and schooling.  2004: In May was awarded by the President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio with the Ordem da Instrução Pública, which is one of the honorific orders of Portugal. This is the attribution of decoration to individuals personal bravery, achievement, or service to Portugal

Glaucia Rosas is an education technology leader and innovation catalyst who works in digital learning projects and in the school management field. She is a qualified teacher and holds a Business Management and Finance degree. She received her Masters degree from Johns Hopkins School of Education on Digital Age Learning and Educational Technology. During her career, she has specialised in School Management, School Leadership and Financial Management. Glaucia is a Microsoft Educator, an Apple Teacher and is in the process of being certified as an ISTE Educator (International Society of Technology in Education).  As the former Head of Digital Learning at St. Paul’s School, the prestigious British international school in Sao Paulo, Brazil, she designed and implemented the school’s Digital Learning strategy, for which it received the Microsoft Showcase School and Apple Distinguished School awards for their innovative and creative use of technology in education. Aware of the challenges that the rest of the education sector was facing with technology, in 2020, Glaucia got together with James Wilkinson to found The EduTec Alliance. James was the school board member who had sponsored all her projects, for that he had spent 35 years travelling the world designing and implementing advanced technology solutions for major corporations. Their primary objective was to allow wider access to the winning strategies that they have applied at St. Paul’s, and to provide the knowledgeable and affordable advice that has been lacking until now for schools. The EduTec Alliance’s mission is to help schools across the world to overcome their digital transformation challenges and shape their technology structure and strategy to offer the best possible learning experience to pupils and efficient day to day operation for the whole school community. As a membership-based organisation, it allows collaboration among members, which is invaluable to keep them ahead in the education technology space.

Head of College - Dulwich College Seoul Originally from Iceland, Gudmundur went on to be educated at University College London (UCL) and the University of Sheffield where he studied archaeological science. He has directed numerous research excavations for UCL, the National Museum of Iceland and the University of Cambridge, focusing mostly on Viking age and Medieval settlements. Gudmundur has always had a love of music and studied at the Reykjavik Academy of Singing and Vocal Arts and the Royal Academy of Music, London as a bass vocalist. He has performed various operatic roles and given numerous lieder and oratorio recitals. As an educator Gudmundur has worked for international schools in Serbia, Italy, China and the United Arab Emirates. Prior to joining Dulwich College Seoul, Gudmundur was the Rektor of the United World College Red Cross Nordic on the west coast of Norway. He is passionate about community voice, appreciative inquiry and the role that critical thinking plays in furthering democracy and citizenship. With close to 20 years of experience, Gudmundur has taught Theory of Knowledge, Geography, Music and Critical Thinking, and has worked mostly within the International Baccalaureate framework. He has an MA in Education from the Westminster Institute of Education/Oxford Brookes University.

Mike Gilmour is an educational leader, author and speaker who is originally from South Africa but is currently based in Singapore. As a passionate believer in human potential, Mike has led organisations and teams, both within education and corporate sectors, to achieve high levels of success. He has a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and speaks regularly at conferences throughout ASEAN on topics relating to education, leadership and human connections. Mike's first book, The Power Of Rapport , is a reflection of his passion for human connections, and the role they play in organisational and personal success. His book is currently sold in over 20 countries and has helped many people evaluate the role rapport plays in their daily life.

Hecht (married and father of 4 is an internationally distinguished leader and visionary in innovative education. He is also a sought after speaker and consultant, and plays an essential role in the movement for changing education in Israel and around the world. In 1 987 Yaacov Hecht fulfilled the promise he gave himself as a dyslectic problematic schoolchild and founded the Democratic School in Hadera, Israel the first school in the world to be called a democratic school In 1993 he initiated IDEC International Democratic Education Conference which convenes every year in a different continent. IDEC has facilitated the establishment of hundreds of innovative democratic schools around the globe, 30 of them in Israel. In 19 96, after the assassination of Israel s prime minister, following the request for in-depth educational programs that deal with democracy  Yaacov Hecht founded IDE the Institute for Democratic Education that worked on integrating democratic and innovative processes in Israeli public schools. Within IDE, Hecht created a groundbreaking academic faculty for teachers training in the Kibuzim college, the biggest academic institute for teachers in Israel. In addition, Yaacov built in cooperation between IDE and Tel Aviv University, a graduate program for school principals. He also created with the ministry of education the Pioneer" program for promoting educational leadership amongst young educators. His book "Democratic Education A Beginning of a Story", which has been translated into English, Portuguese, Bulgarian and Korean, is a worldwide source of inspiration for groundbreaking educators and entrepreneurs. In 2 010 he found ed Education Cities the Art of Collaborations that weaves and maintain s municipal collaborations that aim to turn the city into one big school It also promotes collaborations and networking in the classroom, in the school, in the city, in the state, and in the world. WIRED magazine has chosen Education Cities' MOOC learning model (How2MOOC) to one of the leading trends in 2015. In January 2017 Education Cities was chosen to one of the 10 leading innovations in the world, by HundrED the Finish initiative for globally promoting educational innovation. Yaacov has served as an advisor to 6 Ministers of Education in Israel , in the past and at present, as an expert in creating connections and interfacing between the state and alternative education. He regards the preparing and directing of the educational system towards the future as his main mission today.

Michael Gebauer is a professor in didactics of primary school education at the Martin-Luther-University in Halle/Germany. He worked as a teacher for science and English language in secondary schools for more than 12 years and was the co-founder of a democratic school. He was also co-founder of the European Democratic Education Community (EUDEC) and organized the first EUDEC Conference in Leipzig. His major fields of research are environmental education and human rights based democratic and inclusive education. He has been working as an author of schoolbooks, teaching materials and articles for more than 30 years.

Kate O’Connell is a passionate educator and learner with 22 years of classroom experience and 17 years of teacher leadership experience. She is pursuing a Certificate of School Management and Leadership through Harvard Business School and Harvard Graduate School of Education.  Kate is originally from the United States and has taught both at home and abroad in China, Tanzania, Thailand, and Cambodia. She received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in Elementary Education in 1995 and her Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction in 2001 also from Michigan State University.  Kate is an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program Workshop Leader and also leads other workshops including Compass Education. Kate regularly leads workshops for teachers throughout the Asia-Pacific Region. Online she has coached courses through Harvard Graduate School of Education’s WIDE World.

Co-founder and Executive President of the Alternative Educational Organization based in Puerto Rico, Nuestra Escuela (Our School). This entity was founded in 2000 by Ana Yris and her husband, also an educator, Justo Méndez Arámburu. In addition to their local centers, they promoted the model development in Shule Yetu, the headquarters of Nuestra Escuela in Africa, and created in 2012 the initiative Encuentro Nuestra America (Encounter of Our America), the most important alternative education meeting in Latin America. As a specialist in academic and biopsychosocial approach, Guzmán Torres has vast experience working on educational projects with children and young people who, for various reasons, have moved away from the traditional school. Her work has been recognized by the Hispanics in Philanthropy organization, the School of Social Workers of Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rico Senate. Ana Yris has been part of the Aflatoun Network since 2010 and is certified as a Regional Trainer of Aflatoun in the Americas, creating collaborative links with Child and Youth Finance International (CYFI) and leading in Puerto Rico the annual Global Money Week celebration.  As a keynote speaker, she has shared experiences at the World Forum for Early Childhood in Puerto Rico, where she presented Aflatot at IDEC 2015 “International Democratic Education Conference” in New Zealand and the National Conference of Alternatives for a New Education (CONANE) in Brazil. Also presented IDEC 2016 as a keynote speaker in Finland and has been recognized with the INDEX Award for Dominican excellence, for her work as a Dominican woman in Puerto Rico. She was also selected to participate in the Global Ambassadors women leader program 2019, initiative of Vital Voices and Bank of America. Her effort is guided by the firm commitment to impact socially and economically disadvantaged humans, contributing to create an equitable society.