Office

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Jan Palmowski - Secretary-General

Jan Palmowski has been Secretary-General of The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities since its creation in 2016. A contemporary historian, he started his career at the University of Oxford before moving to King’s College London where he taught European politics and EU integration. He was Head of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at King’s College London (2008-12), and Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Academic Vice-President at the University of Warwick from 2013 to 2018. He is Professor at the University of Warwick, and adjunct Professor at the University of Oslo.

​​​​His wider international engagements include membership in the German Science Council’s Strategy Commission (2013-16), and the German Excellence Commission’s joint expert Group (2016-18). He also served on the Humanities panel of the Comparative Expert Assessment of Lithuanian Universities (2018), acting as its co-Chair in 2023. He was founding chair of the Strategic Advisory Council of the Université Paris Cité (2019-24), and member of the Global Advisory Board of Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona (2021-25).

A frequent commentator for a range of publications (most notably the Times Higher Education and Research Professional), in his academic capacity Jan has recently published on European higher education policy, with recent publications including In the shadow of the EU’s crises: the changing dynamics of the European knowledge area, 2014-25 with Åse Gornitzka in Journal of European Integration and A Paradigm Shift in European transnational collaboration? European University Alliances as communities of practice with Jo Angouri in Globalisation, Societies and Education. He also co-authored The Guild’s most recent Insight paper with Jo Angouri called European Universities Alliances: Pilots without Pathways?.

​​​​LinkedIn: @JanPalmowski

Bluesky: @JanPalmowski

Policy

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Ivana Didak - Head of Higher Education Policy

Ivana works as Head of Higher Education Policy at The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities. She covers the network’s activities in higher education, including the Erasmus+ programme and the European Universities Initiative. Ivana supports the Secretary General in ensuring that the Guild is governed effectively and transparently.

Previously, she worked in the Erasmus+ National Agency in Croatia where she focused on Erasmus+ Key Action 1, and especially the International Credit Mobility. Ivana studied at KU Leuven and holds a Master’s degree in European Politics and Policies and a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Zagreb.

She is the group coordinator of The Guild's Erasmus, European Universities, Strategic Leads on Education and Widening Participation working groups.

​​​​LinkedIn: @IvanaDidak

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Julien Chicot - Head of Research & Innovation Policy

Julien works as Head of Research & Innovation Policy at The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities. He covers the network’s activities on the framework programmes Horizon Europe and FP10, the European Research Area, knowledge valorisation, and academic freedom.

Previously, he monitored national research and innovation policies at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He also worked in the consultancy sector, where he evaluated EU public policies in the field of research and innovation. Julien holds a PhD in economics from Université Grenoble Alpes.

He coordinates The Guild's R&I Policy and Innovation working groups.

LinkedIn: @JulienChicot

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Sean Rowlands - Senior Policy Officer

Sean joined The Guild in September 2023 as Senior Policy Officer. Previously he worked at the UK Research Office in Brussels as a European Research Council National Contact Point and an Expert Advisor to fifteen research organisations in the UK and the BBSRC. Sean holds a Master's degree in Latin American Studies from Leiden University and a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature and Language from the University of Westminster.

In The Guild he covers the following areas: The Guild–ARUA partnership, Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence, North-South working group, Responsible Internationalisation and Association to Horizon Europe.

LinkedIn: @SeanRowlands

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Simone Mohrs - Senior Policy Officer

Simone joined The Guild in August 2024 as a Senior Policy Officer. Previously, she worked at MedTech Europe as a Manager for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and New Digital Technologies, leading the association's work on AI and the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Before that, she was a Policy Officer at the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers' Association, responsible for the EU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Health Sector. She also worked at ReAct - an independent network from Uppsala University, where she published research on "Forgotten antibiotics" as part of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Study Group for Antibiotic Policies. Simone holds a Master's degree in International Health from Uppsala University and a Bachelor's in European Public Health from Maastricht University.

At The Guild, Simone's responsibilities include the following working groups: Deans of Health, Heads of Digital Research, Open Science and Research Careers & Assessment.

LinkedIn: @SimoneMohrs

Giulia Consonni - Policy Officer

Giulia joined The Guild as a Policy Officer in July 2025. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Diplomatic Affairs and a Master’s degree in Legal Studies, both from the University of Bologna, as well as a Master’s degree in International and European Law from Tilburg University. Previously, Giulia interned at The Guild as a Junior Policy Officer (August 2024 – February 2025). Before that, she worked as a Legal Assistant for the Border Violence Monitoring Network and as an International Relations Officer at the International Desk of the University of Bologna.

At The Guild, she works on The Guild–ARUA partnership, the Africa–Europe Clusters of Research Excellence, Ukraine, Sustainability, dual-use and defence research and Gender and Diversity.

Email: giulia.consonni(at)the-guild.eu

LinkedIn: @GiuliaConsonni

Sara Cardona Rubio - Policy Officer

Sara joined The Guild as a Policy Officer in August 2025. Her work focuses both on higher education and R&I Policy, following on files such as the ERA Act, Academic Freedom and particular Erasmus+ actions. She previously worked at the European Commission as a Bluebook Trainee- DG EAC- and at the B.Link consultancy agency managing EU-funded projects. Sara holds a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and a master’s degree in EU Affairs and Social Policy from Sciences Po Paris.

At The Guild, she oversees the Academic Freedom task force, Deans of Law, Deans of Theology, Deans of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities and support the coordination of the Erasmus, Innovation and R&I Policy working groups.

Email: sara.cardonarubio(at)the-guild.eu

Tel.: +32 (0)2 274 05 07

​​​​LinkedIn: @SaraCardonaRubio

 

Communications

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Janne Rooms - Communications Officer

Janne joined The Guild in September 2021 as Junior Communications Officer before becoming Communications Officer in January 2023. She graduated with a Master of Arts in Multilingual Communication (English-Italian) from Ghent University. In 2018, she studied a semester abroad in Italy at Università di Pavia to enhance her Italian language skills and immerse herself in the Italian culture. Prior to joining The Guild she interned at VRT (the Flemish public-service broadcaster) in Brussels as a Communications Officer to sharpen her Dutch communication skills.

Within The Guild, Janne is responsible for the internal and external communications and coordinates The Guild's Heads of Communications working group.

Liisbet Aruste - Junior Communications Officer

Liisbet joined The Guild in August 2026 as Junior Communications Officer. She holds a master’s degree in European Languages and Cultures, specialising in English Philology, from the University of Tartu, where she also completed a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature. In 2025, she studied for a semester at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands as part of her thesis research on Space and Affect Theory in literature. Her academic interest in research and her experience working with European academic environments have further motivated her to join The Guild and contribute to its communications work.

At The Guild, Liisbet will support the internal and external communications.

Email: liisbet.aruste@the-guild.eu

Administration & Events

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Isabelle Lucchini - Office & Events Manager

Isabelle works as Office & Event Manager at The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities. Before joining the team in September 2020, she worked as a Personal Assistant, HR Manager and Events Manager in the Brussels arena in the fields of Road Research & Development and of Public Transport interests. Prior to these positions, she also was a teacher of French as a foreign language.

Isabelle holds bachelor’s degrees in office management and French as a foreign language.

Isabelle's main responsibilities within the Guild are as follows: Coordinating the Institutional Liaisons group, managing events and running the office.