holds a PhD in Education and applied science. He has worked as associate professor at University of Oslo within the fields of teacher training, research on media and teaching aids and on special education and ICT. He was also rector of the Norwegian College for Information Technology. He has commercial background from IBM as a marketing manager of PC retailing and country manager of the Norwegian unit for software sales and support. He has since 2008 supported Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences / OsloMet University as  associate professor / project coordinator targeting VET projects. He served as deputy chair of the board of the Faculty of Education 2011-2015.

From 1996 until 2007, he was director of the National Agency Leonardo da Vinci Norway hosted by the National Institute of Technology. Working in an international setting, he promoted transfer of technology and competences from research and development fields to the enterprises. Within this context he initiated the development of systems and services for multilateral monitoring and management of Leonardo projects, operated for the European Commission and the respective Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) national agencies by NTI-MMM Ltd. He has worked as contracted consultant with the European Commission’s ECVET-Team with responsibilities in the promotion and implementation of ECVET principles and Learning Outcome approaches in education and training.

As chairman of the Board of Masters of Crafts Norway (Mesterbrev), the National organisation for certification of masters of skilled crafts, since 1998, and later on as director, he has a long operational experience within VET and the corresponding validation and accreditation of skills and competences. As from 2008 he continued the cooperation with Mesterbrev through EUROMASC as contracted consultant on international relations, primarily supporting SME Master Plus and ECVET related initiatives. He served as member of the board at Norway’s Green Technical College Vea 2007-2019.

Halfdan Farstad

-holds a MA in Sociology and a BSc (Chemistry, Geography, Physics). In addition he has completed the teacher training for University graduates.

He has worked as a teacher in vocational education and training in Norwegian upper secondary schools, but his main professional activities have been in international settings covering the implementation of programmes as the European Leonardo da Vinci and UNESCO’s Education for All (EFA). This includes as well EQF and development of the Norwegian Qualification Framework, ECVET and close cooperation with CEDEFOP/Refernet.

Over the last 10 years he has been working as a senior adviser with NORAD, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research (MOER), and with the Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO, in international cooperation on education and development. Cooperation with UNESCO on the program CapEFA, aiming to build capacity in low-income countries for the implementation of EFA. Particular responsibilities in Vocational Education and Training (T/VET), and the UN Decade for Education on Sustainable Development (UNDESD).

Working with NORAD he has given education and research advice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norwegian Embassies abroad. Various countries, different issues. Particular focus on TVET, training for work and self-employment, link to renewable energy development. Comprehensive consultancies in Nepal and Kosovo. The latter comprised most aspects of TVET; policy advice, facilitation of public-private partnerships, development of syllabuses, consultancy on workshop architecture and development of equipment lists for the TVET programs.

In addition to his work with most European countries he has done education and training consultancies in several countries in southern Africa.

Einar Widerberg

holds a Bachelor of Commerce from BI – Norwegian School of Management. His thesis was on the development of a financial management system for large construction companies. Through studies and practice Einar has had stays in France (18 months) and England (6 months). After his exams at BI he worked within marketing at Stormbull Ltd. in Oslo, and then as manager with a subsidiary of the company targeting the construction sector. From 1978 to 1995 he has acted as a management consultant and unit manager with the National Institute of Technology (TI).

From 1995 to 2008 Einar Widerberg has worked with the Leonardo da Vinci programme, in particular in relation to guidance and monitoring of on-going pilot projects from Leonardo II and the Multilateral projects (Transfer of Innovation) of EU’s lifelong learning programme (LLP). The work has given a broad knowledge of project management in relation to European collaboration projects in the field of vocational training as well as extensive experience in information related work, and has provided opportunities for a broad range of contacts at both national and European level.

Pietro Olson-Binelli
holds an MSc in Business, Economics and Society of Contemporary China and a BA in Politics.

Pietro took his bachelor’s degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, focusing on African and East-Asian politics. His thesis grappled with the problems of Chinese economic investments in Angola and Zambia for the development of good governance. He then moved to Ningbo in China to do his MSc. Here he studied Chinese society and politics, and learned how to order food in Mandarin.

He stayed in Ningbo and Shanghai for a year before moving to Rome where he worked as a trainee and as local employee at the Norwegian Embassy. This job included political analysis, administrating the digital archive and other forms of assistance to the diplomatic staff. After 1,5 years in Rome, he moved back to Oslo and started working for EUROMASC.

At EUROMASC he now works as project developer, responsible for project development and implementation and assisting the team in the different projects with operational and administrative tasks.

Rannveig Malin van Iterson

holds a BA in European Studies from Maastricht University (Netherlands), with a focus on  European integration (historically/contemporary), EU Institutions, politics and policy building, EU Law (institutional and substantive), micro and macroeconomics, international and EU economics, European comparative politics, international relations, statistics and research methods. In addition she has studied human rights at University of Salford, Manchester (United Kingdom) and comparative political economy at University of Oslo. With EUROMASC she is, as system consultant, responsible for structuring and uploading of ECVET based qualification descriptions with matrixes of learning outcomes.

Icara Holmesland

holds a doctoral degree in Education from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. She has done research in evaluation and recognition of non-formal/informal learning and is involved in international projects with ECVET relevance. She is supporting projects with a focus on the recognition of prior learning in higher vocational education, representing Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (HiOA). Recently he has been involved in project developments targeting soft skills and transversal skills in an ECVET and learning outcome perspective. She has written articles and presented papers about vocational education in Norway, and has also edited an anthology covering recognition of non-formal/informal learning in adult education.

Leif Erik Erikssøn

From 1982 until 2006 Leif Erik Erikssøn was employed as an ICT Manager by the National Institute of Technology, the Norwegian operator of the Leonardo da Vinci programme. In addition to the ICT duties, he was also working on the implementation and development of the databases and websites for LeoPass, MultiPass and the Linking Up mobility programme.

From 2004 Erikssøn was responsible for providing help desk service and general support for Rap4Leo for all the European agencies and for the European Commission (34 agencies and 24 language versions). The service has involved the provision of updated versions of the documentation for the system and drawing up specifications for new functions and adaptations to the LLP programme for the Commission.

He is now serving as Head of Operations of NTI-MMM Ltd being responsible for the operation of Skillsbank and for the development and implementation of spin-offs to the system,  YOMTOOL and Skillstube. He is consulting with EUROMASC in relevant projects.

Sarah Abel

Sarah Abel holds a BA (2018) and MA (2020) in political science from the University of Oslo. Her thesis “How do you like me now? Cognitive dissonance and adaptive attitude change in the post-election period” is a study of polarization in the United States. As part of her bachelor’s degree, she spent a semester at King’s College London. Sarah joined EUROMASC and NTIM in 2019, where she supported the team on various running European projects including specific desk study research. She worked at EUROMASC for six months before moving to Florence, Italy. There she worked as a research assistant at the European University Institute (EUI). In 2023 she returned to EUROMASC and NTIM as a project manager.