The Steering Committee
The Steering Committee of the EMA represents the executive power of the Association. It is composed of the President, Vice President and the Team Coordinators who each represent one Service Team. The members of the Steering Committee are collectively responsible for the overall performance and management of the Association with respect to the general guidelines issued by the General Assembly.
The overall management of the EMA is the responsibility of the Steering Committee. They represent the students and alumni of all the Erasmus Mundus Master Courses and Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate programmes in various activities and events. The positions are voluntary, demanding, and highly rewarding. EMA, as a young but speedily growing association, is more and more recognized as a valuable partner in European Higher Education initiatives and policy making.
EMA's current Steering Committee, 2011-2013:
- FLTR: Jean Carlos Pelicano, Paras Mehta, Hady Abi-Nader, Roy Someshwar, Nina Cherenkova, Ricardo Chavez, Thomas Vilarinho
Members of the Steering Committee
Presidency
The President and Vice-President of the EMA are the representatives of the Association and are responsible for all relations with third parties. They chair together EMA's General Assembly, Liaison Group, and Steering Committee.
President
Jean Carlos Pelicano, a Venezuelan/ Portuguese national, has been the President of the Erasmus Mundus Students and Alumni Association (EMA) since June 2011.
He holds an Erasmus Mundus Master degree in Aeronautics and Space Technology (EuMAS) from the University of Pisa, Italy, and former Supaero in Toulouse, France. He is a founder member of EMA and has been very active since the association was launched in 2006. That same year he joined the former Policy Team and was elected Policy Coordinator of the association in 2008 and therefore member of the Steering Committee. As EMA President, JC Pelicano will focus on further building a proud and active community of young professionals, launch professional and social networks and enhance the Erasmus Mundus brand. On his professional life, JC Pelicano has worked for different Aerospace and Telecommunication projects as a consultant in process engineering and supply chain management. On his free time he enjoys dancing, politics and traveling and he has made the best out of EMA's network when traveling to make new friends around the world.
Vice-President
Hady Abi-Nader from Lebanon is a final year PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Reading, UK.
After obtaining his BSc. in Computer Science with Distinction, Hady joined the Erasmus Mundus MSc. in Network and E-Business Centred Computing having studied in the UK, Spain and Greece.
Hady has been a Steering Committee member of EMA since 2009. He managed the Communications team for two years, and was elected the Vice President of EMA at the 2011 General Assembly.
In his role as Vice President, Hady oversees the Community and Professional development activities of the Association, and is behind some of EMA’s Community Building initiatives such as EMA Day. Hady also manages EMA’s Facebook page. Hady has organized and represented EMA at conferences and events in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Regional Chapter Coordinator
Ricardo Chavez has a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, he is an alumnus from the Joint European Master in Materials Science.
After his Erasmus Mundus Master course, he made his PhD in Polymer Chemistry at the Technische Universität Darmstadt in collaboration with the automobile industry. He currently works as Product developer and project manager for the Polymer industry. As EMA VP, he coordinates the EMA regional chapters and promotes the regional and professional networking among the EMA members worldwide.
Professional Development Coordinator
Thomas Vilarinho graduated on his Erasmus Mundus course, the Nordsecmob, in 2009. He works at the Sintef research center in Norway.
Before that he worked as a consultant in Gemalto, a French smart card marnufacturer, and he studied Computer Engineering in the University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil. Thomas has been active in several student organisations. He joined EMA in 2009. Since then, he has been working with Erasmus Mundus Master Courses networks and encouraging the creation of EMA Professional Networks.
He is open to hear your ideas to improve professional networking and career development within our association. On his free time he enjoys camping, hiking, swimming and chat with friends while drinking some chimarrão (mate).
Click here for more information on the Professional Development Team.
Internal Affairs
Paras Mehta is an Electronics and Communications engineer and an alumnus of Erasmus Mundus MSc in Network and e-Business Centred Computing.
Currently he is based in Berlin pursuing PhD with Marie Curie fellowship at the Freie Universität. Over the past years he has accumulated experience in IT consultancy and software development through work and study in the UK, Greece, Spain and India.
Click here for more information on the Internal Affairs Team.
Communication Coordinator
Nina Cherenkova comes from Vladivostok, Russia where she did her initial university work. In 2006 she began the EMMC in Network and e-Business Centred Computing, which took place in the UK, Greece and Spain.
Immediately after finishing her MSc at the University of Reading in 2008, Nina was offered the opportunity to pursue PhD studies in Reading. Currently she is close to finishing her degree in Computer Science. Her research has focused on implementing educational digital games in a fully immersive 3D Virtual Reality Environment.
Nina has been with EMA since the 2009 General Assembly in Vilnius, Lithuania when she joined the Communications Team and became responsible for the Field Reporter Initiative. In 2011 she was elected to the position of coordinator of the communications team, making her a member of the EMA steering committee.
Click here for more information on the Communication Team.
Community Development Coordinator
Roy Someshwar is currently based in Sweden and working as a Marie Curie Research Scientist in an EU - FP7 Project that is managed by the Directorate of Research & Innovation of European Commission.
He is best known within his circles for his excellent Team management skills and Go-get-it attitude. He graduated from EU4M, with a double degree from HsKA, Germany and UniOvi, Spain. EU4M is one of the very few Erasmus Mundus Masters where the courses are offered in complete local languages and therefore Roy speaks German and Spanish fluently apart from English.
He has been working actively within EMA for the past three years. He was first elected as the EMMC Course Representative. Since September 2011 onwards, he is leading successfully the culturally and geographically diverse network of EMA as a Coordinator of the Community Development Team.
Click here for more information on the Community Development Team.