Francesc Pedró is the Director of the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO IESALC) since May 2019.  Previously, he led the advisory service on educational policies, including reviews of national policies as well as international comparative studies in the education sector of UNESCO in Paris (France) since 2010. Previously, he worked at the Research and Innovation Educational  Center (CERI)  if the OECD as a senior political analyst and was responsible for projects such as Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) and New Millennium Learners Project. He also directed the reviews of educational research in OECD ́s countries and the Project on Systemic Innovation in Education.

Pedré graduated in Education from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and obtained a PhD with a thesis on Comparative Education at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED - Madrid). After that, he conducted postdoctoral studies in Comparative Public Policies at the Institute of Education of the University of London (United Kingdom).

He is a professor of Comparative Education Policies in the Department of Political Science at the Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona) where he was the Director of the Quality Program. Previously he was Vice President of Educational Research and Innovation at the Open University of Catalonia (Barcelona), the first European public university that offered its courses only online.

His most recent books are: Working out Change: Systemic Innovation in Education and Training (2009), Are the New Millennium Learners Making the Grade? Technology Use and Educational Performance in PISA (2010), Inspired by Technology, Driven by Pedagogy (2010), Technology and Education: what works and why (2011), Connected Minds. Technology and Today's Learners (2012), Le numérique: une chance pour l'école (2013), Technologies for the transformation of education (2017) and Promising Education Policy Levers For 2030. The Untapped Potential of Governance, School Leadership, and Monitoring and Evaluation Policies (2018).

Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) Law degree with Honours 2000 - Universidad Olmeca, A.C.

Certified International Business Etiquette Consultant and Cross Cultural Specialist Minding Manners / International Etiquette & Protocol Academy of London – 2018

University of Manitoba. University Management Course, Centre for Higher Education Research and Development -2008

Castellanos, born and raised in Mexico, and came to Canada during the late nineties as an international student. With almost two decades of experience in the field of International Education, and positions in different Canadian Universities; Livia E. Castellanos is currently the Associate Vice-President of the UR International department at the University of Regina, as well as the Chief International Officer.

Ms. Castellanos has held a number of positions in universities across Canada. Prior to coming to the University of Regina, Ms. Castellanos served as the Director of Enrolment and Institutional Relations at the University of Winnipeg. She also worked at the University of Alberta International.

Recently, Ms. Castellanos has led in the successful formation of the Saskatchewan Education Alliance. An alliance that works towards the internationalization of higher education in the Province of Saskatchewan focusing on the set of shared values, missions, goals and constituencies of their institutions regarding the indigenization, internationalization, sustainability and academic excellence.

Her experience includes being a member of multiple committees and boards throughout Western Canada. She served as the Executive Secretariat for Canada in the Inter-American Organization of Higher Education (IOHE) providing the Canada-Latin America international education joint strategy.

During the past few years, Ms. Castellanos had served as the executive adviser for APPA: Leadership in Educational Facilities, and has developed a strategy to bring over 60 Mexican institutions into APPA’s global membership. As of 2016, Ms. Castellanos has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE), and serves as Chair for the CBIE Membership Relations Committee. She also advises the office of the Ministry of Advanced Education of the Province of Saskatchewan with their International Education endeavours, strategies and activities.

Ms. Castellanos has been awarded and recognized for her contribution to the field: The United States Government honoured her as the recipient of their premier award of the 2016 International Visitor Leadership Program for foreign emerging leaders; recipient of the 2017 Intercultural Dialogue Institute’s Saskatchewan Multicultural Education Award; recipient of the 2017 Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration’s (CONAHEC) Award of Distinction for exemplary leadership in building a bridge of understanding across the borders of Canada, Mexico, United States and beyond, in celebrating our diverse education systems; and recipient of the 2017 ESDAI International Hospitality Award presented by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico and the School of Management of Institutions of the Universidad Panamericana for her leadership in moving forward international academic endeavors.