Our Team
We are based in the Republic of Malta, while holding additional offices in Germany, and in the Slovak Republic.
Dr. Jürgen Laartz
CEO AND FOUNDER of DEH
He is a retired Senior Partner (Director) with McKinsey & Company, Inc. At the firm, Mr. Laartz lead McKinsey's digital practices in Scandinavia and Germany, and shaped the firm's global knowledge agenda in the field. He initiated research collaborations with Oxford University, MIT, ETH Zurich and HSG Sankt Gallen. Dr. Laartz supported clients in diverse industries on their digital and technology induced business transformation. Before joining McKinsey, Jürgen Laartz studied Chemistry and Philosophy at Tübingen University, followed by Physics and Philosophy at Tübingen and Kiel University, he concluded his academic career at Harvard and Freiburg University, where he gained a PhD degree in Physics.
Prof. Dr. Albert Scherpbier
Interim Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health and President of the Academic Advisory Board
Prof. Dr. Albert Scherpbier is the Interim Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health and President of the Academic Advisory Board at EDU.Among multiple prestigious positions, Prof. Dr. Albert Scherpbier previously held the role of Dean of the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences of Maastricht University and Vice Chairman Maastricht University Medical Center (Maastricht UMC+). He is Professor in Quality Improvement in Medical Education. During his extensive career in Maastricht, Prof. Dr. Scherpbier has made remarkable efforts to improve the quality of education within Maastricht University. He has contributed greatly to the quality of university lecturers and future healthcare professionals
Alexandra Cosma
Chief Operating Officer
After holding multiple and varied roles within EDU and candena, Alexandra now serves as the Chief Operating Officer of EDU. In this role, she leads operations, technology, commercial and programme development. Alexandra (Top 100 Global Leaders in Education 2019) focuses on developing novel ways for technology to open access to quality education worldwide and to leverage didactic innovation in novel ways to serve learners. Previously, she was active in the 3D-printing and luxury fashion industry, where she co-founded and exited a curated jewellery platform focused on the CEE market. Alexandra studied Internal Business Administration and Corporate Law, followed by Business Consultancy with a specialization in Corporate Finance in Vienna, Austria.
Johannes Wöhler
Chief Technical Officer
Previously, he worked for SAP as Vice President and Chief of Staff in the SAP HANA Platform and Databases unit. Joining SAP in 1997, he held various roles in development as well as in SAP’s Corporate Strategy Group. Johannes studied Computer Science at the Technical University of Munich.
Michael Graham
Head of Operations
Michael works very closely with all teams at EDU focusing on optimizing processes, streamlining workflows and helping achieve EDU´s goal to expand on and transform the global health workforce. Michael has previous experience in the food process industry, banking, advertising and education, focused primarily on operations. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Kansas State University.
DR. IVETA HLINKOVA
Pro-Dean of Academic Teaching
Previously, Iveta was academic director and later managing director of one of the biggest language schools in Slovakia and worked as teacher, teacher trainer and soft-skills trainer with various language institutions. Iveta studied International Relations at the University of Economics in Bratislava and did a Master Programme at the University of Economics in Vienna. She obtained her PhD Degree in International Business Relations at the University of Economics in Bratislava. She is also a CELTA qualified language instructor.
Katherine Burns
Lead Learning Experience
Katherine’s background contains a range of international experience and roles in the fields of education and healthcare. Professionally, she has previously provided consulting, program and assessment development, and curriculum design, most notably with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Kijabe Hospital and Lwala Community Alliance in Kenya, and through various EdTech companies across China and the US. Katherine holds an M.Ed in International Education Policy & Management from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College as well as a BA in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago.
Federico Arevalo
Curriculum manager
Federico graduated as a medical doctor from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of La Plata (Argentina). He then earned a position as a resident in the national system of medical residencies of Spain (MIR) to pursue his specialization as a Psychiatrist at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital of Madrid Dr. R Lafora. During this time, he taught and mentored medical residents and students and undertook several courses in psychotherapy. Additionally, he attended The Personality Studies Institute in New York (USA) as a fellow under the supervision of Dr. Otto Kernberg and Dr. Pamela Foelsch. After finishing his residency, he worked as a child and adolescent psychiatrist in the public health system in Madrid and as an adult, family and couple psychotherapist in the private sector in Madrid (Spain). He brings over his passion about democratizing and innovating medical education and almost a decade of clinical experience with a solid background in intercultural, psychodynamic and systemic perspectives in group dynamics.
Valeriia Chelpan
Curriculum Manager
Valeriia completed her MD degree at the leading medical school in Ukraine - Kyiv National Medical University. After graduation, she received her qualification as an emergency physician, having completed the corresponding practical internship programme. She had built up significant clinical experience in her three years at the Centre of Emergency and Disaster Medicine of Ukraine, when she moved to Slovakia to join the EDU team based in Bratislava as an Online Medical Tutor in November 2018. After a year of tutoring, she then moved to the Curriculum and Medical Didactics Team, where she is involved in the development of educational programmes, processing educational materials, creation and implementation of student assessment. She has recently been appointed Head of Assessment at EDU.
Tobias Dietrich
Head of Student Affairs
After holding the position of COO at Candena GmbH. Before joining Candena, Tobias worked in the M&A department of a leading medical wholesaler and supported company transactions in Europe and in Brazil. He gained practical experience at consultancy firms Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and Siemens Management Consultants. Tobias studied business administration and electrical engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), as well as at Shanghai's Jiao Tong University.
Aristos Karabelas
Head of Commercial
As a member of the commercial team at EDU, Aristos is responsible for the sale's funnel at EDU. This ranges from leads nurturing to the final sales call. Aristos is working in close cooperation with the marketing and admissions teams to ensure processes are constantly improved to achieve the best possible results. Previously, Aristos has worked for multinational companies in Germany, the Netherlands and Greece and has experience in the automotive, airline and insurance sectors where he worked in product management, employer branding and marketing roles. He holds a degree in communications from the University of Leeds and an MBA.
Ariadna Razaseanu
Human Resources Manager
Ariadna joined the DEH team with a master’s degree in Human Resources Management. She started as the Event & Communication Manager and then transitioned into her current HR role. Ariadna brings over 4 years of experience acting as a country & marketing manager for an international recruitment agency. This experience made a significant contribution to her current role, where she liaises effectively with the team members on constant basis, and is the main contact person for those interested in joining our team.
Yevgeniya Kobtseva
Operations Manager
As part of the operations team, Yevgeniya takes care of course production and operation activities working closely with Curriculum and Teaching Teams. Yevgeniya has previously worked in FMCG and Financial industries. Yevgeniya holds MSc in International Digital Business Management from Berlin School of Economics and Law and BSc Hons in Banking & International Finance from Cass Business School.
Dr. Astrid Schwaner
Operations Manager
Astrid focuses on cross-team process optimisation by fostering internal communication and information management, no-code-automations and digital tools. She is also responsible for student-facing documents and the EDU Info Centre for students. Before joining DEH, Astrid worked as a university teacher and researcher as well as in privacy consulting for digital businesses, publishing, media, and event organisation in Germany and France. She holds a PhD in contemporary German literature and studied in Göttingen and Paris.
Kari Dreyer
Content Designer
Kari works on content strategy and production, helping EDU develop a dynamic, engaging, and scalable student learning experience. Previously, Kari worked in education-focused non-profit and social enterprise settings in Toronto and London, as well as on digital programme development and delivery for organisations such the OECD, WHO, and Bundesagentur für Arbeit. She studied Equity and Philosophy in Toronto, with a focus on gender and mental health.
Harun Köktürk
UI/UX DESIGNER
Previous to his time at Candena GmbH and DEH, Harun worked in the multidisciplinary fields of Art and Design in the past years. Mostly focused on the digital side while holding a Graphic Design BA from DEU, Faculty of Fine Arts in Turkey. Experienced in working with many international and personal projects in the fields including UI/UX Design, Branding, Interaction Design, Illustration, Augmented Reality, Editorial Design, Art Direction as well as organizing and taking part of leading Culture & Arts events of Turkey.
Academic Staff
Tibor Sator
Mentor
Tibor earned his MA in Physical Education and English Language at the Commenius University in Bratislava. After graduation, he became a certified fitness coach and English teacher at private language schools. Before joining Candena he worked as a managing director at a language school. Since joining the EDU team in 2018 he has been working as a mentor and in 2021 he became an ICF accredited life coach.
Brian Webber
Mentor
Over the last 16 years Brian has taught and trained students from all over the world. Based in Slovakia, he has extensive experience with in-company English language training and examining, particularly in the area of ESP (English for special purposes). Before joining EDU, Brian worked for Essex University in the UK teaching Academic English to master’s degree students from abroad. This involved helping them to improve their academic reading, writing and presentation skills as well as helping them to adjust to the UK higher education environment. He also spent two years teaching technical English in the Middle East and has presented at several TEFL conferences in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Brian has a master’s degree in Forensic Linguistics as well as the Trinity Dip. TESOL postgraduate teaching qualification. He has a particular interest in developing student-centred and communicative approaches to training online.
Tatiana Bugaeva
Academic support
Tatiana works closely with the teaching staff and provides academic support both to the internal and external trainers. Her role helps to ensure the quality of education remains at the highest level possible. Before joining EDU Tatiana had been in the education field for 12 years providing training to adult learners. Tatiana holds a degree in Linguistics and a teaching qualification from the Cambridge University.
Mihai Balint
Mentor
Mihai graduated from the Comenius University in Bratislava in the field of psychology with a focus on counselling and pedagogy. His formal training led him to a career in the corporate environment where he worked as a learning and training facilitator, conducting interactive sessions and workshops aimed to improve the communication skills of his students. He then went on to occupy a supervisory position in the banking sector where he carried out one on one guidance and put together individualized improvement plans. By closely monitoring the employees’ performance, he successfully enhanced their productivity and ability to reach their professional goals.
Gabriela Benderz
Medical Tutor
After graduating from the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland, in 2015 where she obtained her medical degree, Gabriela worked for four years as a small animal and exotic animal veterinarian in various practices in the United Kingdom. During this time, she also took part in several volunteering projects in Thailand, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Her main interests include dermatology and endocrinology. Dr. Benderz joined EDU in 2019 as a full-time Tutor.
Jose Hernández
Non-Medical Tutor
Jose Hernandez holds a BSc (HONS) from the Manchester Metropolitan University, specialty in Physiology, a postgraduate teaching certificate from Umeå Universitet, and a Master of Public Health, University of Wolverhampton. He holds an MBA, from the University of La Laguna-Polytechnic of Catalunya, in Project Management. He also completed a doctorate in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Oxford. He has worked as a research manager in an International Research Centre in the Czech Republic, in close collaboration with the Division of Cardiovascular Disease at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, New York. Dr. Hernandez has also worked for the U.K. National Health Service as a public health information officer as well as in commissioning roles. He joined EDU in 2020 as a tutor and also serves as a thesis supervisor.
