People

• Wouter Tebbens
• David Jacovkis
• Hinde ten Berge
• Marco Fioretti
• David Megias
• Lex Bijlsma
• Francesc Santanach
• Janis Gailis

Wouter Tebbens

Wouter Tebbens is co-founder and serves currently as president of the Free Knowledge Institute and is director of the Free Technology Academy. Between 2006 and 2008 he was coordinator of the European Commission's FP6-funded SELF Project (Science, Education & Learning in Freedom) to design a platform for the collaborative construction of educational materials.

He achieved a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Twente (Netherlands). He has worked in various functions in Europe, Argentina and Spain. In 2002 he founded the company xlocal.com offering services based on free software to SME companies. Between 2004 and 2007 he presided the working group on Free/Libre/Open Source Software at Internet Society Netherlands. See the FKI and his personal website for more information.

• Organisation: Free Knowledge Institute
• Roles: FTA General Coordination, WP1 Leader, WP6-2 Leader
• Contact: wouter (at) freeknowledge.eu

David Jacovkis

David Jacovkis is co-founder of the Free Knowledge Institute and responsible for its IT infrastructure. He studied Physics in the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and achieved Master degrees in Materials Science (UAB) and in Free Software in the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). He has over ten years experience in systems engineering using Free Software, working as IT manager and freelance consultant for several organisations. He is also a lecturer at the UOC's Master Degree on Free Software. He has worked in several international projects related to the use of Free Software in education. He currently coordinates the technical aspects of the Free Technology Academy and collaborates with several other teams.

• Organisation: Free Knowledge Institute, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
• Roles: WP2, WP3, WP6
• Contact: david (at) freeknowledge.eu

Hinde ten Berge

Hinde ten Berge is co-founder of Free Knowledge Institute and is responsible for the financial management and coordination of the LLP-funded Free Technology Academy. She was coordinator Netherlands of the FP6-funded SELF Project. Prior to that, Hinde was a member of the Tactical Technology Collective and coordinated regional and continental training events in Asia and Africa designed to advance computer skills using Free Software. From '98 to '08 she also worked with the International Financial Cryptography Association, formed to advance the theory and practice of financial cryptography and related fields. She has a background as producer of events on the cutting edge of technology and their implications on society and politics since 1997.

• Organisation: Free Knowledge Institute
• Roles: WP1 Leader, WP6
• Contact: hinde (at) freeknowledge.eu

Marco Fioretti

Marco Fioretti joined FTA as tutor around 2013. He has a degree in Electronic Engineering and has been using Linux and other Free Software daily since the mid 90s for design, simulation and testing of digital integrated circuits for telecom systems. He is a freelance contributor on Free Software and Open Hardware to many magazines and websites since 2002, and a full time author, teacher, consultant and sometimes researcher on Open Digital Technology since 2008. More details and publications available at mfioretti.com.

David Megias

Dr. David Megías achieved the PhD in Computer Science in July 2000, the Master Engineering degree in Computer Science (Advanced Automatic Control) in October 1996 and the Engineering degree in Computer Science in July 1994, all of them by the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB). He has made research stays at the Department of Engineering Science de la University of Oxford (with a grant by the Comissionat per a Universitats i Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya) and at the Departamento de Ingeniería de Sistemas y Automática de la Universidad de Valladolid, in both cases as an invited lecturer. He was an assistant lecturer at the UAB from September 1994 to October 2001. Since October 2001, he is a lecturer at the UOC (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya) with a permanent position. Since October 2002, he is also the co-director of the International Master Program in Free Software which is currently offered at the UOC. His current teaching activities are mostly related to free and open source software and has participated in several forums and conferences concerned with this field. His current interests include Free Software and Open Source Software, security and copyright protection schemes, and process control. He has published several research papers in different international conferences and journals. He has participated in several national joint research projects both as a contributorand as a manager (main researcher). He has also experience in European projects, such as the European Network of Excellence of Cryptology (joint group with the Universidad de Vigo) of the FP6.

• Organisation: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
• Roles: Course Development coordinator, WP3 Leader
• Contact: dmegias (at) uoc.edu

Lex Bijlsma

Lex Bijlsma is Professor of Education and Software Construction, and Dean of the School of Computer Science at Open Universiteit Nederland. He obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Amsterdam in 1978, and has worked as a researcher and lecturer in both mathematics and computer science at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, Eindhoven University of Technology and Utrecht University. His research interests include program design methodologies and mathematical techniques in computer science.

• Organisation: Open Universiteit Nederland
• Roles: FTA Certification & Recognition coordinator, WP4 Leader
• Contact: lex.bijlsma (at) ou.nl

Francesc Santanach

Francesc Santanach has the Bachelor degree in Informatics Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). He currently works in the Department of Learning Technology of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). He is the technology coordinator of the group and in charge of development of the architecture of the UOC Virtual Campus. He also runs projects in the field of education contents and standards, such as SCORM, QTI and OKI. He has also been an author of learning materials and lecturer for the UOC.

• Organisation: Open University of Catalunya
• Roles: FTA Virtual Campus coordinator, WP2 Leader
• Contact: fsantanach (at) uoc.edu

Janis Gailis

Janis Gailis is an associate professor at the University of Agder (UiA) in Norway with a background in mathematical modeling, 3 years of experience as a consultant in free / open source software (FOSS) related company in Norway and more that 5 years experience in course development and implementation at a higher educational institution. He has developed and has responsibility for FOSS courses in undergraduate study program in information systems at the UiA. He has also, in cooperation with the IT department at UiA, designed and implemented a technical platform based on FOSS, to take advantage on use of FOSS in different study programmes. His current research interest is FOSS and community work as transformation drivers in higher education.

• Organisation: University of Agder
• Contact: janis.gailis (at) uia.no

Past members

Franco Iacomella

Franco Iacomella studies and research in the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), in Argentina. He is focused in project design and visual communication. He is also involved in social and political projects related with public access to knowledge and cultural diversity. He works in FLACSO (Latin American School of Social Sciences) and is consultant for the Universitat Oberta of Catalunya (UOC). Ha has been working in the "Free/Open Culture" field for the last 8 years, being a member-contributor of a big number of world wide known institutions, projects and initiatives like: GNU Project, Free Software Foundation Latin America, Gleducar NGO, MIA, Free Knowledge Institute, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), SELF Project, Open Web Foundation and others. In the FTA he act as WP6-1 Leader and WP3 member.

• Organisation: Free Knowledge Institute, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
• Roles: FTA Communications coordinator, WP6 Leader, WP3