Advisory Panel Members

Your role is fundamental to our success and we value your contributions.

Adriana Vasile

Neuroscientist

Adriana Braescu, Romanian neurobiologist, founder of the Re-Design ngo, which runs CEREHARD (the acronym, in Romanian, for Re-Design ngo Resource Centre for Holistic Education). This is a British Curriculum School based in Romania, EOTAS type = Education otherwise than at (Standard) School. What we are doing is schooling in the classic way – Library of Alexandria concept – rather than the modern, industrial one.

The reason I started this endeavor, in a highly centralized, ex-soviet system of education, is the huge neurodiversity which can’t be covered by a standard curriculum and/or approach. Personalized education and Project Based Learning are the main ideas of the project. EEG and, let’s hope, MEG are used to get a sort of “brainprint” which could be useful in identifying neurodiversities and adapting teaching and/or learning to them.

One of the Re-Design ngo projects is this Neuroimaging Evaluation Centre which could help in, at least, diagnosing / describing neurodiversities and suggesting the appropriate educational methods.

Akif Asghar Naqvi

Head of School

An internationally experienced British headteacher and accredited school inspector. 

I have been teaching for over twenty years and since 2010 I have also had leadership roles. I guided my previous school through a successful inspection process becoming the first accredited school in the city. I founded the first Cohort teaching programme from The University of Nottingham UK supporting local teachers to recognise and raise their standards.

I believe that children should receive a broad, balanced and child centred education. This will develop an effective combination of creativity, confidence and courtesy; which will equip our children as global citizens to cope with the demands of life in the 21st century-wherever they may live in the world.

We need our pupils to be emotionally strong and have learning experiences so that they are ready to face the challenges of an unpredictable future. Being a father and blessed with two daughters, I can empathise with the expectations of every parent who would like to see a brighter future for their children.

I am interested in the council for Training Support and Accreditation.

Alan Downie

I run LAHC, an association of British and International schools in Latin America, with a focus on professional development, networking and school evaluation.

I was an international school head for 23 years in Mexico City, with a strong interest in mathematics education and more generally a philosophical commitment to a holistic approach to education that celebrates diversity, develops the individual identity of each person and builds community.

Education systems around the world and throughout time have typically required students to fit into the system rather than the system adapting to the needs of the individual. This has left countless students feeling, and often being labelled, failures, with vast untapped potential being laid to waste. Anything that we can do to help provide spaces that allow the students that don’t fit into the system to learn and flourish will have incalculable value for millions of human beings and for society in general.

Carlos Packer-Comyn

Experienced educator across all year groups and in different cultural contexts.

I am currently the Head of the Senior School and the Deputy Headmaster of a large BSO school in Chile. I have also been a Head of Prep for several years as well as a classroom teacher in several levels, Head of Year and Head of Department (Science). I have led programmes such as Outdoor Education, Duke of Edinburgh, student mental health, suicide prevention, and have introduced new practices and emphasis in student voice, inclusion, pupil-led conferences, metacognition, cooperative learning and differentiated learning. I have had the privilege of teaching children of all ages, from early primary pupils to final year students.

Over the years I have been a first hand witness of, and participant in, the methods and practices that foster a sense of belonging, purpose, achievement, belief in self and trust in others. When the conditions are right for individualised learning to happen and for an inclusive growth mindset to become the culture of a school community, the sky’s the limit. These favourable conditions are sadly the exception rather than the rule in education worldwide, as countless children and young adults are disengaged as they struggle to see and develop their own potential. Why? Because their own needs have been misunderstood or denied. Children with special educational needs or from severely underprivileged backgrounds are sadly just the tip of the iceberg. Reform across education systems is needed and by and large supported by governments with varying degrees of conviction, but it is desperately slow in part because it requires important additional resources, but primarily because it requires deep structural changes and a profound conceptual shift. We are at a crossroads. My vision is that the lessons learnt and the initiatives developed in non-standard forms of education can not only address needs today but ultimately change the face of education in the future.

Emem Opashi

Education Management Consultant and Creativity Coach
Convener, Annual School Needs Expo (ASNE)

I help key players in the public and private sector education ecosystem to easily access relevant tools, resources and solutions whilst leveraging the right network to help them achieve their goals. 

I am the Convener of one of the most dynamic and long-standing education events – The Annual School Needs Expo (ASNE), now going into its 11th year!

I am on a mission to help 100s of Education Brand Leaders connect with global and local audiences so that they become world class versions of themselves.

I just published my first book this summer, “In Quest of the Perfect Education” with the aim to share practical insights on what parents look out for in schools and what schools need to know.

I am an Education Management Consultant and Business-Relations coach connecting people with tools, resources, ideas, networks and partnerships to help them be more, through the power of Education. With over 21 years of experience in education, I have spearheaded several initiatives revolutionizing and impacting over 3,500 educators to restructure their school systems through training, consulting, resource development, coaching programs, curriculum reviews and school assessments.

I am the CEO of the School Resource Center and Convener of Nigeria’s most dynamic and largest education expos in the North, the Annual School Needs Expo in its 10th year now (ASNE). An educational professional, I have degrees in Education (Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment), Educational leadership and several certificate courses.

I am also a qualified workplace assessor. I have just completed a PGCA at the University of Cambridge in Educational Assessment and Examinations now delving deeper into a postgraduate course in Int’l business.

Dividing my time between the UK and Abuja for the past 2.5 years, I have successfully managed my team of staff remotely, adding this skill to creating online courses and programs to equip business owners to run better systems and processes too.

I’m married with 3 grown children – I enjoy traveling, music, fitness, reading, fashion, food and exploring educational systems globally.

I have always had a keen interest in the diverse and unique aspects of education, especially related to non- school areas, so being invited to be a member of the advisory panel of ICEOTAS was such a welcome idea. It is a great compliment to what I do as the Convener and project lead for the the Annual School Needs Expo, a global platform bringing together 1,000s of key players across the education value chain.

I look forward to supporting alternative education settings in Nigeria and other connected countries in our network.

Joyce Sarpong

Founder and Director of AfricaOracle

My name is Joyce Sarpong, founder and director of AfricaOracle – a business consultancy that curates narratives to engage and promote Africa and its diaspora. I have a portfolio career with two not for profit roles, one as a trustee for a large leading independent school in London advising the head and his senior management team and one as a trustee on a small educational charity board advising their small executive team,

As an academic, I lecturer in entrepreneurship and marketing with the business school at the University of Westminster in London.

My family, the Sarpongs, have set up a charitable foundation in Ghana (our country of heritage) which has supported over 100 children, a number of whom have now gone onto tertiary education. I have 4 teenagers, a daughter at university in the UK, and 3 sons at secondary school in London.

I am passionate about education and believes that all children should enjoy good quality education that enables them to develop to their full potential in a safe, happy and nurturing environment.

I am interested in the council for a number of reasons:

• It combines my passions of education and helping children to fulfil their full potential both locally and internationally.
• I also believe in embracing innovation and technology to bring about new business models and deliver improved experiences. Therefore, I am attracted to the council’s mission to “offer training, support, credibility and quality assurance to all entities that provide education in non-standard settings.”

Mercedes Gil

Education Innovator

I work to adjust the concepts around Education and School to the new global needs and scenarios, being it places, mindsets and goals.

I am an adaptive and curious proactive hardworker with ecclectic skills mainly in linguistics and design thinking areas, solid experience in bank management and education. I established the first Montessori British School in my region and now I try to upgrade it to go with the students.

Being the mainstream concept of school understood as a physical place, there is a need, under contemporary circumstances, of spreading its limits beyond limitations of time, space, or any other constraint. The new global scenarios of nomad families, hybrid social structures, online businesses and the possibility of choosing where to live demand a new vision of Education. I am honored to contribute.

Reynaldo Vic De Leon

Assistant Vice-President for Academic Affairs

Academician in Distance Education

Assists the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) in the development of strategic plan for academic programs;

• Implements policies and programs to ensure quality of instruction and delivery of academic programs;
• Reviews curricular programs regularly to ensure compliance with CHED policies, standards, and guidelines;
• Develops program workflows, systems and procedures;
• Develops manual of operations on academic affairs;
• Endorses requests to VPAA for faculty or tutor hiring and screening;
• Implements faculty support and training programs;
• Coordinates with the Director for Research and Area Coordinators on research and development activities;
• Facilitates the provision of learner support requirements in coordination with concerned units and offices;
• Performs such other duties as may be assigned by the VPAA.

Background: Alternative Learning System (ALS)/Distance Education
Alternative Learning Systems (ALS) is a program that is unique and rigid as it provides innovative methods of delivering instructions from those used by formal educational systems. ALS are generally employed to serve a special educational purpose or to address learning needs of a particular target sector that are not effectively addressed under the formal system, given unique or special circumstances. On a broader scope and on a country level, these are commonly adopted to achieve literacy objectives in the shortest time and limited resources possible.

ICEOTAS is such an excellent idea, doing academic support, providing a framework of standards and quality assurance processes and certifications among other things to Colleges and Universities with Alternative Learning System (ALS) programs worldwide.

The lack of Organizations/Bodies such as ICETOAS is long overdue in order to effectively assist educational institutions provide ALS, the new normal in providing education to the greater number of people.

ICETOAS, based and licensed by the Companies House and the Charities Commission in the United Kingdom, shall be able to acquire such high standards that educational institutions will surely benefit from it. As such, this move is definitely in the right direction and is wholeheartedly supported.

Zani Cockerham

Monitoring and Evaluation

I have 10 years of teaching experience in different countries and curriculums. I love the classroom in every context and I enjoy building the capacity in teams to educate and uplift others. 

I believe educational institutions operating in the Post-Covid times we live now have an exceptional task and obligation towards their current and future students. Online educational institutions can benefit from a quality assurance framework to best deliver the quality education they pledge. 

ICEOTAS can help them do that with training and capacity building. It is for such a time like this, that this organisation should take its first steps and I would like to be there.