Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça is the Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. He studied theology at the Catholic University of Portugal, earning a licentiate and later a doctorate in biblical theology. He was ordained a priest and obtained a licentiate in biblical sciences from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. He taught New Testament and Aesthetic Theology at the Catholic University of Portugal and served as rector of the Pontifical Portuguese College in Rome. He also directed the Centre for the Study of Religions and Cultures and edited the journal Didaskalia. In 2011, he was appointed consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture and vice-rector of the university. Cardinal de Mendonça was appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education in 2022. He is also a published theologian and poet.

Elena Beccalli is an Italian economist and the first female Rector of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, starting her term in July 2024. A graduate of the same university, she is a Full Professor of Financial Intermediaries and has been Dean of the School of Banking, Finance, and Insurance Sciences since 2014. She is a research associate at the London School of Economics, with experience as a visiting professor in the UK, Singapore, and China. Beccalli is President of the Italian section of the European Society for Banking and Financial Law, co-editor of the Journal of Financial Management, Markets, and Institutions, and a member of several prestigious committees, including the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation and the expert group on socially responsible investment of the Italian Episcopal Conference. Her research focuses on banking, ethics, sustainability, artificial intelligence, and women’s leadership.

Željko Tanjić is a Full Professor and has served as the Rector of the Catholic University of Croatia since 2011. He completed his undergraduate studies and Master’s degree, and earned his PhD in 2000 at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Before assuming the rectorship, he was Head of the Department of Fundamental Theology at the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Zagreb from 2009 to 2011 and simultaneously served as Director and CEO of the publishing house Kršćanska sadašnjost. He is the author of two books and numerous scientific articles in the field of fundamental theology, and was a member of the International Theological Commission from 2014 to 2019. His research interests include science and theology, philosophy and theology, theological epistemology, and the relationship between theology and society.

Msgr. Dražen Kutleša studied Philosophy and Theology at Vrhbosna Catholic Theology in Sarajevo, earning his Bachelor’s in 1994 and a PhD in Canon Law from the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. Ordained as a priest in 1993, he held various roles in the Mostar-Duvno Diocese, including chaplain, rector, and lecturer. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him bishop coadjutor of the Poreč-Pula Diocese, and he became diocesan bishop in 2012. He later served in the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops and was appointed Archbishop of Split-Makarska in 2022. He also became president of the Croatian Bishops' Conference in 2022. On February 14, 2023, Pope Francis appointed him archbishop coadjutor of Zagreb, and he succeeded Cardinal Josip Bozanić as Archbishop of Zagreb on April 15, 2023.

Dubravka Šuica has been the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean since 2024. She has served as Vice-President of the European People’s Party (EPP) since 2022. From 2019 to 2024, she was Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography. Previously, she was a Member of the European Parliament, leading the Croatian EPP delegation and serving as Vice-Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Vice-President of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.

Andrej Plenković is the Prime Minister of Croatia, a position he has held since 2016. He is a Croatian politician, diplomat, and lawyer, holding a Master’s degree in International Public and Private Law from the University of Zagreb (2002). Plenković has previously served as a Member of the European Parliament (2013–2016), a Member of the Croatian Parliament (2011–2013), and in various diplomatic roles.

Isabel Capeloa Gil is Full Professor of Culture Studies and the current Rector of UCP – Catholic University of Portugal. She holds  PhD in German Language and Culture from UCP. She has held numerous visiting professorships at universities in the U.S., Germany, Brazil, Italy, Ireland and Wales. She was a founder of The Lisbon Consortium network and leads the International Doctoral Degree Program in Culture Studies

Grégory WOIMBÉE, Doctor of History and Theology, is the Rector of Lyon Catholic University since 2024. His career has been marked by a deep understanding of the challenges of higher education as Vice-Rector for Research and International Relations at the Institut Catholique de Toulouse, then Director of Doctoral Studies at the Faculty of Theology of the Institut Catholique de Paris (ICP).

Taras Dobko is Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University. In his professional activities he has been involved in promoting university autonomy, the development of academic culture, building systems to provide and improve the quality of education, and improving the culture of the integrated human development of students, professors, and staff.  His research interests include phenomenological epistemology, personalism in ethics, the philosophy of religion and secularization, historical-philosophical analysis of the conception of rationality in European culture, education and integral human development, and the problems of university autonomy and academic culture.

Zlatan Car is a Full Professor and the Dean at the Faculty of Engineering, Catholic University of Croatia in Zagreb. He earned his PhD at Kobe University, Japan, with a dissertation on adaptive reconfiguration of manufacturing systems. His research focuses on artificial intelligence, smart automation, high-performance computing (HPC), engineering simulations, and medical applications.

Pablo Blesa is Vice-Rector for International Relations and Communication and Dean of Social Sciences and Communication at UCAM. He holds a PhD from UCAM and multiple master’s degrees in International Relations and Communication. Professor Blesa has been a visiting professor at universities across Europe, North America, and Russia. 

Kristóf Iván obtained his PhD in Info-Bionics from Pázmány Péter Catholic University. He is currently an Associate Professor at Pázmány University, where he is responsible for the bionics curriculum and leads the Biomicrofluidics Laboratory. His research interests include passive and active particle separation methods for sample preparation, molecular diagnostic methods for food safety applications, and disposable complex microfluidic solutions for diagnostic technologies.

Rony Darazi is Vice-Rector for Cooperation and Internationalization at Antonine University. He received his PhD in Engineering Sciences from the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain). His academic and research interests focus on information security and digital watermarking, digital 2D and 3D image processing, sensor networks, and e-health. He is currently Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and a member of UA’s research center, TICKET Lab (Telecommunications, Information, Computing, and Key Enabling Technologies). 

Josep M. Garrell is President of the European University Association (EUA). He is the former Rector of Ramon Llull University (Universitat Ramon Llull). Professor Garrell graduated in Computer Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and holds a Doctorate in Electronic Engineering from Ramon Llull University. As a faculty member and researcher at Ramon Llull University, he specialised in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Patrick Scauflaire is President-Rector of the Catholic University of Lille since 2020. A graduate of École Polytechnique and École des Mines de Paris, he started his career at the Solvay Group, working in Belgium, Brazil, and Moselle. He later joined BP Chemicals, where he became Director of Research and Technology Europe in 2003. In 2005, he shifted to a more socially-focused role at the Apprentis d'Auteuil Foundation, where he served as Deputy Managing Director. He has also managed the ICAM site in Lille and completed an Executive MBA at HEC. He has been involved in various social and religious initiatives, including being a permanent deacon since 2002 and advising Christian business leaders. 

Carlo Maria Gallucci is Vice-Rector for International Relations and Students at Ramon Llull University in Barcelona, Spain. He holds a PhD in Economics and Business Sciences from the Pontifical Comillas University (ICADE–ICAI) in Madrid.  He is currently a Full Professor of Marketing at ESADE–URL in Barcelona.  He is currently a member of the Board of the Federation of European Catholic Universities (FUCE) and the International Federation of Catholic Universities (FIUC).

Peter Hanenberg is Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation and Director of the Católica Doctoral School (CADOS) at the Portuguese Catholic University in Lisbon, Portugal. He obtained his PhD in Modern Languages and Literatures from the University of Bamberg, Germany, in 1993. His research focuses on European literature and culture since the 16th century, the idea of Europe and its representations, as well as the intersection of cognitive sciences and cultural studies.

Anita Pavić Pintarić is Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Studies at the University of Zadar. She obtained her master’s degree at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb and earned her PhD at the University of Zadar. Her research interests include the expression of emotionality, fictive orality, phraseology, translation studies, pragmalinguistics, and contrastive and contact linguistics.

Andrzej Kielian is Vice-Rector for Internationalisation and Director of the Doctoral School. He defended his doctoral dissertation entitled Models of Roman Catholic Religious Education in European Countries in 2009. Since that year, he has been employed at the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków. His academic interests have expanded to include the Montessori educational system and the religious education method known as the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, developed and implemented in Montessori schools.

Barbara Schermaier-Stöckl has been the Rector of the Catholic University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, Germany, since February 2024, after serving as Vice-Rector for Research and Continuing Education from 2020. Her research focuses on the legal aspects of social work with families, people with disabilities, the elderly and sick, and migrants and refugees, particularly in the context of violence and punishment.

Bernward Robrecht is Head of Administration and Managing Director of the Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine-Westphalia, where he is responsible for all administrative affairs and serves as the legally accountable representative of the institution. After completing his German Abitur in 1983, he studied economic management and business administration and entered the public service of the Federal Republic of Germany. He served as a speaker for several federal and state authorities and ministries, with responsibilities spanning personnel and organizational development, financial management, international cooperation, and education and training. In addition to his administrative career, he has worked as a lecturer and serves as Deputy Speaker of the Federal Working Committee of Heads of Administration of Protestant and Catholic ecclesiastical universities.

Lana Batinić is an Assistant Professor at the University Department of Psychology of the Catholic University of Croatia. She was a lecturer at three international summer schools Practicing Resilience. Preparing for Recovery organized in collaboration with the Nanovic Institute (University of Notre Dame, USA) and the Ukrainian Catholic University. She is a co-founder of the Center for the Family of the Catholic University of Croatia.