Plenary speakers 2021
Prof. Sabine Hahn (PhD, CNS, RN) holds a doctorate in nursing science, is a certified clinical nurse specialist and a nursing expert. She heads the division of nursing and the unit of Applied Research and Development in Nursing, in the Department of Health Professionals at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (CH). Sabine Hahn conducts research in the areas of health care staff shortages, and competence and quality development in nursing and health professions. Aggression and work strain, psychosocial health as well as service-user involvement, represent her other fields of research. In the area of service-user involvement, she promotes collaboration and involvement with people experienced in having illness, thereby gaining their expertise in teaching, research and practice. Additionally, Sabine Hahn is visiting professor at the University of Bournemouth (UK). She is the author of numerous publications and co-organizer of conferences. In the European Doctoral Program at the University of Maastricht, the Medical University of Graz and the Bern University of Applied Sciences, she supervises doctoral students in the fields of nursing and health sciences. As co-president of the Swiss Academic Society of Psychiatric Nursing, she is committed to academic psychiatric care. She is a board member of the European Violence in Psychiatry Research Group. She is also co-editor of the journal Psychiatrische Pflege and the scientific journal of Qualitative Research in Nursing and Health Sciences.
Dr. Luciana Vaccaro began her university studies in her hometown of Naples, Italy. She started her career at CERN, in Switzerland, before receiving her PhD. at EPFL, and being appointed senior lecturer at the Institute of Microengineering, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
In 2006, she became director of postgraduate programmes in Health Economics and Management at University of Lausanne, Switzerland. In 2009, she went back to EPFL in order to set up and manage the Grants office whose mission focused mainly on Swiss and European research funding. Appointed Rector of HES-SO on October 1st, 2013, she leads the largest university of applied sciences and arts in Switzerland with more than 21’000 students and 28 schools active in six academic fields. Since 2015, she has been a member of the Foundation Council and Executive Committee of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
In 2019, she was elected Vice President of Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Agency, and from 1st August 2021, she will be President of the Chamber of universities of applied sciences and arts of swissuniversities, which unites the Rectors of the nine Swiss universities of applied Sciences and arts.
​Prof. Dr. Sebastian Wörwag is President of Bern University of Applied Sciences and Chair of the Board of Governors of Thurgau University of Teacher Education. Since 2020, he has represented Switzerland in the European University Association’s Research Policy Working Group. He previously headed St. Gallen University of Applied Sciences and served as chair of an international network of universities. With a doctorate in economics, he also co-founded the PHW Business School and was co-owner of the KS Group, a private educational institution with sites in St. Gallen, Zurich, Basel and Bern. His research over the years has focused on New Work Transition, Digitalisation, Work culture and Workspaces and he has published several books on these topics. He continues to play an active role in the business world, heading his own research and consultancy institute (humanlogix).