Summer School 2017 programme and speakers

Dean, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, FYR of Macedonia

Mr. Taskovski is Professor and DEAN at FEIT. He has almost 20 years of teaching experience as a lecturer of Electric Circuit Theory and Digital Signal Processing at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. He graduated in Electrical Engineering (1995) and later (1998) defended his Master thesis “Filter Banks and Wavelets: Application in Image Compression”. Mr. Taskovski holds a PhD degree from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering with research on „Adaptive watermarking of digital images”. 

Deputy Director, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Sector Fund Manager, Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe/GIZ, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mr. Gaube is an expert in the energy field, specialized in alternative energy, energy saving and sustainable energy supply. In 1998, Mr. Gaube established his own engineering office where he managed and supervised numerous projects for the European Commission, German International Cooperation (GIZ) and energy agencies. In 2003, he started working as a development manager and was responsible for several GIZ projects worldwide. His main tasks were advisory services in the energy field for ministries and lower authorities, harmonization and development of the respective legal framework as well as in this context implementation of pilot projects including trainings and information and awareness raising campaigns.

Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Economic Affairs in the Government of FYR of Macedonia

Prof. Kocho Angjushev studied at the Mechanical Faculty in Skopje, where he was also awarded with a Master’s degree in mechanical sciences. In 1998, Prof. Angjushev earned his doctoral degree in technical sciences. In 1998, Prof. Angjushev became a full-time professor at the Mechanical Faculty in Skopje where he delivers lectures and is involved in several scientific and research works. Mr. Angjushev has published and presented more than a 100 scholarly papers at international and domestic symposiums and has carried out more than 50 projects in the field of mechanical engineering. In the period from 2004 to 2017, PhD holder Angjushev is an active member and subsequently a vice president of the Economic Chamber of FYR of Macedonia.

Director, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Kopac has been leading the Energy Community Secretariat since 2012. His mission is to extend the EU internal energy market to South East Europe and beyond on the basis of a legally binding framework. Prior to this position, he worked as General Director for Energy at the Ministry of Economy of Slovenia for nearly 4 years. He acted as Slovenian Minister of Finance (1992) and Minister of Environment (2000-2004). Mr. Kopac holds a Master’s degree from Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana.

Summer School Coordinator, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Jasimi joined the Energy Community Secretariat in May 2009 as Oil Expert. Before coming to the Energy Community Secretariat, he worked in the Oil and Gas Institute in Albania until 1994. In 1994, Mr. Jasimi joined the UK oil and gas company Premier Oil as project manager for 10 years. In 2004, he started to work as oil advisor and director of cabinet to the Minister of Energy and Industry of Albania. In 2005, he was reappointed Director of Cabinet of the Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy in Albania until April 2009. Mr. Jasimi is involved in many negotiations in oil and gas contracts. His university background is physicist.

Project Manager, Bluberries GmbH, Germany

Mr. Pointvogl has been Project Manager at Bluberries GmbH, Munich, since 2016. Previously, he worked as Electricity Expert, Mediator and Project Manager at the Energy Community Secretariat (2013-2016) and before that at different positions in the electricity industry and government bodies. Amongst other things, he was involved in the development of EU Network Codes and different electricity market integration projects. He is a political economist, mediator and author of various academic articles on energy policy.

Professor for Energy Economics, Jakobs University Bremen, Germany

Mr. Brunekreeft is a professor at Jakobs University Bremen and head of the research group Bremen Energy Research. His main research interests are in industrial economics, regulation theory and competition policy of network industries, especially electricity and gas markets. He is the author of several books and articles published in academic journals as well as an editor of the journal Competition and Regulation in Network Industries (CRNI). Apart from his academic background, Mr. Brunekreeft has wide experience with consulting various stakeholders in energy sectors in different countries.

Director, Florence School of Regulation and Holder of the Loyola de Palacio Chair at the European University Institute, Italy

Mr. Glachant is/has been advisor of DG TREN, DG COMP & DG RESEARCH at the European Commission and of the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE).  He is/has been coordinator or scientific advisor of several European research projects (SESSA, CESSA, Reliance, EU-DEEP, RefGov, TradeWind, Secure, Optimate, THINK, Towards 2030, Promotion). Mr. Glachant is a research partner in the CEEPR at MIT (USA), and the EPRG at Cambridge University. His main research interests are the building of a common European energy policy, the achievement of the European energy internal market, the industrial organization and market strategy of energy companies. Mr. Glachant holds a Master degree and Ph.D. in economics at La Sorbonne in France.

Director, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Kopac has been leading the Energy Community Secretariat since 2012. His mission is to extend the EU internal energy market to South East Europe and beyond on the basis of a legally binding framework. Prior to this position, he worked as General Director for Energy at the Ministry of Economy of Slovenia for nearly 4 years. He acted as Slovenian Minister of Finance (1992) and Minister of Environment (2000-2004). Mr. Kopac holds a Master’s degree from Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana.

Associate Director, Policy and Climate Finance, EBRD

Mr. Jollands has worked on sustainable energy and environmental policy for 23 years.  In March 2011, he took up a post with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and is now Associate Director, Policy and Climate Finance, where he works at the interface between policy and finance. Prior to this role, he spent 5 years as Head, Energy Efficiency Unit at the International Energy Agency. Mr. Jollands is a regular presenter at international conferences, has published numerous journal articles and contributed to several books in the area of energy efficiency and ecological economics.

Project Manager, Bluberries GmbH, Germany

Mr. Pointvogl has been Project Manager at Bluberries GmbH, Munich, since 2016. Previously, he worked as Electricity Expert, Mediator and Project Manager at the Energy Community Secretariat (2013-2016) and before that at different positions in the electricity industry and government bodies. Amongst other things, he was involved in the development of EU Network Codes and different electricity market integration projects. He is a political economist, mediator and author of various academic articles on energy policy.

Professor, International Institute of Political Science of Masaryk University, Czech Republic

As an academician, Mr. Vlcek gives courses on areas of energy security studies and international relations. He is also a member of independent research platform Center for Energy Studies and the academic association Czech Nuclear Education Network. During his career, he has taken part in more than 20 governmental as well as academic research projects. His scholarly interests include energy security of the Czech Republic and the region of Central and Eastern Europe, especially the nuclear and oil sector.

Professor, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, FYR of Macedonia

Ms. Borozan is Professor in Power Systems at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, University St. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje. Her academic interests include electricity markets and regulation, power and distribution system operation, as well as integration of dispersed generation and smart grids. She is an author or co-author of numerous scientific publications. Ms. Borozan was Member of Parliament in the mandate period 2002 - 2006 and Ambassador to the Republic of Austria, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic and Japan from 2006 to 2010. Ms. Borozan holds a PhD degree from the University of Belgrade, Serbia (1996).

Gas Expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Ms. Cegir has been working at the Energy Community Secretariat since 2007. The main area of her work is natural gas while additional tasks are related to renewable energy in the transport sector. Her scope of work includes regular contacts with EU Institutions, such as Gas Coordination Group, European Network Transmissions System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG), Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) and Concerted Action on Renewable Energy Sources Directive (CA-RES). Ms. Cegir holds a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from Zagreb University (1990) and a Master’s degree in Renewables from Technical University of Vienna (2013). 

Oil Expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Jasimi joined the Energy Community Secretariat in May 2009 as Oil Expert. Before coming to the Energy Community Secretariat, he worked in the Oil and Gas Institute in Albania until 1994. In 1994, Mr. Jasimi joined the UK oil and gas company Premier Oil as project manager for 10 years. In 2004, he started to work as oil advisor and director of cabinet to the Minister of Energy and Industry of Albania. In 2005, he was reappointed Director of Cabinet of the Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy in Albania until April 2009. Mr. Jasimi is involved in many negotiations in oil and gas contracts. His university background is physicist.

Research Fellow, Jacques Delors Institute

Mr. Pellerin-Carlin is a research fellow at the Jacques Delors Institute, working on European energy policy. His previous work experiences include working for the Italian consultancy Europroject (2010), the French Army (2011), the French Prime Minister’s General Secretariat for European Affairs (2012) before becoming Academic and Research Assistant at the College of Europe and its European Energy Policy Chair (2013-2015). He joined the Jacques Delors Institute in July 2015. He also teaches at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University and the College of Europe. Mr. Pellerin-Carlin is a graduate of the College of Europe’s Master in European Political and Administrative Studies, and of the Lille Institute of Political Studies.

Infrastructure Expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Sijakovic joined the Energy Community Secretariat in 2016 as Electricity Infrastructure Expert. Previously he used to work for the Serbian Transmission System and Market Operator – AD Elektromreza Srbije (2005-2016) where he specialized first for short-term and later for long-term power system planning as Head of Department for strategy and system development planning. He is the author of various Visual Basic, VBA and PHP/MySql based applications, used for congestion management, transmission capacity allocation, ITC mechanism and infrastructure planning. He graduated from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Department for Power Systems (2004) where he also got his Magister of Science degree (2011).

Deputy Head of Electricity Unit, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Uzunov has background education in electrical engineering from University St. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje. He started his professional activities in the domain of telecommunication. Mr. Uzunov joined the Ministry of Economy of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in 2000 as Assistant to the Minister responsible for structural reforms in the electricity sector, security of supply, coordination of investment projects and policies and international cooperation in electricity. Mr. Uzunov joined the Energy Community Secretariat in 2007 as head of Electricity Unit responsible for monitoring of implementation, reporting on compliance and assistance in drafting of legislation for the electricity sector and market.

Director, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Kopac has been leading the Energy Community Secretariat since 2012. His mission is to extend the EU internal energy market to South East Europe and beyond on the basis of a legally binding framework. Prior to this position, he worked as General Director for Energy at the Ministry of Economy of Slovenia for nearly 4 years. He acted as Slovenian Minister of Finance (1992) and Minister of Environment (2000-2004). Mr. Kopac holds a Master’s degree from Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana.

Deputy Director, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Buschle joined the Energy Community Secretariat in 2007 and is currently the Deputy Director. He has written many publications and articles on European law, energy law, communication law, competition and State aid law. Mr. Buschle holds a PhD degree from the University of St. Galen (2004). He has worked as visiting professor and lecturer at several European universities.

Assistant Professor, Comenius University, Slovakia

Mr. Misik is an assistant professor at political science department of Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. He completed a PhD degree at the same university in 2011. He visited many universities from different parts of the world as a researcher or academician. He published a book about energy policy in the enlarged EU. He also published two books and many articles. He has participated in many conferences as a speaker.

Head of Gas Unit, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria 

Mr. Grujicic joined the Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna in 2010. As Head of Gas Unit, he assesses and reviews the proper implementation and progress by the Contracting Parties of their obligations under Energy Community Treaty related to the gas acquis. He graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade, Serbia in 1999. He held various positions within the Serbian major public electricity company, Elektroprivreda Srbije as a system operator. He joined the Ministry of Energy of Serbia where he occupied various head positions including the EU integration and international cooperation agenda. He was seconded as a national expert to the Energy Charter, Brussels.

Head of Electricity Unit, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Jasmina Trhulj is a Diploma Electrical Engineer for Power Systems. She is responsible for monitoring, analysing and reporting on market developments in the Energy Community Contracting Parties as well as for assisting electricity sector authorities and companies in transposition and implementation of the EU acquis.

Her 17-year professional career in the energy sector started as a research and development assistant on power system operation and control projects at Mihajlo Pupin Institute in Belgrade. She gained valuable regulatory experience in the development and monitoring of the electricity market during her seven-year tenure at the Energy Agency of the Republic of Serbia (AERS) as senior expert for electricity.

Director, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Kopac has been leading the Energy Community Secretariat since 2012. His mission is to extend the EU internal energy market to South East Europe and beyond on the basis of a legally binding framework. Prior to this position, he worked as General Director for Energy at the Ministry of Economy of Slovenia for nearly 4 years. He acted as Slovenian Minister of Finance (1992) and Minister of Environment (2000-2004). Mr. Kopac holds a Master’s degree from Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana.

Assistant Professor, Comenius University, Slovakia

Mr. Misik is an assistant professor at political science department of Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. He completed a PhD degree at the same university in 2011. He visited many universities from different parts of the world as a researcher or academician. He published a book about energy policy in the enlarged EU. He also published two books and many articles. He has participated in many conferences as a speaker.

Deputy Head of Legal, National Oil & Gas Company Naftogaz, Ukraine

Ms. Badanova holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in International Law from Kyiv National University Institute of International Relations as well as a LL.M. in International Law from Cambridge University. She started as a tax consultant in one of the Big 4 firms and then concentrated on natural gas regulation following the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity. In 2014, she completed a successful internship at the Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna. At Naftogaz, she is responsible for legal support of the on-going gas market reform, EU law implementation and in respect of Ukraine, other international law issues (e.g. WTO law in energy). She regularly participates in official delegations to the Energy Community, EU, WTO bodies as well as to meetings with foreign governments and IFIs. 

Energy Attaché, Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the EU, Brussels

Ms Navickaite has been appointed by the Minister of Energy as the deputy energy attaché in 2014 and took the role of the energy attaché in 2017. She is the representative of Lithuania at the Energy Working Party and Atomic Questions Working Party of the Council of the EU, dealing with all energy sector policies (gas, electricity, nuclear energy). In her current position, she represents the Lithuanian position in negotiations on EU policy and legal acts proposals at meetings at the Council of the EU (Working Parties, Coreper, and Energy Council) and committees of the EU Commission. She was previously a chief officer at the Ministry of Energy of Lithuania where she worked during the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Ms. Navickaite obtained an LLM cum laude in European Union Law from the Maastricht University.

Senior Energy Lawyer, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Ms. Karova hold a PhD degree from the Law Department of the European University Institute. Her thesis title is “Liberalization of the Electricity Markets and Public Service Obligation in the Energy Community”. She joined the Energy Community in 2011 as Energy Lawyer. Prior to this, she worked as a legal advisor at the Cabinet of the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy of FYR of Macedonia. Ms. Karova published the book Liberalization of the Electricity Markets and Public Service Obligation in the Energy Community. She has also published numerous articles and book chapters.

Gas Expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Šimkus joined the Energy Community Secretariat in 2014. Currently he mainly deals with natural gas regulatory, infrastructure and market developments in Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Georgia and the Balkan countries. Before joining the Secretariat, he worked as an in-house lawyer in several big energy companies in the Baltics and as an external legal counsel for the top energy market players in the Baltics, Poland and Scandinavia. In 2013 and 2014 he was ranked by Chambers Europe as one of the top energy lawyers in Lithuania. He holds LL.B and LL.M degrees from Mykolas Romeris University in Lithuania and a Diploma in International Nuclear Energy Law from University of Montpellier in France. Up to now, he drafted over 100 legal acts regulating the energy sector in 12 jurisdictions of Europe.

Energy Lawyer, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Ms. Richter joined the Energy Community in 2016 as Energy Lawyer that mainly deals with issues of competition and State aid law, dispute settlement cases, assistance to national competition and State aid authorities and training activities. Her previous professional experience consists of different legal positions as legal associate, consultant and legal clerk. Ms. Richter holds a Master’s (2008) and a PhD degree (2011) from the Faculty of Law, Vienna University where she was also Assistant Professor in the period 2009-2011. She has also published several legal articles.

Senior Foreign Associate, Hogan Lovells, Germany

Ms. Lotfi, senior foreign associate in the Munich office, focuses her practice on international dispute resolution and complex arbitration.  She has represented clients in a variety of industries including energy (oil and gas), construction and industrial engineering, and corporate disputes applying both civil and common laws. Ms. Lofty has represented clients in more than 20 international arbitration proceedings as counsel under various rules including ICC, VIAC, SCC, UNCITRAL, AAA, SIAC, DIA and in ad hoc proceedings.  She is a member of the AAA and ICDR roster of arbitrators. Before joining Hogan Lovells, she practiced international commercial arbitration with another leading international firm in Vienna, Austria.  She frequently publishes and speaks on topics of interest in the industry.

Chairman of Supervisory Board, EFETnet, Belgium

Dr. Haizmann is a qualified lawyer, graduating in Germany, UK and Belgium. Dr. Haizmann started his career at a German law firm, specializing in European competition law and industry regulation. He had held various executive functions in energy trading companies between 1999 and 2005. Since 2005, Dr. Haizmann has been an independent consultant to the energy trading industry, based in Brussels, advising clients on legal and regulatory aspects of energy trading. Dr. Haizmann has been appointed expert in several arbitration proceedings helping dispute resolution in gas and power transactions. 

In parallel to his consulting activities, Mr. Haizmann holds different executive functions within the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET). He is member of its Board of Directors since 2009.

Senior Energy Lawyer, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Ms. Karova hold a PhD degree from the Law Department of the European University Institute. Her thesis title is “Liberalization of the Electricity Markets and Public Service Obligation in the Energy Community”. She joined the Energy Community in 2011 as Energy Lawyer. Prior to this, she worked as a legal advisor at the Cabinet of the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy of FYR of Macedonia. Ms. Karova published the book Liberalization of the Electricity Markets and Public Service Obligation in the Energy Community. She has also published numerous articles and book chapters.

Country Coordinator Open Regional Fund for South East Europe, GIZ

Mr. Sazdovski is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers and Scientific Advisory Board of the South-East Conference for Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environmental Systems. He has been working as a project developer and implementer, engaged by USAID, UNDP and GIZ, providing technical assistance to different stakeholders in the field of energy efficiency. He is the author of the National Energy Monitoring System for local self-governments, and the co-author of the III National Energy Efficiency Action Plan 2016-2018 for FYR of Macedonia.

Environment Expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

After graduation from the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest), Mr. Vajda took up duties at the National Environmental Agency’s Budapest local office. Between 2007 and 2011, he worked as a seconded national expert at the EU Commission’s DG Environment. In March 2012, he started working as Environmental Expert at the Energy Community Secretariat. In his current position, the main activities involve monitoring implementation of EU legislation on Environmental Impact Assessment, Sulphur Content of Liquid Fuels, Large Combustion Plants and Industrial Emissions in the Contracting Parties.

Country Representative, EuroCape, Ukraine

Mr. O'Brien is Country Director and Head of EuroCape's wind development projects in Ukraine. He is based in EuroCape's Kiev offices and he also oversees all operations and project development in EuroCape's offices in the Zaparosha region. He has extensive business and project development experience in Europe and Ukraine where he has been based for more than eleven years. Previously he was employed by ECE Projektmanagement GmbH in Hamburg, by ORCO in Luxembourg, Rodamco in Rotterdam, and NCH Capital in New York. Mr O'Brien’s educational background consists of the following degrees: Master of Business Administration, INSEAD; BA, Wesleyan University, USA.

Senior Associate, European Climate Foundation

Mr. Feiler has experience in climate policy development at national, EU and international level in both public and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining the ECF in 2016, Jozsef worked as topic area leader of the Regional Environmental Center in Hungary, heading climate policy in the Hungarian public administration for nearly a decade. He supported the Cyprus, Lithuanian and Greek EU presidency on international climate policy as an adviser and worked as a policy coordinator of CEE Bankwatch Network, one of the largest advocacy NGOs from the new EU member states.

Sustainable Energy Expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Ms. Lazzerini has over 10 years of working and research experience in the field of international green policies, with focus on Europe and Asia. Before joining the Energy Community, she was research fellow on sustainable development at Tsinghua University (Beijing), policy officer within the European Commission Environment Directorate General (Brussels) and energy analyst at Enel Foundation (Italy). She worked with UNIDO on green industry policy and co-authored several publications on energy transitions in cities. She cooperated with the Global Shapers of the World Economic Forum on a number of projects evaluating the impact of renewable energy solutions on off-grid households in emerging economies.

Head of Research & Sustainability Department, University of Polis, Albania

Mr. Mustafaraj works at University of Polis (Tirana, Albania) as a lecturer and head of Research & Sustainability Department (Sustainable Lab), in the areas of energy efficiency, energy audit and renewables. His past academic experience includes Research Engineer, Assistant Professor and Project Manager. He also had significant international industrial experience in various roles, including Energy Manager, Quality Engineer and Site Planning engineer. Mr. Mustafaraj’s main areas of interest include energy management and audit, energy efficiency systems design, HVAC plants design and renewable energy. He holds a PhD degree from the Brunel University (United Kingdom), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (2008).

Country Coordinator Open Regional Fund for South East Europe, GIZ

Mr. Sazdovski is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers and Scientific Advisory Board of the South-East Conference for Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environmental Systems. He has been working as a project developer and implementer, engaged by USAID, UNDP and GIZ, providing technical assistance to different stakeholders in the field of energy efficiency. He is the author of the National Energy Monitoring System for local self-governments, and the co-author of the III National Energy Efficiency Action Plan 2016-2018 for FYR of Macedonia.

Professor, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, FYR of Macedonia

Mr. Taleski is a full professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. He has more than 35 years of professional experience in the field of electrical engineering working as an engineer in the industry and as a teacher in academia. He has published more than 60 scientific papers in the field of power systems and electricity markets. In the last 15 years, Dr. Taleski has been engaged in various projects supported by various international donor organizations, i.e. World Bank, US AID, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.