The COPERNICUS Alliance was established and is run by members, for its members. It is registered as an NGO non-for-profit organisation under German law. The CA is self-financed and uses its funds to achieve its mission. It also seeks external funding for projects and activities.
The network is coordinated by a Leadership Team and supported by an Advisory Board and a Network Manager. The Leadership Team and Advisory Board members are volunteering positions. The Leadership Team is elected by the CA members for a period of two years, the terms of Advisory Board members are four years.
Leadership Team
- Dr. Anne Zimmermann, University of Bern President
- Dr. Ingrid Mulà, University of Girona Executive Director
Ingrid Mulà is research and knowledge transfer manager at the Institute of Educational Research (IRE) at University of Girona. She holds a doctorate in Sustainability from the University of Gloucestershire, with a focus on social learning and institutional change for sustainable development in higher education. She joined the IRE in November 2017 with the specific role of supporting researchers' projects and outputs especially in the area of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Her research trajectory has always focused on researching and bringing about change for sustainability at the university level. During her time in the UK, Ingrid coordinated the COPERNICUS Alliance secretariat (2012-14) and took a pivotal role in writing, and coordinating the “University Educators for Sustainable Development (UE4SD)” which involved 53 universities in 33 countries. In addition to this, she coordinated a United Nations University Regional Centre of Expertise in ESD (UNU RCE Severn) and actively participated in the RCE global network.
- Mario Diethart, University of Graz Network Manager
Mario Diethart holds a master in Environmental System Sciences with focus on geography from the University of Graz. He is working in the field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as part of the Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) Graz-Styria. He was involved in various EU research projects focusing on innovative education approaches (e-learning, international, intergenerational settings) and more recently on participatory city planning and sustainable tourism. Before assuming the role as Network Manager in the COPERNICUS Alliance he served as Finance Administrator of the network.
- University of Girona Network Coordinating Institution
Advisory Board
The Advisory Board members are elected for a period of four years by the CA members. They can be CA member representatives, student representatives or assume an extended advisory board role. The current members are:
- Prof. Matthias Barth
Member representative
Professor for Education for Sustainable Development, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany - Prof. Kim Ceulemans, PhD
Extended Advisory Board Role
Assistant Professor, Department of Control, Accounting and Auditing at Toulouse Business School, France - Dr. Jana Dlouhá
Member representative
Researcher at Charles University Environment Centre and former CA Vice-President, Czech Republic - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rebeka Kovačič Lukman
Member representative
Professor of Environmental Sciences at University of Maribor, Slovenia - Dr. Clemens Mader
Member representative
Scientist at Sustainability Team of University of Zurich and at the Technology and Society Laboratory of Empa in St.Gallen, Switzerland - Dr. Estibaliz Saez de Camara Oleaga
Member representative
Director of Sustainability at University of the Basque Country, Spain - Prof. Dr. Eglė Staniškienė
Member representative
Professor at School of Economics at Kaunas University of Technology