Speakers
dr. Julian Jones
Center for Talented Youth (CTY) , Johns Hopkins University
Julian Jones, Senior Philanthropic Advisor, came to CTY in 1998. In recent years, he has led the Center’s efforts to develop a worldwide network of programs for high ability students by responding to international inquiries and arranging discussions with ministries of education, universities and foundations who wish to establish locally operated versions of CTY. Recent presentations include: Ministry of Education, Peoples Republic of China; Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Kenya; Stavros Niarchos Foundation, New York and Athens; President’s Council , Witwatersrand University, South Africa. Julian earned a Ph.D. at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, specializing in disarmament negotiation and international organization. He taught at Tufts and the University of Maryland. At Maryland, he held the post of Vice President Overseas Programs (Asia). He is interested in the relationship between creativity and innovation and economic growth.
Center for Talented Youth (CTY) , Johns Hopkins University
Julian Jones, Senior Philanthropic Advisor, came to CTY in 1998. In recent years, he has led the Center’s efforts to develop a worldwide network of programs for high ability students by responding to international inquiries and arranging discussions with ministries of education, universities and foundations who wish to establish locally operated versions of CTY. Recent presentations include: Ministry of Education, Peoples Republic of China; Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Kenya; Stavros Niarchos Foundation, New York and Athens; President’s Council , Witwatersrand University, South Africa. Julian earned a Ph.D. at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, specializing in disarmament negotiation and international organization. He taught at Tufts and the University of Maryland. At Maryland, he held the post of Vice President Overseas Programs (Asia). He is interested in the relationship between creativity and innovation and economic growth.
dr. Annette Heinbokel
European Council for High Ability
Research on acceleration, including 20 years of grade skipping in Lower Saxony (1980-2001) and questionnaires for adults who skipped, spanning 70 years (1917-1987) and several publications.
Although in her research she specialised in acceleration, during her time as a teacher most of the children and the parents preferred enrichment. Therefore she will speak about the advantages and disadvantages of enrichment and acceleration, when to use which. There will be examples from her teaching experience in English. A gifted programme that uses only enrichment and ignores or rejects acceleration – as is fairly often the case in Germany – is not complete and therefore not really good. She has published a handbook on acceleration (Handbuch Akzeleration – Was Hochbegabten nützt, LIT Verlag, Münster, 20122). It contains ‘Entscheidungshilfen’ (instruments to help decide) for early entry into school and grade skipping in primary and in secondary school.
European Council for High Ability
- 1978 she initiated the founding of the German Association for Gifted Children (DGhK), the first association for the gifted in Germany. In the same year she also started the first group of parents’ of gifted children in Vechta; it had to be closed two years later: it was not yet possible to openly use the word ‘gifted’ for children.
- 1982 the first branch of the DGhK was opened in Osnabrueck, which she ran till 1999
- 1984 additional diploma in education; the diploma thesis was first published in 1988 and was one of the first two books in Germany that dealt with most aspects of gifted education, not just one aspect or a collection of essays.
- 1994-2005 lecturer (part time) on gifted education at the University of Osnabrueck
- 1996 PhD; subject of the thesis: grade skipping;
- 1999 Order of Merit for what she had done for gifted children, presented by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany
Research on acceleration, including 20 years of grade skipping in Lower Saxony (1980-2001) and questionnaires for adults who skipped, spanning 70 years (1917-1987) and several publications.
Although in her research she specialised in acceleration, during her time as a teacher most of the children and the parents preferred enrichment. Therefore she will speak about the advantages and disadvantages of enrichment and acceleration, when to use which. There will be examples from her teaching experience in English. A gifted programme that uses only enrichment and ignores or rejects acceleration – as is fairly often the case in Germany – is not complete and therefore not really good. She has published a handbook on acceleration (Handbuch Akzeleration – Was Hochbegabten nützt, LIT Verlag, Münster, 20122). It contains ‘Entscheidungshilfen’ (instruments to help decide) for early entry into school and grade skipping in primary and in secondary school.
dr. Stephen Lindeman Gessner
The Council for American Culture and Education, New York, NY
The Council for American Culture and Education, New York, NY
- The Council for American Culture and Education, New York, NY President, 2009-present CEO of non-profit international educational and cultural exchange organization which promotes cooperation between American and international educational and cultural organizations, universities, corporations, and governments.
- Educational Consultant, 2009-present
- The American Institute for Foreign Study, Stamford, CT Chief Academic Officer, 2007-2008
- The Summer Institute for the Gifted, Stamford, CT President and CEO, 2002-2007
- The Goldman Sachs Foundation, New York, New York Senior Program Officer, 2001-2002
- Center for Talented Youth, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland Senior Director of Programs, 1996-2001
- Sandy Spring Friends School, Sandy Spring, Maryland Head of School, 1991-1996
- Marvin Zonis and Associates, Chicago, Illinois Educational Consultant, 1990-1991
- The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 1976‑1990
Csilla Fuszek
European Talent Centre – Budapest. She worked for over 15 years as a teacher in primary, secondary school. Since 2000 she is specified in the field of gifted and talented education. As a civil servant she worked 7 years as a managing director of nationwide talent development programs aimed to promote equal opportunities to the disadvantaged strata of society. From 2007 – 2011 she was the managing director of the Csányi Foundation which is one of the biggest civil education foundations focusing on talent support in Hungary.
Since 2008 she has been a lecturer at Eötvös Loránd University; Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology Budapest, has been involved with talent issue for the past 13 years, is specialized in talent programs for the disadvantaged students, networking and existential intelligence.
Since 2009 she has been working for the Association of Hungarian Talent Support Organizations. She was responsible for international connections and for collecting best practices outside and inside Europe. Since 2012 she is the head of the European Talent Centre – Budapest.
European Talent Centre – Budapest. She worked for over 15 years as a teacher in primary, secondary school. Since 2000 she is specified in the field of gifted and talented education. As a civil servant she worked 7 years as a managing director of nationwide talent development programs aimed to promote equal opportunities to the disadvantaged strata of society. From 2007 – 2011 she was the managing director of the Csányi Foundation which is one of the biggest civil education foundations focusing on talent support in Hungary.
Since 2008 she has been a lecturer at Eötvös Loránd University; Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology Budapest, has been involved with talent issue for the past 13 years, is specialized in talent programs for the disadvantaged students, networking and existential intelligence.
Since 2009 she has been working for the Association of Hungarian Talent Support Organizations. She was responsible for international connections and for collecting best practices outside and inside Europe. Since 2012 she is the head of the European Talent Centre – Budapest.
dr. Viire Sepp
Gifted and Talented Development Centre
Viire is the long-standing director of the Gifted and Talented Development Centre of the University of Tartu (www.teaduskool.ut.ee). The aim of the Center is to support the developement of academically gifted students from all over from Estonia via distance learning enrichement courses, workshops, academic Olympiads, mobile labs etc. Under the leadership of Viire the centre has gained the status of a nation-wide competence centre for gifted education. Viire has studied mathematics and psychology at the University of Tartu, and has a PhD in social sciences from Radboud University of Nijmegen (the Netherlands). Her interests and topic of research are academic Olympiads, and the sudy of motivational and personality factors in gifted children. Since 2004 she has organized conferences and seminars on the subject of giftedness in Estonia. She has presented papers at dozens of national and international conferences and workshops. Viire teaches courses in gifted education at University of Tartu for teacher training courses. She has published numerous articles, book chapters and is the autor of the handbook on giftedness and gifted children. She is the Estonian correspondent in the European Council for High Ability and the Estonian delegate at the WCGTC.
Gifted and Talented Development Centre
Viire is the long-standing director of the Gifted and Talented Development Centre of the University of Tartu (www.teaduskool.ut.ee). The aim of the Center is to support the developement of academically gifted students from all over from Estonia via distance learning enrichement courses, workshops, academic Olympiads, mobile labs etc. Under the leadership of Viire the centre has gained the status of a nation-wide competence centre for gifted education. Viire has studied mathematics and psychology at the University of Tartu, and has a PhD in social sciences from Radboud University of Nijmegen (the Netherlands). Her interests and topic of research are academic Olympiads, and the sudy of motivational and personality factors in gifted children. Since 2004 she has organized conferences and seminars on the subject of giftedness in Estonia. She has presented papers at dozens of national and international conferences and workshops. Viire teaches courses in gifted education at University of Tartu for teacher training courses. She has published numerous articles, book chapters and is the autor of the handbook on giftedness and gifted children. She is the Estonian correspondent in the European Council for High Ability and the Estonian delegate at the WCGTC.
Liina Tamm
Konguta Secondary School
She is a teacher and director of the Konguta Secondary School. She is responsible for approximately 150 students. Liina graduated from Tartu Univeristy in 1984 having specialized on language use by hearing and speech impaired students as special education. In 1992 she graduated from Tartu University as a social psychologist. The topic of her final paper was on O. Tasola’s mental ability test use and application in Estonian.
Liina has worked in the Elva Children’s Home where she attempted to develop the speech of children on the basis of rythmic phonetics and teaching sign language use by children who have Down syndrome. She worked for Meeri Orpahanage and created a course for problem children in the tenth grade to cope after graduation. When Directing the Rannu Secondary School she dealt with music education of children creating courses for them. Since 1999 she has worked at Konguta Secondary School. She is a developer and leader in her field and feels that the JukuAkadeemia in the school was created through her wishing to develop children and the school. The Konguta school has since 2000 won the title of the „The most beautiful Estonian school", due to the frendliness of the students. In 2011 the school won the title of „Tiigri Tegijad“ for having modern teaching methods and for using technology. She is the Best Practice in 2013 in Education Award winner for developing JukuAkadeemia.
Konguta Secondary School
She is a teacher and director of the Konguta Secondary School. She is responsible for approximately 150 students. Liina graduated from Tartu Univeristy in 1984 having specialized on language use by hearing and speech impaired students as special education. In 1992 she graduated from Tartu University as a social psychologist. The topic of her final paper was on O. Tasola’s mental ability test use and application in Estonian.
Liina has worked in the Elva Children’s Home where she attempted to develop the speech of children on the basis of rythmic phonetics and teaching sign language use by children who have Down syndrome. She worked for Meeri Orpahanage and created a course for problem children in the tenth grade to cope after graduation. When Directing the Rannu Secondary School she dealt with music education of children creating courses for them. Since 1999 she has worked at Konguta Secondary School. She is a developer and leader in her field and feels that the JukuAkadeemia in the school was created through her wishing to develop children and the school. The Konguta school has since 2000 won the title of the „The most beautiful Estonian school", due to the frendliness of the students. In 2011 the school won the title of „Tiigri Tegijad“ for having modern teaching methods and for using technology. She is the Best Practice in 2013 in Education Award winner for developing JukuAkadeemia.
Timothy Henry Charles Tamm
is currently a final year student at the Gustav Adolf Gymnasium. Since early childhood he has been interested in everything related to science. From the sixth grade on, he has participated in many Olympiads (Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Linguistics, Economics, English, Science), at the local school, regional, national and international levels. In 2010 he won a bronze medal at the International Junior Science Olympiad and two years later, his team won gold and were declared overall winners at the European Union Science Olympiad. In addition to taking part in Olympiads, he has attempted to get involved with science in other ways as well. This is why he competed in the science competition TV show „Rakett 69“ two years ago, which he managed to win. Furthermore, he was a member of Estonia’s first ever satellite ESTCube-1 team.
Apart from science, he is also interested in economics, photography, debating and politics. As he has a lot of hobbies, he needs more time. This is especially true right now, as he is applying to foreign universities. In one year, he hopes to be a student at the Massachussets Institute of Technology.
is currently a final year student at the Gustav Adolf Gymnasium. Since early childhood he has been interested in everything related to science. From the sixth grade on, he has participated in many Olympiads (Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Linguistics, Economics, English, Science), at the local school, regional, national and international levels. In 2010 he won a bronze medal at the International Junior Science Olympiad and two years later, his team won gold and were declared overall winners at the European Union Science Olympiad. In addition to taking part in Olympiads, he has attempted to get involved with science in other ways as well. This is why he competed in the science competition TV show „Rakett 69“ two years ago, which he managed to win. Furthermore, he was a member of Estonia’s first ever satellite ESTCube-1 team.
Apart from science, he is also interested in economics, photography, debating and politics. As he has a lot of hobbies, he needs more time. This is especially true right now, as he is applying to foreign universities. In one year, he hopes to be a student at the Massachussets Institute of Technology.
Tiia Randma
Government Chancellory
She is an advisor in the Government Chancellory and a TTU Ph.D student. From 1997-2012 she worked as an education advisor in the Chamber of Commerce. She is an initiator of entrepreneurhsip education in Estonia and developer of the programs „Talents back Home!“ and „Dreams to Reality“. She believes that: „Society develops and mantains itself thanks to people who dare to dream, want and are able to make their ideas come true. For this to come about creativity, innovation and courage to take risks as well as having the knowledge and skills on how to achieve the goals, planning the use of resources and activities“.
Government Chancellory
She is an advisor in the Government Chancellory and a TTU Ph.D student. From 1997-2012 she worked as an education advisor in the Chamber of Commerce. She is an initiator of entrepreneurhsip education in Estonia and developer of the programs „Talents back Home!“ and „Dreams to Reality“. She believes that: „Society develops and mantains itself thanks to people who dare to dream, want and are able to make their ideas come true. For this to come about creativity, innovation and courage to take risks as well as having the knowledge and skills on how to achieve the goals, planning the use of resources and activities“.