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EMA's Structure & History

EMA's structure is based on four pillars, which allow the Association to achieve its goals. These pillars are: EMA's Management Board (MB), EMA's Country Representatives (CRs), EMA's Programme Representatives (PRs), and EMA's Project Leaders (PLs).

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See an organogram of EMA’s units below, and click on each Unit to learn more about their functions and activities. Scroll down to browse through EMA’s history.

EMA's History

The Erasmus Mundus Association (EMA) was founded in 2006 as an initiative of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC).

 

In 2014, the Erasmus Mundus Programme became a part of Erasmus+ and EMA joined the Erasmus+ Students and Alumni Association (ESAA).  Effective as of 2015, EMA registered as an international non-profit Association under the Belgian Laws (EMA AISBL).

 

Since its foundation EMA members have initiated or taken part in a large number of fairs, information seminars and promotional activities worldwide, spreading the word about Erasmus Mundus and Higher Education in Europe.

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Below is a timeline with some of EMA's notable milestones as well as an overview of its previous Management Boards and Steering Committees.

May 2020: EMA's 14th General Assembly; virtual

EMA’s 14th General Assembly was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

February 2020: Management Board Meeting
Management Board
September 2019: SC-MB Handover & EMA Changemaker Event; Delft, Netherlands

The previous EMA steering committee completed a handover of the positions to the new Management Board. This happened concurrently with an EMA Changemaker Event. 

EMA's First Management Board Elected

In 2019, EMA’s first-ever Management Board was elected. Read more about the MB members here.

June 2019: Extraordinary GA (EMA's 13th)

Voting of President and Vice-President (during ESAA event in Bonn).

May 2019: Steering Committee Meeting
February 2019: 12th General Assembly & MCAA Annual Conference

The 12th GA took place in Vienna in conjunction with the Marie Curie Alumni Association’s Annual Conference.

EMA General Assembly Attendees voted on the proposed update of the EMA Statute and Internal Regulations.

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November 2018: Changemaker Event in Brussels

First EMA's Strategic Meeting “Changemakers’, Brussels.

May 2018: First Virtual Extraordinary General Assembly (11th GA)
2017-2019: EMA's 7th Steering Committee Elected
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May 2017: 10th General Assembly; Brussels

​Free University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel – VUB),  Belgium.

May 2021: EMA's 15th General Assembly; virtual

EMA’s 15th General Assembly was held virtually for the second year in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the General Assembly, EMA's next President and Vice President were elected. Learn more here. 

November 2021: EMA Official MB Handover Meeting; Athens, Greece

EMA's incoming and outgoing Management Boards held an in-person Handover meeting in November 2021. Read more here. 

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October 2016: Virtual Liaison Group Meeting
2016: EMA goes legal

EMA becomes a registered NGO: EMA AISBL

November 2016: 9th General Assembly; Switzerland

Combined with EMA’s 10th anniversary celebration. Lugano, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Switzerland.

November 2015: Liaison Group Meeting; Vienna
2015-2017: EMA's 6th Steering Committee 
2015: 8th General Assembly; Belgium
2014: 7th General Assembly; Poland
2013-2015: EMA's 5th Steering Committee 

  • ​President: Leasa Weimer

  • Vice-President: Pavan Sriram

  • Communications Coordinator: Luca Lo Re/Maryia Kukharava

  • Community Development Coordinator: Saeed Hosseinzadeh

  • Internal Affairs Coordinator: Shahiryar Khan 

  • Professional Development Coordinator: Rauf Butt

  • Regional Chapters Coordinator: Apiyo Okwiri

2013: 6th GA; Spain

​BarcelonaTech: Technical University of Catalonia; Spain.

2012: 5th GA; Czech Republic

Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

2011-2013: EMA's 4th Steering Committee

  • President: Jean Carlos Pelicano 

  • Vice-President: Hady Abi-Nader

  • Communications Coordinator: Nina Cherenkova

  • Community Development Coordinator: Roy Someshwar

  • Internal Affairs Coordinator: Paras Mehta (2011-2012)/Shahiryar Khan (2012-2013)

  • Professional Development Coordinator: Thomas Vilarinho

  • Regional Chapters Coordinator: Ricardo Chavez

2011: 4th GA; Hungary

​Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

2009-2011: EMA's 3rd Steering Committee 

  • President: Chunyu Liang

  • Vice-President: Ricardo Chavez

  • Conference Team Coordinator: Tanja Kähkönen (2009)/Salman M. Khan (2010-2011) 

  • Internal Communications Team Coordinator: Hady Abi-Nader

  • IT Team Coordinator: Taghi Paksima

  • Jobs Team Coordinator: Stephne Du Rand

  • Magazine Team Coordinator: Natasha Sardzoska 

  • Policy Team Coordinator: Jean Carlos Pelicano

  • Promotion Team Coordinator: Sonia Pinho

2009: 2nd GA; Lithuania

​Vilnius University, Lithuania

2008-2009: EMA's 2nd Steering Committee

  • President: Hanneke Luth

  • Vice-President: Ricardo Chavez

  • Conference Team Coordinator:  Chunyu Liang

  • Internal Communications Team Coordinator: Ross Hu Zhongliang

  • IT Team Coordinator: Taghi Paksima

  • Jobs Team Coordinator: Manuel Fernandez

  • Magazine Team Coordinator: Rikke Skovgaard Andersen

  • Policy Team Coordinator: Jean Carlos Pelicano 

  • Promotion Team Coordinator: Jennifer Lenhar

2008: EMA's 1st GA; Italy

​The University for Foreigners Perugia, Italy

2007-2008: EMA's 1st Steering Committee

  • President: Hanneke Luth

  • Vice-President: Taghi Paksima

  • Conference Team Coordinator:  Chunyu Liang

  • Internal Communications Team Coordinator: Ross Hu Zhongliang

  • IT Team Coordinator: Taghi Paksima

  • Jobs Team Coordinator: Sandra Oberhollenzer

  • Magazine Team Coordinator: Rikke Skovgaard Andersen

  • Newsletter Team Coordinator: Ross Hu Zhongliang

  • Policy Team Coordinator: Matthias Herkt

  • Promotion Team Coordinator: Jennifer Lenhart

June 2006: Foundation of EMA

​Foundation of EMA (on behalf of the European Commission) as a Student and Alumni Association

EMA's History
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