Our team
The combination of multi- and interdisciplinary research profiles from the COOLSCHOOLS partners guarantees the required cross-sectoral capabilities and competences to carry out successfully this transdisciplinary research project.
Project coordinator WP0 and leader of WP5 on Inclusive governance
Isabel Ruiz-Mallén
Isabel Ruiz-Mallén is the coordinator of COOLSCHOOLS. She is an associated professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Urban Transformation and Global Change (TURBA) at IN3-UOC.Show more
Isabel has a professional background in environmental science research and a proven ability to work across disciplines, from sustainability education to community-based conservation and climate resilience, in multicultural contexts (global North/South, rural/urban). Her research interests lie in knowledge co-production and transformative learning behind formal and informal educational processes.
Filka Sekulova
Filka Sekulova is a postdoctoral researcher at the IN3 institute, (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya), and part of the Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory.Show more
Filka is a founding member of the academic think thank Research & Degrowth, and part of the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability. Her primary field of research is centered around the thematic of urban greening, social inclusion and the governance of nature-based solutions. She has experience and expertise in the fields of: subjective well-being, community-based organizing towards sustainability, critical analysis of touristic massification and degrowth. Filka is a social environmental scientist working at the intersection of (ecological) economics (PhD, MS, BS), psychology (BS), and social sciences.
Raquel Colacios
Raquel Colacios is an architect and urban designer and holds a PhD in architecture. Founder of TAAB6 architecture, and currently a research assistant at the TURBA research group at UOC Barcelona.Show more
She is an assistant professor at UMEA University in Sweden, visiting lecturer at KU Leuven and TU Darmstadt. Her research and line of action are based on architecture and urban design as a tool for social and environmental justice, focusing on the development of strategic models and forms of Green/Blue Infrastructure that foster equity and minimize climate change effects.
Hug March
Dr Hug March is Professor in the Faculty of Economy and Business, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). He is a researcher at the Laboratory of Urban Transformation and Global Change (TURBA, UOC), where he leads a research line on the political ecology of socio-environmental transformation. His main contributions are situated in the fields of environmental studies, urban studies, geography and water studies. He has done extensive research on the political ecology of water, as well as on the urban political ecology of smart city and urban resilience.
Ramon Ribera
Ramon Ribera Fumaz (BSc Economics, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; MA, PhD in Geography, University of Manchester) is a professor of Economic and Urban Geography at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and group leader of the Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory (TURBA) at the university's Internet Interdisciplinary Institute. His research explores the urban geographies of capitalism from an interdisciplinary perspective, particularly focusing on the spatial, technological and environmental dimensions of uneven development. His current interests focus on the political economy geographies of global urbanism, particularly the political economy of digital urbanism, on the one hand, and the analysis of nature-based solutions to urban regeneration on the other hand.
Project Co-Coordinator WP0 and Leader of
WP1 on Accessibility and equity
Francesc Baró
Francesc Baró is the co-coordinator of COOLSCHOOLS and an urban environmental scientist currently appointed as Asst. Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium, both at the Geography and Sociology Departments.Show more
He is also affiliated researcher at ICTA-UAB, Spain. His research is motivated by making cities inclusive, healthy, liveable, resilient and sustainable for all. In order to understand the complexity of urban social-ecological systems, he conducts applied research at the interface of urban ecology, urban geography, urban planning and ecosystem service science. His interdisciplinary research approach combines geospatial modelling, advanced quantitative and qualitative data analysis and participatory methods. He serves as the advisor for local and metropolitan governments and other organizations, and he has been involved in several international research projects on urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions.
Elsa Gallez
Elsa Gallez is a geographer and urban planner, currently PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies - Urban Studies at the Department of Geography and the Department of Sociology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).Show more
Aware of the complexity and paradoxes of urban environmental justice issues, she dedicates her research to the exploration of effective levers (in the fields of land policy and green infrastructures) aimed at providing a more equitable access to green amenities. Her research projects combine both quantitative and qualitative research methods including geospatial analysis, statistical analysis, semi-structured interviews, surveys, and participatory approaches.
Nicola da Schio
Nicola is postdoctoral researcher at the Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).Show more
He is interested in the uneven geographies and knowledges of urban socio-ecological good and bad, as well as in the nexus between science, state, and civil society as the place where these come to be established and contested. Thematically, his research focuses on air pollution and the urban forest. Before joining VUB, Nicola worked with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on issues related to the urban environment, and cycled through Europe to explore and promote ecomobility practices. He also previously worked with different international institutions, local government associations, and NGOs in Western Europe, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Amy Phillips
Amy Phillips is a geographer and PhD candidate at VUB.Show more
After completing her bachelor's in Geography (Clark University, US) and master’s degrees in Geography with specialization in Geographic Information Science (KU Leuven and VUB), Amy joined the Cartography and GIS research group of VUB in 2019. Her research interests include urban greening, urban green space use and valuation, spatial analyses, participatory GIS, and environmental justice in cities. Amy is interested in how we can bring more equitable and desirable urban green to cities, such that the demand from urban residents better meets the supply.
Nathalie Blanc
Nathalie Blanc is a Research Director at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and is the Managing Director of the Center for Earth Politics (https://u-paris.fr/centre-politiques-terre/) at the University of Paris Cité.Show more
A pioneer of ecocriticism in France, she has published and coordinated research programs on areas including habitability, environmental aesthetics, literature & environment and nature in the city. A founding member of the French Environmental Humanities Portal, her books to come in 2022 are : Towards an ordinary environmentalism (in French, éditions Au Bord de l’eau), Art and sustainable farming (in English, Routledge). N. Blanc animates and coordinates a project of LABArtSciences devoted successively to urban soils SOIL FICTIONS (2016) and sustainable food THE TABLE AND THE TERRITORY (2019-2022) (https://www.tableandterritory.org/).
Céline Clauzel
I am associate professor in geography at Université Paris Cité and LADYSS laboratory. My research is focused on biodiversity issues from the perspective of ecological networks and their spatial modeling.Show more
The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the interactions between landscape structures (mainly produced by human activities) and ecological processes (which generate movements of species across the landscape), but also to see how this knowledge can be remobilized in the management of territories to implement efficient measures for biodiversity conservation.
Sarah Bortolamiol
Sarah Bortolamiol is co-leader of WP2, a researcher in geography at CNRS, affiliated to Ladyss laboratory.Show more
Her research focuses on animals, their occupancies of/movements in territories, their interactions with human societies, and the conservation and management frames these interactions are set. She uses mixed-and interdisciplinary methodologies (animal/vegetation census, interviews/participative observations, GIS and spatial analysis, etc.) to study different animals (chimpanzees, elephants, foxes, wolves, insects, etc.) in different contexts (France, Uganda; rural, urban; temperate, tropical; protected, non- protected etc.) to highlight similarities and differences in ways to coexist among alive forms.
Joanne Clavel
For nearly 10 years, at the National Museum of Natural History of Paris, I have studied the impact of anthropogenic global changes on biodiversity, demonstrating the ongoing process of Biotic Homogenization.Show more
I contributed to several of the lively debates of conservation biology (e.g. ecosystems services, de-extinction, fixism, introduced species...).
Since 2018, I’m a CNRS researcher developing Environmental Humanities. I study human*natures relations in aesthetic, biological and political perspectives. My research questions the embodied experiences of the living. The commitment of my research in a situated work based on practices necessarily raises questions of epistemologies and methodologies. This is where the practice of art enters my research.
Lidia Casas-Ruiz
Lidia Casas is assistant professor in environmental epidemiology at the University of Antwerp (Belgium).Show more
She has a degree in medicine by the University Rovira i Virgili (2003, Reus, Spain), a specialty in Preventive Medicine and Public Health (2008, Bellvitge University Hospital, Spain) and a PhD in Biomedicine (environmental epidemiology) by the University Pompeu Fabra (2013, Barcelona, Spain). Her PhD studies were done at the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL – now ISGlobal) in Barcelona, Spain. Between 2013 and 2020, she was post-doctoral researcher at the Centre for Environment and Health (KU Leuven, Belgium). Since 2020, she is assistant professor at the group Social Epidemiology and Health Policy (Department Family Medicine and Population Health) at the University of Antwerp, were she is PI of the PIPO birth cohort and the Belgian centres of the European ECRHS cohort. In addition, she has been visiting researcher at the Institute of Epidemiology of the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen (Munich, Germany), and at the Living Environment and Health Unit of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (Kuopio, Finland). Her research focuses on the health effects of environmental factors including air pollution, ambient temperature, the environmental microbiome, and urban green spaces.
Hayat Bentouhami
Hayat Bentouhami is an epidemiologist within the group of Social Epidemiology and Health Policy at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.Show more
She has a background in biomedical sciences and is currently finishing her PhD on the importance of theoretical design in epidemiologic etiologic research. She was involved in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) and is currently also working for the Antwerp-based Prospective project on the Influence of Perinatal Factors on the Occurrence of Asthma and Allergies (PIPO). Within the COOLSCHOOLS project she will be supporting work package 3 on health transformation capacities of climate shelters.
Tim Nawrot
Tim Nawrot studied environmental health sciences at Maastricht University and Vermont Medical School, US.Show more
In 2005, he obtained his Ph.D. degree in medical sciences from the University of Leuven, Belgium. Nawrot currently works as a full professor of environmental epidemiology at Hasselt University and part time (20%) associate professor at Leuven University. His research focus on health effects of environmental pollutants on ageing including effects in early life. He has published over 200 scientific research papers including top medical journals as Lancet and British Medical Journal. He served as advisor on national and international panels in the field of environmental health including the World Health Organization and participated in the Vilnius declaration (EU summit on air pollution). In 2008 and 2012, he was laureate of Belgian Academies of Medicine for his work on biological ageing and environmental epidemiology, respectively. In 2013, he was awarded an ERC grant to startup a birth cohort study for which he received in 2020 the AstraZeneca award.
Diana Reckien
Dr. Reckien is Associate Professor Climate Change and Urban Inequalities at the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, NL.Show more
She served as Coordinating Lead Author of the Working Group II Contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and co-leads parts of the Third Assessment Report for Climate Change in Cities.
Diana specializes at the interface of climate change governance and urban research with a focus on justice and equity, social vulnerability, success and effectiveness of adaptation, synergies between adaptation and mitigation, climate change migration, and the role of urban greenery to initiate transitions in urban areas.
Funda Atun
I am an urban planner (BSc 2006) and a sociologist (BA 2020).Show more
My Ph.D. thesis (2013, Cum Laude) at Politecnico di Milano was on the societal resilience of transportation systems against environmental disasters. In 2019, I started working at the University of Twente as an assistant professor of strategic spatial planning. I have a track record in the field of societal resilience, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation. I have confidence in the societal transformation that research can create on disadvantaged groups in only a limited time and with only limited resources. First-hand experience with migrants and their children has taught me how far we are as scientists from the largest segments of society. I formulated my recent research with a strong focus on the rights of children to participate in activities that are related to their futures, as active, strong, and knowledgeable actors. I consider children the agents of change in the face of the climate crisis.
Paula Presser
Paula Presser is an Architect and Urban planner that has been working with construction since 2009 in offices in Brazil and Ireland.Show more
With experience in the private sector, Paula developed a critical look at how the built settlements are designed and the extent to which it has been affecting the natural environment. So, since 2017, she has been researching cities and their impact. She did her Master’s in Urban Climate and Sustainability in the UK and Finland. Currently, she is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Twente (ITC) in the Netherlands.
Petra Weber
My name is Petra Weber, and I am a Management Assistant at the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente.Show more
Born and raised in Romania, I have lived and worked in several countries, and I greatly enjoy an international and multi-lingual work setting, with colleagues from different networks, countries, and backgrounds.
Through my colleague Dr. Diana Reckien, I have been involved in the COOLSCHOOLS project and have been acting as the first point of contact – I am available as a pivotal point for all your project-related questions, remarks, and logistical matters, especially for Dutch-speaking counterparts.
Agueda Gras
Dr Agueda Gras-Velázquez is the Science Programme Manager and Head of the Science Education Department at European Schoolnet (EUN) and oversees the coordination of all STEM projects, in which EUN is involved.Show more
Additionally, she is in charge of the day-to-day management of Scientix (http://scientix.eu) and coordinates EUN’s Ministries of Education STEM representatives Working Group. In her 13 years at EUN, Agueda has been involved in more than 60 EC-funded projects and 18 privately funded ones. She has co-authored several papers in Science Education Research and has a PhD in Astrophysics from Trinity College Dublin. She is the WP6 leader.
Eddy Grand-Meyer
Eddy Grand-Meyer works as a Project and Pedagogical Officer in the Science Education Department of European Schoolnet (EUN).Show more
Focusing on Sustainability Education and Nature Based Solutions dissemination, Eddy contributes to the STE(A)M IT, STEM Alliance and Scientix projects and coordinates the Career Advisers Network. Eddy holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Environmental Studies and a master’s degree in Climate Change Science and Policy.
Ivelina Ivanova
Ivelina Ivanova is a Project Operational Manager in the Science Education Department of European Schoolnet (EUN).Show more
Ivelina coordinates EUN’s participation in COOLSCHOOLS, the upcoming NBS EduWORLD project, and the Qualcomm Wireless Reach project. She has coordinated: the conclusion of the NBS Pilot Project Phase 2; the Scientix Ambassadors (more than 950 teachers across 50 countries); the Scientix National Contact Points, as well as the Scientix STEM School Label. Ivelina is a PRINCE2-certified project manager with an MA in Asian and International Studies and over 7 years of experience working in the education sector (Europe and Asia).
Etienne Aulotte
Etienne Aulotte is a Bioengineer with more than 20 years experiences both in Europe and at international levels in environment in the field of nature development, sustainable agriculture and green economy.Show more
Currently head of department nature & agriculture development within the Green spaces Division of Brussels Environment, he is actively working on the implementation of the regional Nature plan that include specific actions for greening the city including schoolyards. He is also specialized in the formulation and management of EU project both as partner or lead partner.
Julie Loriaux
Julie has been an Architect in Brussels for 20 years. She has worked on numerous residential, commercial and private projects. She has always had a personal interest in ecology and project efficiency. She is currently employed by Brussels Environment in the Nature development department, and is particularly interested in urban greening. She is in charge of technical supervision of the “Opération Ré-création” project (greening of 19 schoolyards in Brussels).
Cédissia About
Paris City Council Cedissia About, architect and urban planner, PhD in urbanisme (associated researcher to Lab’Urba, UE7374).Show more
She is working for the City for City of Paris since 2002 as sustainable development and ecological transition referent in urbanism and architecture departments. She is currently manager of the innovation ans sustainable building in Public building and Architecture department.
Raphaëlle Thiollier
Paris City Council Raphaëlle Thiollier, Service Designer on School Architecture / Oasis Project Manager – City of Paris.Show more
Graduated from a political institute, Raphaëlle Thiollier is working for the City for City of Paris since 2009. Passionate about Education, nature and ecological transition, she was a member of the Parisian Resilience team, and is now a service designer on school architecture as well as the Oasis Schoolyards Project Manager.
Jaume Barnada
Barcelona City Council PhD in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (2002).Show more
He has been professor of the master's degree in the Sustainable Housing Laboratory of the 21st century at ETSAB - UPC, of the postgraduate course City Management of the UOC, and of the specialization courses La ciudad autosuficiente i La ciudad próxima del CIDEU – Universidad Corporativa.
He has been director of Urbanism and Housing of the Municipal Institute of Urbanism between 2001 and 2010, Deputy Manager of the Barcelona Housing Consortium in the period 2001 - 2007, and advisor to the Department of Urbanism in 2011. Currently works in the Management of the Chief Architect of the Barcelona City Council. He has been the technical coordinator of the Climate Shelters project in Barcelona schools.
He is the author of various articles and books, such as Dotze Ciutats, els seus espais públics, especially related to urban space and strategies for the renewal of the contemporary city and territory. He has recently published in the magazine Arquitectura y Urbanismo of the Faculty of Architecture of Havana Los sistemas de espacios públicos contemporáneos… de la movilidad clásica al espacio urbano difuso, in the magazine A10 (#56) Catalan and streetwise, and has been Curator, in the Barcelona edition, of the exhibition El carrer és nostre… de tots produced by the Institut pour la ville en mouvement.
Irma Ventayol
Barcelona City Council Biologist with Master degree in Environmental Engineering and Management with more than 20 years of experienceShow more
she has been working in the field of environment and sustainability, especially in management and strategic planning. Since September 2009, works at the Barcelona City Council, leading strategic cross-cutting projects with the aim of building and implementing a sustainable vision of the city, such as the Barcelona More Sustainable program, the Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plan or the Climate Plan of Barcelona. Currently she is the Director of Barcelona Climate Change and Sustainability Office. Previously, hold a position as project manager and consultant in different consultancies such as Estudi Ramon Folch or PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Marta Vilar
Barcelona City Council Graduated in Environmental Sciences and Master in Renewable Energy Engineering and Management.Show more
She has been working in the field of Environmental Education for 15 years. She has been a Technician in the Agenda 21 Escolar (Escoles + Sostenibles) program of Barcelona City Council from 2010 to 2017. Since 2017 she has been a Technician in the Department of Environmental Education Programs and Equipment of the Services Department of the Change Office. Climate and Sustainability of Barcelona City Council and coordinates the Escoles + Sostenibles program. She has designed and led the pedagogical and participatory process of the Climate Shelters project in schools in Barcelona. She has published several articles and publications such as The Challenge of the Climate Emergency. Informative guide and proposal for educational activities or The Guide to the Escoles + Sostenibles program Let’s take action!
Mamen Artero
El Globus Vermell Mamen Artero is an architect by ETSABarcelona-UPC (2004), specialized in sustainable-building and permaculture.Show more
Postgraduate degree in cultural management by the UB (2007-08). Postgraduate in Safety and Health in Construction by the ETSEIB (2010-11). Co-director of the Rabat & Artero architecture office specialized in rehabilitation and urban planning (2005-2012) and co-founder of El globus vermell, collective of architects (2008)
She has lived and worked at Milan and Liverpool, and currently coordinates the patios x clima program at a national level, which understands physical transformations and the greening of the city as an opportunity to give society tools to face the challenges that climate change presents us.
Elijan Bes
City of Rotterdam Elijan is working as project manager for the department urban development of the City of Rotterdam.Show more
He is the project manager for the GreenBlue Schoolyard program in Rotterdam. Part of this program is the greenblue schoolyard subsidy for primary schools and the transformation of 6 public squares which are being used by the neighbouring schools.
Sigrun Lobst
Springzaad Originally from Germany, Sigrun Lobst has been working as a landscape architect in the Netherlands since 2000 at her own office Aardrijk.Show more
She has designed several natural playgrounds and playful ‘learnscapes’ including schoolyards. Sigrun has also managed natural playgrounds for several years following their construction. This has given her a thorough understanding of the design, use and management of natural play and educational spaces. She also distributes in different publications and conferences. In the Coolscools project Sigrun represents Stichting Springzaad the dutch knowledge network for green/blue play- & learnscapes.
Ian Mostert
IVN Natuureducatie Ian Mostert is project leader Child and Nature at IVN Nature Education.Show more
Connections are made between children and nature where you learn about nature, your own physical capabilities, cooperation and imagination. Because of his involvement in the development of children, Ian is active in many initiatives to let children play, learn, move, meet and relax outside.
He was involved in the development of many natural schoolyards in Rotterdam. In 2014, Ian developed the current concept of green-blue schoolyards in Rotterdam, which evolves every year and is strengthened and expanded with an entire program team of municipal officials and experts within the network. As a youth health worker, Ian discovered the importance of space as an essential component for both children and parents to grow up in the more urbanizing city. Both physical and mental space is needed to be able to develop more freely and to enable a sustainable future.
In the green-blue schoolyards, children and the neighborhood are also in an environment that is good for the climate and biodiversity. In this way the participants can look more consciously at their environment and develop a positive attitude and behavior with regard to climate and biodiversity.
Rosa Suriñach
UN-Habitat Advocacy, Outreach and Partnerships Senior Specialist at United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).Show more
Rosa has over 20 years of professional experience with local governments and international organisations in promoting sustainable and resilient cities all over the world.
Rosa took part of the elaboration of the New Urban Agenda leading mobilization and outreach initiatives within the Habitat III Secretariat, and she coordinated campaigns to promote sustainable urbanization towards the creation of the SDGs. As responsible for advocacy and outreach, she managed field projects in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, China, Kenya and Europe. She is currently Coordinator of Advocacy, Communications and Partnerships for the UN-Habitat’s City Resilience Global Programme.
She holds a master's degree in Strategic Communications from the University Ramon Llull (Barcelona) and a Programme in Global Affairs from the New York University (NY).
Eric Dobrivoje
Center for the Promotion of Science Dobrivoje Lale Eric leads the Department of International Cooperation at Serbia’s Center for the Promotion of Science (CPN) since 2015.Show more
He’s been involved as an expert, work package leader or team member in numerous EU projects and initiatives dealing with science communication, research policies, STE(A)M education and art & science practices, with a focus on learning, climate and AI topics lately. He currently coordinates regional engagement in six SEE countries within the H2020 TeRRIFICA project and national activities within the Scientix network. He serves as a member of the Programme Committees at the Belgrade Open School and at the ECSITE association.