Adrian Curaj
General Director of the Executive Agency
Adrian Curaj is the General Director of the Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI), Romania, and a former Minister of Education, Science and Innovation. He is the Head of the UNESCO Chair on Science and Innovation Policies at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, and a Professor at the “Politehnica” University of Bucharest. He has worked as a consultant for the World Bank, UNESCO, UNIDO, ETF and the European Commission on studies in tertiary education, science and innovation, and foresight. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Fulbright Commission in Romania and a Fellow of the World Academy of Art & Science (WAAS).
He has been at the forefront of developments in Smart Specialisation as Europe’s contribution to the new industrial innovation policy, in policy advising for higher education as a host and chair of the Bologna Process Researchers’ Conferences, and in the main initiatives supporting progress towards Open Science in Romania. He is a visionary leader of the Open Science Knowledge Hub Romania and a strong supporter of building open science literacy.