Jean-Pierre Dauwalder. Professor emeritus, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. President Swiss Federal Authority for Professions in Psychology (PSYKO). President European Society for Vocational Designing and Career Counseling (ESVDC). Born in 1945, he studied psychology, sociology, psychopathology, educational and behavior sciences at the University of Bern. From 1975 to 1978 he was clinical psychologist and researcher at the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Lausanne. From 1979 to 1991 he was Head of the Department of research and teaching in Social Psychiatry at the University of Bern. He also was an Associate professor for counseling and behavior modification at the University of Lausanne from 1987 to 1991. Since 1991 he was Full professor for counseling and vocational psychology at the University of Lausanne. As Head of the Department of counseling psychology, Vice-Dean of the Faculty, President of the Committee of the Swiss National Fund and finally as President of the University Council, he was called to many different executive functions. He organized international conferences in behavior modification, health psychology, vocational guidance and interdisciplinary meetings on self-organization. He also was member of editorial boards of many scientific journals. His publication list includes more than 130 articles, books and chapters. Since 2012 he is President of the Swiss Federal Authority for the Professions in Psychology (PSYKO). President of the European Society for Vocational Designing and Career Counseling (ESVDC) he also is member of Life-Design-Research-Group, NICE-Erasmus academic network, and many professional associations in the fields of psychology and counseling. In 2010 he got the Award of the Division of Counseling Psychology of the International Association of Applied Psychology in Melbourne. In 2013 he was honored by the first ‘Julius-Suter-Medal’ for the centenary of Applied Psychology in Switzerland.

M. Eduarda Duarte. She is Full Professor at the University of Lisbon, Faculty of Psychology, where she directs the Master Course in Psychology of Human Resources, Work, and Organizations. Her professional interests include career psychology theory and research, with special emphasis on issues relevant to adults and the world of work. She is research director of Career Guidance and Development of Human Resources Services. Her publications and presentations have encompassed topics on adult’s career problems, testing and assessment, and counselling process. She is since 2005 Chair of the Portuguese Psychological Society; she also served on editorial boards for some Portuguese, European, and Iberia-American journals.  She is the Director of the National Institute of Guidance. She is President-Elected of Counselling Division, IAAP. She is also National Defence Adviser, since 2006.

Jean Guichard.He is Emeritus Professor of vocational and counseling psychology at the Institut National d’Etude du Travail et d’Orientation Professionnelle (INETOP), a department of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM) in Paris, France. He used to be in charge of this Institute (from 1996 to 2002). He is currently in charge of the UNESCO Chair on “Lifelong Guidance and Counseling” at the University of Wroclaw (Poland).
Jean Guichard studied philosophy and psychology at the University of Lille. He became successively a school and career counselor, a senior lecturer at the University of Lille and a tenured professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris. He authored different career education workshops, a form of counselling interview for life designing and different articles and books (notably, with Michel Huteau, “Psychologie de l’orientation”, translated into Arabic, Italian, Polish and Portuguese). Jean Guichard was awarded with an honorary doctoral degree by three Universities (East Finland at Joensuu, Lisbon and Buenos-Aires). He received an award from the American Psychological Association (Society of Counseling Psychology) and from the European Society European Society for Vocational Designing and Career Counselling.
Jean Guichard’s main research themes are the factors and processes of the self’s construction and the different modes of relating to occupations and professions. His synthesis of works on the dynamics of subjectivation (Lifelong self’s construction) provides a general framework for constructivist life designing dialogues and for some career education workshops (as the DAPP methods – Découvertes des Activités Professionnelles et Projets Personnels – Identifying Work Activities and Future Plans).
Jean Guichard supervises Doctoral or Master’s dissertations, mainly on the following themes: 

- Dynamism of the self’s construction (in adolescents and young adults).

- Processes of the self’s construction during counseling dialogues.

- Relations between social position and cognition of social objects as occupations.

- Analysis and assessment of school and career development interventions.

Christiane Schiersmann. She is full professor for adult education and counselling at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Her main current research topics are theory of counselling, competence development (of counsellors), quality and professionalism in counselling.

Salvatore Soresi. He is a full professor at the Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, University of Padova.  He has founded the Larios Laboratory (Laboratory for Research and Intervention in Vocational Designing and Career Counseling) and the University Centre for Research and Services on Disability, Rehabilitation and Inclusion of the University of Padova. He is also a founder member of the Italian Society of Vocational Guidance (SIO), of which he was the President for 8 years (and now member of the Executive Board), and of the European Society of Vocational Designing and Career Counseling. He has conducted extensive research in the field of career counseling, disability and rehabilitation. He is the Editor of the Giornale Italiano di Psicologia dell’Orientamento (Italian Journal of Vocational Psychology) and the Director of the series Percorsi di Orientamento (Vocational Guidance Pathways) (Giunti-OS, Firenze). He is member of the Life Design International Research Group, of the Career Adaptability International Collaborative Group. He is member of the Steering Commettee in the European project University Network for Innovation in Guidance - Lifelong Learning Programme (2009-2012/2013-2015). He is member of the Special Task Group 'Globalization' of Division 17 - American Psychological Association (from 2011- present) and the founder of the International Hope Research Team – IHRT and of the Italian University network for counseling (2013). He is the author of about two hundred and fifty publications, more than twenty books, and a number of important assessment instruments, among which the portfolios Optimist and Clipper, and the Magellano Project (Giunti-OS, Firenze). The latter has received the High patronage of the President of the Italian Republic. In 2008 he received an award for his "Distinguished Contribution to the International Advancement of the Counseling Profession" from the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17 of the American Psychological Association), and in 2013 from the ESVDC for his envisioning work in career field. As regards vocational psychology and career counseling, research efforts are directed toward the study of variables involved in Life Design model and toward the planning of preventive intervention programs (for indecisive persons, persons with disabilities, immigrants, ecc.). In recent years, within the SIO, Nice and Italian network, he has studied the theme of the career counselors competencies and has proposed specific competencies repertories and specific training courses.

Raoul Van Esbroeck. He is a Professor Emeritus at the faculty of Psychology and Education of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels, Belgium) in Vocational Psychology and Career Guidance. Dr Van Esbroeck has published a large number of articles, book chapters and books in several languages. He was an active member of the European Forum for Student Guidance (FEDORA) for 10 years. He is a board member of IAEVG. He has served as the Editor of the International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance from 1999 to the end of 2010. Dr. Van Esbroeck received for his international contributions in 2008 from the Society of Counselling Psychology (Division 17 of the American Psychological Association) the award for “Distinguished Contribution to the International Advancement of the Counseling Profession” and in 2010 the “NCDA International Award”.

Annelies E. M. van Vianen. She is Full Professor Organizational Psychology, and Chair of the Department of Work and Organizational Psychology at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Leiden, Netherlands.  Her research interests are career development, person-environment fit, adaptability, aging, organizational culture, and leadership. Her work has been published in journals such as Personnel Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Group and Organization Management, Journal of Vocational Behavior, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, Leadership Quarterly, and Psychological Science. She served as a member of several journal review boards, as guest editor, and as editor of the Dutch journal Gedrag & Organisatie (Behavior & Organization). She is a member of several academic societies or groups, among which the European Society for Vocational Designing and Career Counselling, the Società Italiana per l'Orientamento, and the Life design International Research Group.

Alicja Kargulowa. On graduating from the Higher School of Education in Gdańsk in 1962 with an M.A. degree in pedagogy, I took up employment at a counselling centre. As a counselling practitioner, I enrolled in a Ph.D. programme at the University of Gdańsk (1972-1975), combining work and research. Having earned the doctoral degree with a dissertation on the operations and mechanisms of the counselling centre I had worked for, I got an appointment at the University of Wroclaw, where I continued my research on counselling and obtained the doctor habilitatuts degree in 1986 and full professorship in 1999. I performed various functions in the University’s management bodies. I was a member of the Senate commission for young scholars’ development and represented the Council of the Faculty of Historical and Pedagogical Sciences in the University Senate. In collaboration with other Polish universities and research centres, I organised a cycle of nationwide scientific seminars devoted to Counselling in the Contemporary World (1979-1995) and worked on a theory of counselling – counsellogy – that germinated there. I devised and developed also a curriculum for „Counselling” – a new study major within Pedagogy, training counsellors and guidance counsellors. As a Vice-Head for Science at the Institute of Pedagogy, I launched and supervised a doctoral programme in education and psychology and the Interpersonal Contacts School, a post-graduate programme for pedagogy and psychology graduates. In 1999, I relocated to the newly founded University of Zielona Góra, where I was Head of the Counsellogy Section and launched a major in Counselling, offered to the students of Pedagogy and training future counsellors. Currently, I am Professor at the University of Lower Silesia. In my research I have always focused on counselling in a broad sense of the term, including theoretical, methodological and empirical facets of counselling conceived as a social practice. I have published six books and about 100 articles and edited eight volumes addressing these issues.  I have supervised multiple M.A. theses and eight Ph.D. dissertations. My former Ph.D. students are now university lecturers. I am a member of PTP (Polish Pedagogical Association), WTN (Wroclaw Scientific Society), IAEVG/AIOSP and a founding member of NTP (Counsellogical Association) and the ESVDC. I am Editor-in-Chief of the bilingual Studia.