Dr. Bob Cecil
Nottingham Trent University
Bob Cecil is a Principal Lecturer in Social Work at Nottingham Trent University having joined in February 2021. Teaching across undergraduate, post graduate and doctoral programmes, his role includes Department Lead for International work and builds on his work over the years with a range of international partners.
As a qualified social worker, Bob’s practice background includes substance misuse, mental health, and youth justice with substantial experience of working with parents/carers and children in a variety of settings including fostering. He has a Doctorate in Education where his qualitative instrumental case study research explored the impact of service user narratives within pre-registration professional curricula and he has published in the following areas: child safeguarding and parental substance misuse; preparation for professional practice; service user involvement and an EU- funded research project in relation to parenting practices. He has taught social work methods, intervention(s) and research to social work students for many years and supervises PhD students. Bob presents regularly at professional conferences and undertakes consultancy for a range of social work/social care agencies including team development and fostering practice(s).
Ms. Mariella Dimech
Psychoterapist and Executive Chairperson of the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis
Ms Mariella Dimech is a psychotherapist by profession. She worked with Caritas (Malta) for 21 years, 10 years of which she was the coordinator of all “Tama Ġdida” programmes and services, with the aim of providing support to drug victims and their families. As coordinator, she was responsible, among other things, for the creation of clinical programmes for all services.
For six years, she ran the San Blas Therapeutic Community. Under her leadership, the concept of residential treatment for drug victims was introduced for the first time and was an integral part of the work that led to the creation of structures, working systems, policies and clinical groups of all of San Blas and the “Tama Ġdida” programmes and services.
Dimech has been running her private clinic for the past twelve years. She has also conducted studies on ‘Substance Misuse’ and the challenges surrounding this area.
Throughout her career, Dimech has had experiences in broadcasting and in the administration of “Kenn għal Saħħtek”, the Malta Community Chest Fund and sports organisations. For several years, she has also provided training for various companies on organisational challenges on the workplace.
She has recently been appointed Executive Chairperson of the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis.
Dr. Sander Kramer,
University of Utrecht
Sander Kramer is trained as a social worker and cross cultural psychologist. He is based at the Utrecht School of Governance, a department of University Utrecht. His PhD was on the discourse on migrants and refugees in Mental Health care. His research projects focused on intercultural competencies and the psychological needs of asylum seekers and migrants. He teaches different groups of students on diversity and inclusion in organizations, culture sensitive diagnoses and treatment and on qualitative enquiry
Mr. Pasi Kumpulainen,
Satakunta University of Applied Sciences
Pasi Kumpulainen is: Principle Lecturer of the Degree Programme in Social Services at Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (Pori, Finland); former Planning Officer at the Employment and Economic Development Centre of Satakunta (Ministry of Employment, employment and immigration administration); Head of Youth Work Unit of City of Pori; social worker for adults; social therapist for young people; and head of 24/7 local crises service and social support project by Finnish Association for Mental Health and A-Clinic Foundation. He is the author of a number of publications in Finnish about various subjects regarding the aforementioned professional activities and services.
Prof. Charles Scerri
University of Malta
Charles Scerri is a Ph.D. graduate from the University of Dundee in Scotland and lectures neuropharmacology and dementia studies at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta. He is the co-founder and Chairperson of the Malta Dementia Society, Vice-Chairperson of Alzheimer Europe and member of the Mediterranean Alzheimer Alliance. He is also a member of the Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART), the EU Joint Progamme for Neurodegenerative Diseases (JPND) Scientific Advisory Board and Early Detection and Timely Intervention in Dementia Group (INTERDEM). In 2009, he was appointed to Chair the Malta Dementia Strategy Group with the aim of devising a series of recommendations that would provide a strategic framework in order to deliver quality improvements in the management and care of dementia in the Maltese Islands. In July of 2013, he was appointed as the National Focal Point on Dementia to advise the Maltese government on measurements that need to be adopted to make dementia a national healthcare priority. Other academic involvement includes expert evaluator for FP-7 and Horizons 2020, invited talks to international conferences on dementia and journal reviewer to various peer-reviewed publications. Amongst his recent publications is the national dementia strategy document 'Empowering change: A National Strategy for Dementia in the Maltese Islands (2015-2023)' and the edited book 'Population Ageing in Malta: Multidisciplinary Perspectives'.
