Filip Van Depoele, Head of the Higher Education Unit of DG EAC as of 01/10/2026

Filip Van Depoele will take up his new post as Head of the Higher Education Unit of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) on 01/10/2026.

News Tank learnt on 10/09/2026 that Van Depoele, currently Head of Unit for International Cooperation at DG EAC, will replace Susanne Conze.

Having obtained a Master’s degree in European Economic Integration from the College of Europe, followed by a Master’s degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, he began his career at ING. He then joined the European Commission, first as a European Social Fund (ESF) Desk Officer, then as a Policy Officer in the Employment Department and as a Case Handler in DG Competition.

He continued his career at DG EAC, where he successively held the posts of Deputy Head of Unit, Assistant to the Director and to the Deputy Director-General, and then Advisor to the Director-General. From 2015 to 2020, he was Head of the Policy Coordination Unit, before taking over as Head of the International Cooperation Unit at DG EAC in 2021.

Further changes within the unit…