Meet the Jury of the European Digital Skills Awards 2026!

Twenty-five projects from around Europe have been selected as best practices in the five European Digital Skills Awards categories. The five winners will be revealed on 30 June 2026 during the Digital Skills EU Days.

Who will select the winners? 

The Digital Skills and Jobs Platform team began by pre-evaluating 220 applications based on published criteria: impact, sustainability and scalability, inclusion and accessibility, innovation and originality. They also assessed the clarity of the presentations and the effectiveness of outreach and communication efforts – after all, a great project has to reach its target audience if it’s going to make a difference. 

From these applications, 25 finalists have been chosen across the 5 award categories. The jury is now invited to take on the task of selecting the winners. Quality was high, and there was a great diversity of projects, but the difficult final decisions were made.

Meet the jury

Katharina Kunze, Project Manager Deutschland sicher im Netz e.V. (DsiN) 

Katharina is head of the federal Digitaler Engel (Digital Angel) project at Deutschland sicher im Netz e. V. (DsiN) since 2019. Previously, she worked in child and youth media protection, including in a European context. She has many years of experience in coordinating and implementing projects aimed at developing media literacy and strengthening cybersecurity skills. Her focus areas are digital participation, education, and strengthening competencies in the digital space. 

Kotryna Jankūnaitė, Head of Product at CodeAcademy

With a background in political science, Kotryna has built her career in the IT education sector, focusing on creating impactful learning opportunities for future digital professionals. She currently works at CodeAcademy, the leading IT training provider in Lithuania, where she develops educational programs for students and aspiring professionals, while also contributing to business development and strategic partnerships. Her work has also included initiatives supporting women in reskilling and transitioning into tech careers. She is delighted to join the European Digital Skills Awards as a jury member and to be part of such a prestigious community of fellow jurors and candidates. 

Mónica Canário, Project Coordinator at the Portoguese Associations for Diversity and Inclusion (APPDI)

Mónica holds a BA in Political Science (specialisation in Public Policy), an MA in International Studies, and a postgraduate degree in Strategic Communication. She is currently a Project Coordinator and Certified Specialist in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Portuguese Association for Diversity and Inclusion (APPDI). She has extensive experience in certified trainings and awareness-raising sessions, as well as in the design and implementation of recruitment, integration, and inclusion programs for vulnerable and underrepresented groups. Her academic and professional background also includes specialisation in migration and refugee issues, developed during her time as a research assistant at CEI-Iscte. With more than ten years of experience in gender equality at national and European levels, her academic work focuses particularly on gender mainstreaming, women’s representation in decision-making positions, and the role of women in political and social transformation. 

Stefano Kluzer, Senior expert at All Digital, Moderator of the  DigComp CoP

Stefano is an economist who has worked in policy-oriented research, consultancy and projects on information society, e-government, digital competence and inclusion at regional (Emilia Romagna), national (Italy) and European level. In the last 10 years, he has contributed to the development and implementation of the European Digital Competence framework (a.k.a. DigComp), also as co-author of various reports: DigComp into Action Guide, DigComp at Work, DigCompSAT report, and the DigComp 2.2 update. He is currently All Digital senior consultant in the DigiCLASS project and moderator of the DigComp Community of Practice. 

Thomas Layer-Wagner, CEO and Founder of Polycular

Thomas is a designer, entrepreneur, and CEO of Polycular, driven by a long-standing fascination with new forms of interaction and the kind of experiences that make people think, feel, and grow. He studied Interface Culture at the University of Art in Linz and went on to research and teach at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences before co-founding Polycular with Robert Praxmarer. Today, Polycular designs immersive XR experiences for the skills that matter most in a fast-changing world: critical thinking, collaboration, digital literacy, and adaptability. Escape Fake helps teenagers develop media literacy in the classroom. Crew Together XR turns team development in organisations into something people live through together. Both products step in where conventional education and training tend to fall short, building future-ready skills through experience rather than content, through what people actually do and how they make sense of it together.