Besa Shahini

Besa Shahini is a Henrik Enderlein Fellow at the Hertie School, affiliated with the Jacques Delors Centre, focusing on the EU enlargement process. She previously served as Minister and Deputy Minister for Education, Sports, and Youth in Albania, spearheading distance and blended learning policies and leading higher education reforms. Her work emphasized improving education quality, access, and student transition to the workforce.

Before entering government, Shahini spent over 15 years researching education and EU integration in the Western Balkans and South Caucasus, founding think tanks in Berlin, Istanbul, Tbilisi, Prishtina, and Sarajevo. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the Hertie School.

Her expertise spans governance, policy design, and institutional reform, with a focus on bridging education systems with labor market needs. She actively contributes to debates on EU integration and regional policy frameworks.