OUPPS (Open University People Profile System)

Biography

Professional biography

I am a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Strategy and joined the Open University in April 2020 having previously been at Manchester Metropolitan University as a Senior Lecturer and at Manchester School of Management (UMIST), The University of Manchester as an Associate Lecturer.

I hold a PhD in Management Science and an MSc in Business Economics from The University of Manchester (Alliance Manchester Business School) and an Integrated Masters in Agricultural Science and Economics from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Research interests

My research focuses on knowledge sourcing and exploitation across organisational boundaries and firm innovation, strategic alliances, innovation collaboration, open innovation and the role of digital technologies in innovation.

I have published in peer reviewed journals of international standing such as World Development, Long Range Planning, R&D Management, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Industry and Innovation.

I have a consistent record of securing funding for research, knowledge exchange and research capacity building. The latest Horizon Europe (2022-2026) project is on ‘Innovations and Capacity building in Agricultural Environmental and Rural UAV Services’ (ICAERUS) (Role: Co-Investigator). In 2019, I secured Society for the Advancement of Management Studies funding to facilitate a workshop contributing to Doctoral Student Employability. I have successfuly completed EU funded projects: the 2015-2017 Erasmus+ Funded ‘Open-up Entrepreneurship’ (Role: Principle Investigator), and the 2008-2011 EU 7^th Framework project on Public-Private Services Innovation Networks (ServPPIN; Role: Junior Researcher).

I am the Co-Director of the Strategic Management and Leadership Research Cluster.

I supervise Doctoral students in innovation and strategy, have led Doctoral candidates to successful completion and examined Doctoral Theses as an External (Huddersfield, Birmingham City, University of Patras, Alliance Manchester Business School) and Internal Examiner on numerous occasions.

Teaching interests

I lead the Teaching Team of the core Level 6 Strategic Management (B302) module, with over 1,500 students and I contribute to the MBA module Effective Strategic Management in Business and the Public Sector (B873).

I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and hold a Post Graduate Certifice in Education -Academic Practice. I have been shortlisted for the Best Teacher Award and received the Dean’s Commendation for excellence in teaching on numerous occasions.

I have an extensive experience in Learning and Teaching at MSc, MBA and BSc levels, leading on designing and delivering a range of modules on Innovation & Strategy. I have been the MSc Management Programme Leader at Manchester Metropolitan and External Examiner for numerous universities and various programmes offered in the UK and via international partnerships.

Impact and engagement

I am a member of the ESRC Peer Review College and have served as a full member of the Scientific Committee of the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (2018-2020). I also review research grant applications for the British Council, Newton Fund.

I hold appointments at the Editorial Review Boards of the R&D Management journal and the Transnational Corporations Journal (UNCTAD). I have been invited to present at Research Seminar Series, such as at HEC Management School, University of Edinburgh, University of Patras, SKEMA Business School.

Projects

Innovations and Capacity building in Agricultural Environmental and Rural Uav Services

ICAERUS proposes an “application-oriented” approach, through the selection of five (5) specific drone applications, to explore the multi-purpose application potential of drones in agricultural production, forestry and rural communities. The selected drone applications represent the most important sectoral and societal drone usage purposes in Europe and cover multiple applications that are interconnected within the complex rural European landscape. The ICAERUS vision is to explore opportunities and provide a more complete and interconnected account of the potential and impact of drones as multi-purpose vehicles in EU agriculture, forestry and rural areas. The aim is to showcase and support, through application, the effective, efficient and safe deployment of drones as well as, identify the risks and added values associated with their use. “Taking off” from the current state-of-the-art in the drone ecosystem, ICAERUS will “rise up” by advancing existing software technology, platform components and knowledge in regard to drones, to exploit the potential of drones and strengthen capacities to reduce their risks, achieve better informed decision-making, enhance sustainability performance and competitiveness in agriculture, forestry and rural areas. This will be showcased in two directions: fundamental applications representing an “eye-in-the-sky”, using the drone as a positioning system for optical observation and recording, and a “hand-in-the-sky” applications, for spraying and goods delivery. ICAERUS plans to scale-up through research, technology optimisation, demonstration and education about drones to create an efficient, trusted and safe enabling environment for the EU drone services market to achieve the EU’s decarbonisation, digitalisation and resilience ambitions. ICAERUS consists of a balanced, multi-actor, cross sectoral and well-experienced consortium, including research organisations, SME technology providers, associations and non-profit organisations.