Dr Katerina Nicolopoulou, PhD, FHEA, MSc, LLM

I am a Reader in Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation for large scale strategic change at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, and the Global DBA Director of the Strathclyde Business School. I am also the University Academic Lead for Socially Progressive Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Strategic sub- theme Leader for Socially Progressive Innovation and Entrepreneurship, one of the three Academic Mentors for the Doctoral Training Centre in Socially Progressive Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Director of the Research Group  Global Socially Progressive Entrepreneurship and Innovation Global Socially Progressive Entrepreneurship & Innovation Research Group | University of Strathclyde

I have several years of teaching experience and teaching team leadership at postgraduate (MSc),  faculty-level MRes, and international post-experience MBA (Europe, Gulf countries, S. East Asia  and Hong Kong).

My research as PI and Co-I has been funded by internal as well as external grants, including Newton Fund and GCRF (Scottish Funding Council), of which a total of ca. £90,000 has been dedicated to the study of unplanned urban communities and female entrepreneurship.

I have played an active part in a number of established management conferences (AoM, EURAM, BAM) through subject matter leadership and committee citizenship, and one of my co-authored papers has received the  best paper award of the SIG Entrepreneurship at EURAM 2017. Between 2016-2019, I served as an Associate Editor for the  ABS 3 journal European Management Review, and since 2020 I am an Associate Editor for the Journal of Social Entrepreneurship.

I have a  comprehensive scholarship profile which includes 21 published papers, in journals such as Human Resource Management (FT50 list), Journal of Small Business Management, R&D Management, European Management Review, Organization & Environment, Business &  Society, International Journal of Human Resource Management, as well as editorship of  5  journal Special Issues- including for Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, European Management Journal and International Journal of Enterpreneurial Behavior and Research- and 4 books with E. Elgar and Routledge. 

I have acted as external PhD examiner  (UK and Australia) as well as a supervisor for multiple PhD students (different funding schemes including split-side with European universities). I have also mentored and supported various ECRs and PhD students in a number of PhD Colloquia and dedicated workshops. I am an external advisor to the new Leadership coaching programme at George Washington University, Centre of Excellence in Public Leadership DC., USA, which focuses on supporting organisations and communities for greater presence and impact, in alignment to the UN SDGs.

As a practitioner, I have  several years of international  experience in senior positions (strategic affairs and planning, corporate social responsibility, advisory, training, company ownership). I have also acted numerous times as an International Judge for industry and research initiatives  in social and sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship (Shell LiveWire, Philippe De Woot Award, UNESCO Newton Prize, Canegie Trust, as well as the European Commission). 

I am highly experienced with international MBA alumni engagement activities, including hosting Thought Leadership series, supporting alumni start-ups through the creative ideation/ concept refinement and internationalisation process, as well as developing and running international engagement events with strategic partners (government, diplomatic missions, private sector, enterprises). 

My current PhD and DBA supervisees include:

-     Fahad Al Bimani (Entrepreneurship Ecosystems in Oman- First supervisor)

-     Christine Samy (Female entrepreneurship in Urban settlements of Greater Cairo- First supervisor) (University of Strathlyde PhD Studentship)

-     Jacqui Tracey (Absorptive Capacity - Irish SMEs/hospitality- First supervisor)

-     Monica Vasquez de Solar (Social Entrepreneurship: Institutional perspectives- Second supervisor Comillas ECADE partnership)

- Sherine Mohamed (Entrepreneurship Education models-First supervisor) (University of Strathclyde PhD Studentship)

- Naraporn Thammadee (Social Entrepreneurs as Leaders and Human Capital in Social Enterprises-First supervisor) (University of Strathclyde PhD Studentship)

-Henry Emeka Eze (Youth Entrepreneurship and innovation in Nigeria and Ghana- First Supervisor)

- Afsa Mukasa (Socially Progressive Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre for Doctoral Training Researcher in Social Entrepreurship- second supervisor)

-Ahmed Fahmy (Management of Innovation Processes in Large Corporations, DBA)

-Sara Yaqoob (Social Impact Measurement in Social Enterprises, DBA)

-Meriem Khadia (Women Entrepreneurs and cybersecurity, DBA)

• Reviewing the Literature in Business Subjects (MRes/PhD)
• Global Innovation Lab (MSc)
• Qualitative Methods for Bottom-of-the-pyramid contexts (Centre for Doctoral Training in Socially Progressive Innovation and Entrepreneurship)

• Strategic Consulting in Practice (SCIP) (MBA)
• For 7 consecutive years, I have held the role of  MBA Subject Co-ordinator for the Strathclyde MBA core subject Entrepreneurial Management and Leadership (EML) offered in 8 different countries

• For 4 consecutive years, I have taught  the MSc class 'Leadership skills for urban change' for the MSc Global Sustainable Cities

• Social, Diversity and Sustainability aspects of Entrepreneurship
• Impactful Entrepreneurial Leadership
• Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and social innovation in the context of emerging economies
• Cosmopolitanism as a disposition and a mindset for addressing Global Challenges in  Entrepreneurship and Sustainability

Having lived and worked in five different countries, I have developed skills for international communication and stakeholder engagement across a range of sectors.

Findings  from my research studies in the UAE have appeared in business publications in Dubai, such as Capital Business; Executive Women and Education Now! (Gulf News).

In the practitioner roles I have held,  I have trained in methods for Strategic Planning, Consulting, GRI, SA8000 as well as Balanced scorecard.