Katerina Nicolopoulou

I am a Senior Lecturer at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship and one of the Leaders of the Strategic Sub-theme ‘Socially Progressive Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ within the overall Innovation and Entrepreneurship strategic agenda of the University. The Sub-theme aims to create bridges between faculties and to help support raising of awareness, as well as promotion of scientific inquiry within the spectrum of social sensitivities in innovation and entrepreneurship through dissemination and sharing of research and advisory as well as the engagement of  diverse relevant stakeholders. Recently the Sub-theme launched the first PhD Cluster in the area of Socially Progressive Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde.

My research focuses on Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation as captured in Sustainable and Diversity aspects of Entrepreneurship, socially innovative solutions for addressing global challenges as well as challenges of Entrepreneurship Ecosystems in the context of Emerging Economies with particular focus on sustainability,  social and economic growth.

My research outputs include papers in journals such as Human Resource Management (FT50 list), Journal of Small Business Management, R&D Management, European Management Review, International Journal of Human Resource Management, as well as editorship of  five journal Special Issues- one of them for Entrepreneurship and Regional Development- and four Books with E. Elgar and Routledge.  My co-edited Routledge volume on Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation was launched during Dubai Innovation week 2016 and my latest (2018) co-edited Routledge volume is 'Reflexivity in Entrepreneurship'.  My co-authored paper on Social Entrepreneurship Education, capitals and competencies received the Best Papers Award at SIG Entrepreneurship, EURAM 2017.

My funded projects include:

-Principal Investigator Global Challenges Research Fund pump-priming (2018): Re-enterprising the ‘Forgotten Villages of Greater Cairo’. The project explores women's micro and social entrepreneurship within challenged and marginalised informal settlements in Greater Cairo, as a potential solution to tackle challenges of sustainable water resources for these communities using a holistic framework of entrepreneurship, architecture, urban planning and social innovation.

- Principal Investigator Global Engagements Fund (2017): ‘Re-enterprising the City’:  The project focused on building the consortium of academic researchers and practitioners from Egypt, various faculties from Strathclyde as well as from TU Delft, focusing on future projects encompassing entrepreneurial activities in urban areas of the Global South.

-Co-Investigator Newton Fund Researcher Links (2016): Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Impact on National and Local economic growth and International competitiveness: a mentorship and knowledge exchange focused set of workshop activities with partners in Turkey

My PhD supervisees include:

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

-     Christine Samy (Female entrepreneurship in Urban settlements of Greater Cairo- First supervisor)

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

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

I am an Associate Editor for the European Management Review journal since 2016, and I have served international citizenship roles in conferences- including elected member for the internationalisation and integration team of the ONE Division of the Academy of Management, and Research Committee  member of the ENT Division of the Academy of Management.

Also I am the Subject Co-ordinator and teaching team leader for the Strathclyde MBA core subject Entrepreneurial Management and Leadership offered in 8 different countries. I also teach on the MSc Global Sustainable Cities as well as the SBS MRes Programme.

As one of the resident academics for Strathclyde in the UAE I  have been actively collaborating with the MBA alumni of the international Strathclyde centres through engagement- focused events including:  community outreach discussion panels on  trending topics of contemporary global interest, in the form of 'The Strathclyde Dialogues' for Strathclyde Business School UAE (The Strathclyde Dialogues were showcased in the 2013 Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) summit international case selection).   In 2016, I launched the new event series 'UAE research evenings at Strathclyde',  featuring business and management-related research  with specific focus on the United Arab Emirates.  In 2017 I initiated a volunteering initiative for Strathclyde UAE Alumni with the Emirates Down Syndrome Association in Dubai. Also I am an active member of the Strathclyde UAE Entrepreneurship Advisory Board launched in 2017 and I have created the Strathclyde Platform for Engagement, Research and knowledge exchange for Family Enterprise Innovation in the UAE.

During 2016-2017 I completed Leadership training programmes (Emerging Leaders Workshop and Leadership Embodiment 1&2)  at the Centre for Excellence in Public Leadership George Washington University, USA.

Previously (2004-2007), I was a Senior Enterprise Fellow at the University of Southampton, where I developed entrepreneurship and innovation MSc and MBA curricula, co-led a funded research project focused on ‘models of HE collaboration in Enterprise development’ and won additional SEEDA funding for stakeholder engagement on Social Entrepreneurship. 

During 2001-2003 , I was a Research Fellow at INSEAD Business School, France, where I worked in EU-funded collaborative innovation projects and executive education in change management. 

Apart from academic positions, I have also held practitioner roles; during the period of my PhD studies, I have trained and consulted with international organisations such as UNESCO and the World Bank. During 2008-2012, I worked as a practitioner in CSR Programme Management as well as in Strategic Planning in the field of Global Higher Education Partnerships.

I hold a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences and I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK. My other academic degrees include an MSc, LLM and BA(Hons)First Class.

• Subject Co-ordinator for Strathclyde MBA core subject Entrepreneurial Management and Leadership (EML) offered in 8 different countries
• Strategic Consulting in Practice (SCIP) (MBA)
• Reviewing the Literature in Business Subjects (MRes/PhD)
• Leadership Skills for Urban Change (MSc Global Sustainable Cities)

• Social, Diversity and Sustainability aspects of entrepreneurship
• Social Innovation with particular focus on sustainability/social and economic growth
• Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in the context of emerging economies
• The concept of Cosmopolitanism as a disposition for addressing global challenges in the fields of Entrepreneurship as well as 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 recent research studies in the UAE have appeared in business publications in Dubai, such as Capital Business; Executive Women and Education Now! (Gulf News).

Apart from academic positions  I have also held practitioner roles in CSR Programme Management and Strategic Planning in Global Higher Education Partnerships and have trained in GRI, SA8000 as well as Balanced scorecard methods.

I have acted as an Expert Evaluator for the European Commission; I have also acted as a Judge for the Philippe de Woot Award in Sustainability  the Shell LiveWire Smarter Future Awards the Carnegie Trust as well as the UNESCO Newton Prize.