Athens University of Economics and Business – Research Center

The Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) is the third-oldest Higher Education Institution in Greece and first in the fields of economic science and business administration. It has about 250 academic faculty members in three academic schools, specialising in the areas of economics, business, statistics and information sciences.

The Athens University of Economics and Business – Research Center (AUEB-RC) has been established as part of AUEB to coordinate and facilitate research by members of the University’s faculty. Since its establishment in 1983, it has successfully managed more than 3000 projects in economics, business administration, informatics, statistics, marketing, accounting and administrative science. AUEB-RC finances its activities through the management of research and training projects that are funded by the Greek State, such as the highly competitive and prestigious Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) , and the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF)-, the European Commission (FP6, FP7, H2020, HORIZON EUROPE), the Partnership Agreement (PA) for the Development Framework 2014-20, in addition to funds from the private sector. Research activity is organised around research laboratories, a fruitful environment that brings together faculty, doctoral students and visiting researchers, cross-fertilising existing knowledge to provide new results and offering the necessary infrastructure for performing high quality research.

The University’s research laboratories have developed extensive international collaboration with more than 300 educational and research institutions, companies and international organisations.

The AUEB-RC team includes: Eleni Apospori, Professor, Principal Investigator and Co-ordinator of the Project, apospori@aueb.gr; Irene Nikandrou, Associate Professor; Nancy Pouloudi, Professor; Kyriaki Karydou, Research Associate; Stathis Katopodis, Research Associate; Jenny Melachroinou, Research Associate; Dr Mariangela Trompeta, Senior Research Associate

Lancaster University

Lancaster University (ULANC) is a research-intensive university that combines world-class research with excellent teaching. It is ranked in the top 10 in all three national league tables and is highly ranked in international league tables. Prized for its commitment to outstanding student support, ULANC holds a Gold rating in the UK government’s Teaching Excellence Framework. Lancaster University has held an institutional bronze award since 2008, which was successfully renewed in 2012, 2014, and 2020 following its latest submission on 21st November 2019.

Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) is an internationally leading management school offering a full range of specialist and cross-disciplinary business education and management development programmes at undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and post-experience levels. We hold the elite ‘Triple Crown’ of business school accreditations (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS), and the Chartered Association of Business Schools ‘Small Business Charter.’ In 2019, LUMS became a signatory of Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), which seeks to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through business education and research, including “Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls (Goal 5).” Our REF 2021 results confirm our position as delivering world-quality research as LUMS ranks 1st in the UK for research power and 1st in the UK for research environment (REF 2021, Business and Management Studies). In 2021, LUMS was awarded an Athena Swan Bronze award in recognition of its commitment to advancing gender equality. LUMS accreditation was confirmed in May 2021 after its first application on 27th November 2020, which was reviewed by an independent panel.

The Lancaster University team includes Sophie Alkhaled, Valerie Stead, Konstantinos Zografos and Yunyan Li.

Contact for the TARGETED–MPI project: TARGETED-MPI@lancaster.ac.uk

Handelshogskolan i Stockholm

The Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) is one of Europe’s leading business schools, with a unique link to the business community. SSE’s our original mission since 1906 is to strengthen Swedish competitiveness through research and science-based education. This is being achieved through teaching, research and outreach. The university has around 2,000 students enrolled in a variety of BSc, MSc, MBA and PhD programs. We conduct research and education in economics, business administration and related disciplines. SSE has seven departments, three research centers and a number of research institutes. SSE aims to be recognised as a global benchmark for thought leadership in selected knowledge fields including innovation. The university is a member of several prominent networks, including CIVICA (university alliance), CEMS (Global Alliance of Management Education) and PIM (Partnership in International Management) and has been accredited by EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) since 1999. SSE currently has over 70 collaborations and strategic partnerships with research institutes and universities internationally that are involved in a range of activities such as benchmarking, joint courses, exchange programs, executive education and of course, joint research efforts. In outreach, SSE builds strong relationships with companies in order to understand their needs and challenges, so that it can educate future responsible leaders in business and beyond.

The work in the TARGETED-MPI project was coordinated from the Department of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology (DEIT), or the House of Innovation as it is called, but actively involved people from other departments and parts of the university. The House of Innovation is an inter-disciplinary research, education and outreach environment focused on innovation, digitalisation and entrepreneurship. The researchers at the House produce scientifically based knowledge relevant to academics, corporations, government agencies, civil society actors and individuals. In doing so, it interacts with an international network of scholars and academic institutions, as well as with corporate and institutional funders. The aim of the House is to create a world-class research environment that nurtures strong disciplinary cores and captures interdisciplinary opportunities. We believe that such an environment is research-led, interdisciplinary, and impact focused. With these three factors mutually reinforcing each other, we can contribute to creating higher positive impact for business and for society at large.

The Stockholm School of Economics team: Sarah Jack (PI until Dec 2023, Professor at DEIT), Giada Baldessarelli (PI from Jan 2024, Assistant Professor at DEIT), Karol Vieker (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager at SSE), Malin Skanelid (Department Coordinator at the Department of Economics and Gender Equality Coordinator in the project), Göran Lindqvist (Director of Research at SSE), Paraskevi Dimakou (post-doc), Sina Behzadifard (post-doc), Jelena Angelis (project coordinator at DEIT).

Contact for the TARGETED-MPI project: Jelena Angelis, Jelena.Angelis@hhs.se

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is an internationally oriented university located in Brussels, the heart of Europe. The VUB has eight faculties, offers a total of 150 different courses to 21,000 students from 145 countries, and employs 2,800 academic staff.
The Faculty of Social Sciences and Solvay Business School is the largest faculty at the VUB. Within the Department of Sociology, the Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies (BRISPO) is an interdisciplinary research centre with around hundred researchers. A growing line of research, coordinated by Prof. dr. Christophe Vanroelen is concerned with various aspects of people’s work and employment situations. In our research we use both qualitative and quantitative empirical research methodologies. We have always followed a theory-based approach, paying attention to anchoring employee health and well-being in the broader context of structural developments in the labour market.

At Solvay Business School, the research groups of Prof. dr. Marie-Anne Guerry and Prof. dr. Bert Schreurs deal with quantitative Human Resource Management and HR analytics (i.e. career characteristics and progress, and career self-management). The groups have i.c. contributed to empirical studies on the career gap between men and women and work-related barriers to people’s career progression.

After the first year of the project, Ella Oelbrandt took over from Evgeniya Rangelova as principal researcher of the VUB. She was the central reference for the development, implementation and monitoring of the GEP in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Solvay Business School. Jan De Schampheleire mainly focused on the policy implementation aspects of the project.

Contact for the TARGETED-MPI project: Christophe Vanroelen, Christophe.Vanroelen@vub.be

American University of Beirut, Suliman S. Olayan School of Business

Founded in 1866, the American University of Beirut bases its educational philosophy, standards, and practices on the American liberal arts model of higher education. A teaching-centred research university, AUB has around 1,000 instructional faculty and a student body of around 8,000 students. The University encourages freedom of thought and expression and seeks to graduate men and women committed to creative and critical thinking, life-long learning, personal integrity, civic responsibility, and leadership.

The University, which was granted institutional accreditation in June 2004 by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in the United States and reaffirmed in 2019, includes seven faculties: Agricultural and Food Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Architecture (Maroun Semaan Faculty), Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing (Rafic Hariri School), and Business (Suliman S. Olayan School ).

AUB currently offers more than 140 programs leading to the bachelor’s, master’s, MD, and PhD degrees. The University became coeducational in 1922; its student body is 47 percent male and 53 percent female. The language of instruction is English (except for courses in the Arabic Department and other language courses).

On April 8, 2022, the American University of Beirut celebrated a milestone event in the realization of the Global AUB vision: the signing of the agreement with the Municipality of Pafos in Cyprus to establish American University of Beirut – Mediterraneo, AUB’s first campus outside Lebanon.

Suliman S. Olayan School of Business (OSB) is highly regarded within the international community with rankings consistently placing it as a MENA leader and provider of international calibre vision and opportunity.

The school currently enrols over 1,500 of the most select students in the region within its world-class BBA, MBA/MBA Online, Executive MBA, and specialized master’s degree programs in Human Resources Management, Finance, and Business Analytics. In addition to its extensive activity in providing executive education throughout the region to leading organizations, the school has long been AACSB International-accredited.

Contact for the TARGETED-MPI project: Professor Fida Afiouni, fa16@aub.edu.lb

Brunel University London

Brunel University London (BUL) is a leading public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1966, Brunel College of Advanced Technology was awarded a royal charter and became Brunel University. The university is often described as a British plate glass university.

Brunel is organised into three colleges and three major research institutes, a structure adopted in August 2014 which also changed the university’s name to Brunel University London. BUL has over 12,900 students and 2,500 staff, and had a total income of £200.7 million in 2014/15, of which 25% came from grants and research contracts. BUL has three constituent Academic Colleges: College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences and College of Health and Life Sciences. The university won the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2011. BUL is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association, and Universities UK. The university is ranked as one of the top 400 universities in the world by QS World University Rankings 2021 and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021.

Contact for the TARGETED-MPI project: Professor Mustafa Özbilgin, mustafa.ozbilgin@brunel.ac.uk