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I&E 101:
Sustainable Innovation & Ecopreneurship 2026

Capturing the Founder's Story

Online course | 12.10 - 13.11.2026
Technical University of Crete, Greece

12 Oct, 2026
  • Upcoming events

Discover how innovative ideas become real-world solutions in this hands-on introduction to Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E). Learn from entrepreneurs, innovators, and startup founders as they share their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned. Connect with students and experts across the EURECA-PRO alliance, expand your international network, and explore opportunities linked to major societal challenges, such as Clean Energy, Industry 4.0, Sustainable Health, Circular Economy, and Sustainable & Just Society. 

Through interactive activities, interviews with innovators, collaborative projects, and peer-evaluation, you will develop practical innovation and entrepreneurial skills, transform ideas into action, and discover how to create meaningful impact through collaboration with industry and society.

Free online course

REGISTER here!

Winter Semester 2026 | 12.10. – 13.11.2026
Language: English
ECTS: 2 (for EURECA-PRO students only!)

Registration deadlines: 
· ECTS and Certificates: Sunday, 11 October 2026
· Registration will remain open until the end of the course (i.e., Friday, 13 November 2026), for participants interested in learning from the course material (i.e., lecture recordings) at their own pace.

Course Syllabus: download file
Course Outline: download file (for EURECA-PRO students only!)
Schedule: download file.

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Capturing the Voices of Innovation

Vasia Balaska, PhD
Assist. Prof.
School of Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece
EURECA-PRO European University Alliance
Read Bio
Maria Aryblia, MSc
Doctoral Researcher, Co-founder of Viridiance Insights P.C.
School of Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece
EURECA-PRO European University Alliance
Read Bio
Nikos Sarantinoudis, PhD
Researcher, Co-founder and CTO of Motonius
School of Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece
EURECA-PRO European University Alliance
Read Bio
Introduction in I&E with application in RCP: Start-upper and Spin-offer Stories - Session

Tuesday, 13 October 2026 | 13:00 – 14:30 (CET)

Alexandru Bogye, MA
Department of Industrial Engineering,
University of Petrosani, Petrosani, Romania
EURECA-PRO European University Alliance
Read Bio
Maria Aryblia, MSc
Doctoral Researcher, Co-founder of Viridiance Insights P.C.
School of Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece
EURECA-PRO European University Alliance
Read Bio
Isabella Zick, MA
Marketing and Communication Specialist
Montanuniversität Leoben, Leoben, Austria
EURECA-PRO European University Alliance
Read Bio
Interview a Founder like a Pro - Workshop

Friday, 16 October 2026 | 13:00 – 14:30 (CET)

Interview a Founder like a Pro - Q&A Session

Thursday, 5 November 2026 | 13:00 – 14:00 (CET)

Innovation & Entrepreneurship: The Fundamentals

Leonidas Alexopoulos, PhD
Professor
School of Mechanical Engineering,
National Technical University of Athens, Greece
EULiST European University Alliance
Read Bio
Translating Science into Solutions: The Entrepreneurial Path from Academia to the Clinic

Asynchronous Online Lectures

Panagiotis Partsinevelos, PhD
Professor, Vice Rector of Research and Innovation
School of Mineral Resources Engineering,
Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece<
EURECA-PRO European University Alliance
Read Bio
Business Models for Sustainability

Asynchronous Online Lectures

Iordanis Kalaitzoglou, PhD
Professor
Audencia Business School, Nantes, France
Read Bio
Financing Green Ventures

Asynchronous Online Lectures

George Arampatzis, PhD
Professor, Vice Rector of Finance, Technical Affairs and Development
School of Production Engineering and Management,
Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece
EURECA-PRO European University Alliance
Read Bio
The Future of Sustainable Innovation and Ecopreneurship

Asynchronous Online Lectures

Contact

Eleni Mylona, PhD – TUC I emylona@tuc.gr
Afroditi Fotiou, MSc – TUC I afotiou@tuc.gr

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Vasia Balaska, PhD

 

Vasiliki Balaska is an Assistant Professor at the School of Production Engineering and Management of the Technical University of Crete, holding the academic position in Industrial Innovation in Technological Automated Systems. She received her Diploma in Production and Management Engineering from the Democritus University of Thrace and earned her PhD from the same institution with a dissertation entitled “Development of Semantic Mapping Methods and their role in robotics.” Her doctoral research was supported by a scholarship from the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY). She has also conducted postdoctoral research in the fields of Industry 4.0, intelligent systems, and automation. 

She has extensive research experience through her participation in numerous national and European research projects. Her scientific work includes more than 40 publications in international journals and conference proceedings, and she serves as a reviewer for leading scientific journals and conferences in the fields of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Her research focuses on innovation in technological automated systems, with particular emphasis on robotics, computer vision, artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomous and collaborative systems, digital twins, Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0, as well as the development of intelligent solutions for industrial applications, transportation, logistics, precision agriculture, and cyber-physical systems.

Maria Aryblia, MSc

 

Maria Aryblia is an Environmental Engineer, holding an MSc in Environmental Engineering with specialisation in Environmental Management, Sustainable Energy and Climate Change, from the Technical University of Crete (TUC). She is currently completing her PhD at the School of Production Engineering and Management, on the monitoring and assessment of circular value chains in industrial environments.

She has been active in research since 2017, initially working on European projects concerning energy efficiency and sustainable urban mobility, and since 2022 as Lead Researcher at indigo, the Industrial and Digital Innovations Research Group of TUC. Over this period, she has managed and implemented several European and national funded research projects on process engineering, industrial sustainability, circular economy and digital innovation, combining scientific work with project management and proposal development. Her research is published in international peer-reviewed journals, scientific books and conference proceedings, spanning energy efficiency and energy poverty, sustainable urban mobility and, more recently, process modelling and simulation, sustainability assessment and circularity in industrial value chains. She has also worked as an engineer in the private sector and serves as an external expert and proposal evaluator for the COST Association and the French National Research Agency (ANR) within Water4All.

In July 2025 she co-founded Viridiance Insights P.C., a spin-off company of the Technical University of Crete, together with Prof. George Arampatzis. The company supports industries in their green transition through process modelling and simulation of value chains, real-time monitoring and optimisation, and sustainability and circularity assessment. She is responsible for the company’s operational management, while continuing her research within indigo, a dual role that combines scientific research with the technological development of the company.

Her contribution to the EURECA-PRO Innovation & Entrepreneurship Programme draws on this dual perspective, focusing on the transition from research results to market-oriented services and on the establishment and operation of a research-based spin-off.

Nikos Sarantinoudis, PhD

 

Nikolaos Sarantinoudis graduated in 2018 from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Technical University of Crete and holds a PhD since 2025 from the School of Production Engineering and Management from the same institution with a specialization in the intersection of autonomous vehicles and digital twins. Following his undergraduate studies, where he was part of TUC Eco Racing Team participating in Shell Eco Marathon and winning two 1st European safety awards, he worked as a research engineer at TUC and subsequently at the University of Surrey, focusing on digital mapping for autonomous vehicle navigation in unstructured environments. Transitioning to industry, he contributed to product development at MOLE, a UK startup, revolutionizing autonomous electric vehicle charging systems. 

From 2021 to 2024, he served as a Researcher at Industrial and Digital Innovations Research Group, applying digital twins, modelling, simulation and ICT technologies to diverse domains within EU-funded projects. During this period, he was also awarded the prestigious Fulbright scholarship to conduct research at the Unmanned Systems and Robotics Laboratory at the University of South Carolina, performing a part of his doctoral dissertation.

Currently, Nikolaos serves as Chief Technology Officer of Motonius, a mobility and robotics startup he co-founded based in Chania, Crete. In this role, he leads the development of autonomous robotics testbeds, computer vision systems for industrial inspection and micro-mobility solutions, while actively managing technical development and E/E integration. In addition, he participates in EU-funded research projects and collaborates extensively with industry and academia.

Alexandru Bogye, MA

 

Alexandru Bogye is a visual storyteller, videographer and photographer based in the Jiu Valley, Romania, where he works in the Public Relations Office (Image and Press Centre) of the University of Petrosani and as Graphic Designer and Content Creator for the EURECA-PRO European University on Responsible Consumption and Production. In the I&E 101 – Capturing the Founder’s Story course he is responsible mainly for the technical part of the workshop: lighting, camera gear, composition and audio. 

His relationship with the moving image started in 1997, at the age of 15, when he picked up his first video camera and began filming the people and places around him. Almost three decades later, that early curiosity has grown into a professional practice built on the same instinct: finding the story behind a face, a workshop, a mine shaft or a classroom, and framing it so that others can feel it too.

Trained as an engineer in industrial and graphic design, with a Master’s degree in Computer Aided Design and Manufacture and currently a PhD researcher in Industrial Engineering, he combines technical precision with an aesthetic sensibility. His doctoral research explores sustainable industrial design for the post-mining transition of the Jiu Valley – a theme that runs through much of his creative work as well. Between 2010 and 2014 he also worked in London for international brands such as LVMH and Procter and Gamble, an experience that sharpened his sense of visual quality and audience.

Today his main creative focus is video: he records and produces interviews, podcasts, documentaries and multimedia campaigns for the University of Petrosani, for EURECA-PRO and for cultural, educational and community projects in the Jiu Valley and beyond. He works with Sony and Canon systems and edits in Final Cut Pro, and is equally at home in graphic design (Adobe Creative Suite, CorelDRAW), studio and event photography, and 3D modelling. 

What motivates him most is giving a voice to people and places that are rarely filmed – former mining communities in transition, researchers, students, entrepreneurs and local makers – and showing that a region often defined by what it has lost is in fact full of stories worth telling. In the I&E 101 course he brings this practical experience of capturing a founder’s story on camera: how to light, how to record and frame an interview, and how to turn raw footage into a narrative that people remember.

Isabella Zick, MA BA

 

Isabella Zick is Marketing and Communication Specialist for EURECA-PRO at Montanuniversität Leoben. She is responsible for internal and local communication of EURECA-PRO in Leoben, supports student recruitment, and also produces content for various EURECA-PRO channels – from interviews and videos to podcasts. 

She holds degrees in Journalism and Public Relations, and Public Communication from University of Applied Sciences JOANNEUM. Prior to her current role, she worked as spokesperson for Austria’s largest hotel group and as press secretary for the Styrian state government. Before that, she spent more than five years supporting and advising startups on their communications and brand-building efforts.

In addition to her work as a communications specialist, she has been active as a moderator since her university days and enjoys sharing her expertise in public speaking in interview training sessions like in the I&E 101: Sustanable Innovation and Ecopreneurship 2026 course.

Leonidas Alexopoulos, Ph.D.

Dr. Leonidas Alexopoulos is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and co-founder of Protavio, a biotechnology company specializing in multiplex proteomics and the development of advanced in-vitro diagnostic solutions. His work lies at the intersection of systems biology, biomedical data science, and translational innovation, aiming to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and clinical impact. He received his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in 2004. He subsequently completed postdoctoral research in Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School and in Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2008, he returned to Greece as a faculty member in NTUA’s School of Mechanical Engineering, where he currently directs the Biomedical Systems Laboratory (BioSys Lab). His research has been supported by numerous national and European grants. 

Dr. Alexopoulos is strongly engaged in innovation, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship. He is a founding member of the MIT Enterprise Forum (Greek chapter), advisor to several startups and innovation programs, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Bioclusters. He also serves on the Sectoral Scientific Council of Technology Transfer & Intellectual Property (TES/ESETEK), contributing to national policy for spin-off creation and development. At NTUA, he teaches in the graduate program “Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine,” where he has introduced courses on biotechnology entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation. Through his combined academic, scientific, and entrepreneurial experience, Dr. Alexopoulos remains committed to advancing biomedical research toward real-world clinical and societal benefit.

Panagiotis Partsinevelos, Ph.D.

 

Dr. Partsinevelos is a Professor in the areas of Space Informatics including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Satellite Remote Sensing and Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAVs) in the Technical University of Crete. 

He received his PhD in Spatial Information Science & Engineering from the University of Maine, part of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) of USA and in a NASA sponsored center of excellence Remote Sensing Laboratory. He holds a Dipl. Eng. degree in Surveying Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and has worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Academic and Research Computer Technology Institute in Greece and as a GIS expert in the public sector.

Besides his scientific publications, editorial positions and research projects as a coordinator, Dr. Partsinevelos has contributed significantly to the fields of innovation and technology transfer. Notably, he has served as the national representative of the Galileo and Copernicus Masters competitions in the realm of space innovation. Dr. Partsinevelos directs the Space Informatics Research Team, SenseLab, comprising of more than 30 multi-disciplinary researchers.

Iordanis Kalaitzoglou, Ph.D.

 

Dr Iordanis Kalaitzoglou is currently a Professor in Finance at Audencia Business School, as well as a visiting Professor in Finance in SOAS University of London and University of Wolverhampton. His research focuses on Market Microstructure and Energy Finance and he has published in international journals and he is also an active member of the European Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre and of the Hellenic Association of Energy Economics (a member of the International Association of Energy Economics).

He is also (co-)supervising 5 PhD candidates on Intraday Risk, Behavioral Finance, Energy markets and International Energy Relations.

George Arampatzis, Ph.D.

 

George Arampatxis is an Associate Professor at the School of Production Engineering and Management (PEM) of the Technical University of Crete (TUC), teaching “Rational Energy Management in Production Systems”, “Heat Transfer” and “Fluid Mechanics”. He received his Diploma in Chemical Engineering in 1991 and his PhD in 2000 from the National Technical University of Athens. His interests focus on the Green, Digital and Social Transition of key community systems and his research framework is structured around four pillars, which are drivers of sustainable and resilient development: Circular Economy, Process Engineering, Energy and Environmental Systems Management and Intelligent Digital Technologies. He is the founder and scientific coordinator of the Digital and Industrial Innovations Research Group (indigo) of the Technical University of Crete, involving more than 20 researchers (faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, PhD candidates and students). 

He is the founder, representative and General Manager of the spin-off company Viridiance Insights. He is a founding member and Coordinator of the “In-Crete” Innovation Alliance, bringing together all academic/research institutions of Crete and private enterprises, with the aim of promoting circular economy actions in Crete. He is the founder and the mentor of the “InnoGo” Student Group, which consists of ten students and is active at the Technical University of Crete. The group participates in national and European competitions with significant distinctions. He is Principal Investigator of 17 Research Projects, mainly funded by the European Commission, with a total budget for the indigo group of €6.4 million to date. Of these, he is Coordinator of 3 projects and Technical and Scientific Manager of 2 projects. 

His research activities to date have resulted in 62 publications in peer-reviewed international journals (39 in the last 5 years), 97 papers in scientific conference proceedings (58 in the last 5 years), 6 educational books (2 in the last 5 years) and 5 chapters in edited volumes (2 in the last 5 years). His published work has received 2380 citations (1611 in the last 5 years) with h-index 22 (18 in the last 5 years) and i10-index 44 (35 in the last 5 years) (Google Scholar 20/07/2025). He is a member and active participant in several European networks, such as ICT4Water, BRIDGE, CCRI, ECOSYSTEX and SUSAN. He is responsible for the Lighthouse Mission Process Automation and Industry 4.0 of EURECA-PRO (a partnership of 7 European Universities for responsible consumption and production).