Prof. Dr. Panagiotis (Takis) Damaskopoulos is the Industry 4.0 ERA Chair holder at the School of Economics and Business at Kaunas University of Technology and the Executive Director and Head of Research of the European Institute of Interdisciplinary Research (EIIR) in Paris, France. His research, teaching and advisory activities concentrate on the economic, organizational, technological and policy/governance dynamics of innovation, and the evolution corporate, regional and state strategies of innovation, competitiveness and sustainable development within the broader context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He undertakes this work in collaboration with leading academic/research institutions, private business organizations, national and regional governments across the European Union (EU), and international organs such as the European Commission, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Takis acts as principal researcher in several European Commission and EU national and cross-regional Research and Technology Development (RTD) projects that explore the changing systemic conditions underpinning processes of innovation and sustainable development, with special emphasis on global technology and business networks and the organizational transformations associated with Industry 4.0 and their economic, social and environmental implications across the EU. He is an expert evaluator of several research, technological and development priorities of the European Commission’s Framework Programs, such as the Horizon 2020. He also acts as a reviewer of large-scale international RTD projects in the domains of national and regional strategies of economic development, the international positioning of regions for the attraction of foreign investment and improvement of competitiveness, and the design and implementation of regional strategies of innovation for socially balanced and environmentally sustainable development.
During his career Takis has held course directorship and senior research positions at INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France), and York University (Toronto, Canada). His academic research and teaching activities cross the fields of international political economy, the design of business strategy, technology management with special emphasis on the application and economic implications of Artificial Intelligence, and emerging issues concerning governance systems of innovation and the design of research strategies. He has authored and co-authored advanced research in chapters in edited volumes and articles published by organizations such as The MIT Press, the European Management Journal, and the official publications of the European Commission, among others. His work has been widely discussed in forums such as the thematic expert groups of the European Commission, the World Bank Institute, the US Department of Commerce, the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai, the Institute for Prospective Technology Studies (IPTS), and leading universities in the EU and North America. He holds a MA and a PhD in International Political Economy from York University, Toronto, Canada.
