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Elpida T. Samara
Elpida T. Samara ssociate Professor at the Department of Accounting and Finance of the University of Western Macedonia Elpida T. Samara is an Associate Professor at the Department of Accounting and Finance of the University of Western Macedonia, Greece. She holds a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, a PhD in Technology and Innovation Management from the University of Western Macedonia, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation. Her doctoral and postdoctoral work focuses on innovation systems, smart technologies, regional development and system dynamics modelling. Her research interests include entrepreneurship, innovation management, regional innovation systems, smart specialisation, technology transfer, circular economy, sustainability, and just transition. She has long-standing experience in the scientific coordination, implementation and management of European, national and regional research projects, including Interreg, Horizon 2020, European Urban Initiative and other EU co-funded programmes. She has contributed to projects addressing responsible research and innovation, knowledge transfer, youth entrepreneurship, regional transformation, smart technologies, and climate-neutral development. Dr. Samara has extensive teaching experience in higher education, particularly in entrepreneurship, innovation, business planning, technology management, statistics, research methodology, supply chain management and quantitative methods. Since 2021, she has served as a faculty member at the University of Western Macedonia, while she has also taught at the Hellenic Open University and in postgraduate programmes. She has published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, edited volumes and books. Her academic work includes publications in the fields of innovation systems, regional development, entrepreneurship, smart technologies, responsible innovation and sustainability. She is also actively involved in entrepreneurship support activities, mentoring, business plan development, student innovation competitions and the promotion of university–industry collaboration. Through her academic, research and project work, Dr. Samara contributes to strengthening innovation capacity, entrepreneurial culture and sustainable regional transformation, with particular emphasis on Western Macedonia and its transition towards a more resilient, inclusive and knowledge-based development model.

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