The International Startup League consists of 14 partner universities from nine different countries. In total 24 people are part of the ISUL team. The project is coordinated by the University of Applied Sciences Neu-Ulm (Germany).
The ISUL team consists of:
Prof. Dr. Daniel Schallmo is professor for Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship at Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences. His work and research focuses on the context of digitalisation: measuring digital maturity, developing digital strategies, the digital transformation of business models and implementing digital initiatives. This includes, for example, leadership in the digital age, technologies and the design of organisations.
Prof. Dr. Jens Uwe Pätzmann studied Social and Business Communication at the Berlin University of the Arts and earned his doctorate at the Faculty of Communication Sciences at the Free University of Berlin. As Strategic Planning Director at Lintas he managed Unilever brands from Hamburg and London, and as International Planning Director at TBWA in Hamburg he was responsible for the brand management of Beiersdorf brands worldwide, here especially for NIVEA. Most recently, he was Editor-in-Chief and Business Manager of the German Club Bertelsmann catalogues. Since 2000, he has taught Marketing, Branding & Strategy at Neu-Ulm University and is Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship. He is also involved in the Africa Institute at HNU.
Prof. Dr. Klaus Lang is professor of Corporate Governance and Information Management, Dean of Studies at the scientific department of Information Management and Head of the Institute for Digital Transformation (IDT). His research focuses on digital business models, smart services and maturity models for the digitalisation of companies. Internationally in the field of entrepreneurship, Prof. Dr. Klaus Lang works intensively with universities and partners in Israel. Since 2016, Prof. Dr. Klaus Lang has been a member of the Innovation Advisory Board of the Swabian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Katharina Ehmig-Klassen studied Information Management and Corporate Communications as well as Digital Leadership and IT Management. She also has practical experience in various medium-sized industries. In her position as a research assistant, she focusses on topics such as digital transformation, design thinking, innovative business models and entrepreneurship. She uses her practical expertise to promote innovative approaches and support companies in adapting to modern challenges.
Verena Mattes studied industrial engineering at the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University of Applied Sciences with a semester abroad at the TTK University of Applied Sciences in Tallinn (Estonia). During this time, she also founded her first start-up. She wrote her Bachelor’s thesis in the field of integrated management systems in an IT consulting and project management company in Munich. She then did her Master’s degree in Kempten in the course “technical innovation and product management”, where she developed a self-sterilising medical product and then wrote her Master’s thesis at Kempten University of Applied Sciences on the economic perspective of the development of a stair-climbing wheelchair. Here she worked as a project manager. Since July 2022, she has been working as a research assistant at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and is responsible for the “International Start-Up League” project here.
Prof. Dr. Johanna Anzengruber is Professor of Strategy and Innovation as well as Vice Dean at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and an Affiliated Research Scientist at the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California. In her research and consulting, she focuses on the combination of Organizational Behavior in the digital economy, Change Management, Innovation Management, Competence Management and Leadership. She is a frequent speaker at universities and conferences on the topic on the future of management design, innovation and capability management. Recently, she won a best paper award at the Academy of Management Conference and was nominated for the Austrian state award for teaching excellence Ars docendi. From 2009 – 2016 she headed the department for Strategic Core Competence Management at the Global Headquarters of Siemens Healthcare, where she was responsible for development and implementation of the organization’s core competence strategy. Being a member of Siemens Corporate Technology beforehand, she has led several innovation projects around the globe and acted as a strategic advisor for Siemens’ CTO.
Dr Sofia Asonitou is Associate Professor of Accounting Education, at the Department of Business Administration, University of West Attica in Greece. She holds a PhD from Sheffield Hallam University, U.K. Her teaching interests include Financial Accounting, Management Accounting and Financial Statements Analysis, at undergraduate and graduate level. Her main research interests include the development of professional skills of accountants, innovative teaching methods and gender inequality. She has published in international journals such as The International Journal of Management Education, The International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education and Accounting Education. Sofia Asonitou has acted for three years as Director in the Division of Accounting, Economics and Financial studies in the Business Administration Department. Currently she is Deputy Scientific Coordinator in the Centre for Teaching and Learning and member of the Gender Equality Committee in the University of West Attica.
Mattia Bedolla is a scientific collaborator at the Competence Centre for Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) in the area of entrepreneurship and innovation. In his role he carries out both applied research and teaching activities. In the latter area he is module leader of the entrepreneurship course. He holds a Master of Science in Business Administration with a major in innovation management from SUPSI. His main research interests are business model innovation, innovation, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills.
Dr. Leandro Bitetti serves as the Head of the Master of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Innovation Management at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland. Dr. Bitetti’s primary academic focus revolves around the development of instructional courses designed to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in students. His educational philosophy is rooted in the establishment of a substantive connection between academic knowledge and practical application, providing students with the essential tools to address both contemporary and enduring challenges through innovative problem-solving methods. His research focuses on the topic of Business Model Innovation from a cognitive perspective, and his work has been published in journals such as Creativity and Innovation Management, the International Journal of Innovation Management, the Journal of Business Models, and Piccola Impresa / Small Business, among others.
In his position as International Relations Adviser, Sven Cerulus facilitates international learning for all students, faculty and staff at the Faculty of Management at UC Leuven-Limburg. He heads the faculty’s International Office and as such boosts innovation in education as well as research but also manages the faculty’s partner portfolio and is actively involved in several international networks and projects. Sven Cerulus is also a Lecturer in Intercultural Business Communication and has experience in teaching Dutch as a Second Language.
Tiina is a positive and insightful principal lecturer who has over 25 year’s experience from the education sector. She has worked in Oulu University of Applied Sciences as a senior and principal lecturer teaching strategic management, leadership and future studies for thousands of students during her career. In addition to that, she has worked in a leadership position for fifteen years. Tiina has an entrepreneurial mindset and believe that “The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you (B.B. King).
Eli Gimmon is a full professor of management at Tel-Hai College in Israel with focus on entrepreneurship. His interests of research include entrepreneurship, strategy and marketing of SMEs, business clusters, regional development, and business sustainability. He heads the Tel-Hai center of innovation and entrepreneurship. Eli received Ph.D. in business administration in 2006 at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK. In 2019 he was a guest researcher at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. His academic interests emerged from 22 years of field experience, including co-founding two American–Israeli IT companies and managing intra-preneurship at a leading Israeli international electronic corporation. He is a reviewer for several journals such as Research Policy, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice and Industrial Marketing Management.
Cristina Italia is the Chair for the School of Management and Entrepreneurship at Seneca Polytechnic. She holds an International Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration. Cristina begun her career as an avid marketer in fast-moving-consumer goods and rapidly developed a passion of entrepreneurship, which led to the establishment of three ventures. She began teaching in the business faculty at Seneca Polytechnic in 2013 and later became the Program Coordinator for the Business Administration – Management program. In her role as Chair, Cristina is committed to building an academic environment that fosters growth and success for students and faculty alike.
Peter Janssen is a hands on marketing & branding professional who started his career at Henkel in 1985. During his career he worked for several international companies in Belgium, the Netherlands and in Germany. In between he also joined the Vlerick Business School (Belgium) where he managed the Vlerick Brand Management Centre, doing research on branding topics such as Internal Branding & Brand Personality Measurement. At Vlerick he also got the chance to lecture to students – even in Sint Petersburg – and to organize in-company trainings for e.g. Fortis, Atlas Copco, Proximus and Colruyt. Since 2010 Peter joined the UCLL to inspire students and to bring them to the next level. Peter loves traveling and did already participate in a lot of international business weeks. Recently he participated in the ISUL international mobility program at HNU in Neu-Ulm.
Pablo is a dedicated professional with more than 5 years of experience in the internationalisation of higher education, specialising in partnerships, short programmes and mobility. He currently leads the internationalisation efforts at the Graduate School of the Faculty of Economics at Universidad de Chile. He is known as a problem solver, fast learner and team player with exceptional interpersonal and negotiation skills and is committed to continuous self-development. His diverse background in education, business and international relations complements his expertise in internationalisation.
After graduating as an industrial engineer from UCL (Université Catholique de Louvain), Caroline worked for several years in the private sector. After 8 years abroad (UAE, Spain), she joined the Social Economy Research Centre (CES) of the ULg (Université Libre de Liège). This experience allowed her to discover and appreciate a different side of business and to give a new impetus to her career by turning to teaching. She has been a lecturer at Ephec for 7 years, where she teaches economics, management and entrepreneurship. She is part of Ephec’s applied research department with the central research theme of circular economy.
Stef Mannaerts is a lecturer in accounting and finance from University College Leuven-Limburg Belgium. His specialties are management accounting and financial planning. Besides lecturing Stef is founder and head of his own business in personal financial planning. Trainings and advise on estate planning and wealth structuring are the main topics of the business. In addition he is a coach at Plato. This is a business network where Stef coaches mature company’s on strategies and overall management.
Ph.D. in Politics/International Political Economy and Ph.D. in Government/Development Studies from the University of Manchester. Jaqueline Gómez Méndez developed research in parallel in the Department of Politics and the Brooks World Poverty Institute (now Global Development Institute); She has presented her work in France, Ireland, England, Argentina and Mexico.
Before pursuing an academic career, she worked as public policy analyst for the public sector in Mexico. She has developed an extensive academic activity in Chile, England and Mexico. In Chile she worked as Adjunct Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, from 2014 to 2023. At the University of Chile she was Head of International Connections from 2022 to 2023, she is currently Dean of the Business and Economics Faculty at Universidad Finis Terreae.
Charlotte has almost 20 years of experience in higher education at EPHEC. As coordinator of the Business and Entrepreneurship programmes, she is particularly interested in sustainable development issues and new economic models, including the circular economy. In this context, she is familiarising herself with new teaching methods and analysing the results. This is part of an applied research project that she is carrying out together with her colleague Caroline Lovens.
Dr. Yael Pedro is an academic and seasoned professional with a wealth of expertise in management, design, and entrepreneurship. Holding a Ph.D. in Management from ISCTE, Lisbon, and an M.Des from the University of Cincinnati, she currently serves as a dedicated faculty member at the School of Industrial Engineering and Management within Shenkar.Engineering.Design.Art. Her instructional focus spans various subjects, including Design Thinking, Innovation Management, and Fashion Management. She has shone as the Brand Manager/Product Development and Design expert at Speedo Israel in her professional journey. Her contributions have been pivotal in shaping brand strategies, enhancing consumer engagement, and crafting imaginative marketing campaigns. Beyond this, she has shared her insights at numerous prestigious international conferences and published her research in esteemed academic journals. Dr. Pedro actively participates in hackathons, and her role in leadership positions underscores her unwavering commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration. Her research is centered around sustainable fashion, luxury, product development, and entrepreneurship, making her a leading authority.
Alisha has worked as an English teacher at several schools and universities in the past. There she also worked as an administrative assistant and acted as a sustainability coordinator. Since 2021, she has been employed at the Universidad de Chile as a Incoming Student Exchange Coordinator. She has also worked as a Spanish interpreter in the past.
Dr. Nikos Tsotsolas is Associate Professor at the University of West Attica. He is a member of the Research Laboratory “Digital Transformation & Decision Support Systems – DigiT-DSS Lab”. He also teaches in 5 Postgraduate Programs and his research interests fall within the fields of Operational Research, Decision Support Systems, Logistics and Project Management. He has published more than 70 papers and studies in scientific journals, international conferences proceedings and edited volumes. He has been member of the organizing/scientific committee of 20 conferences, and he has more than 80 presentations at national and international scientific conferences. He has participated in the implementation of 36 research projects. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Operational Research Society.
Robrecht Van Goolen is coordinator of the incubator program StartMinds at UCLL University of Applied Sciences (Belgium). The program consists out of inspiration, coaching and networking activities for student-entrepreneurs for which a strategic eco-system partner network is developed. He is a board member of VOKA Chamber of Commerce Leuven and a member of the steering committee of Generation Food. He also participates in the Forum for Entrepreneurial Higher Education. His research is focusing on marketing and entrepreneurship in which he participated in numerous regional, national and European projects. In his work as professor he is teaching in Marketing Communication & Strategy, Sales Management and Entrepreneurship. His work is recognized with several international awards.
Judy is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and the Program Coordinator for the Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation post-graduate certificate program at Seneca Polytechnic in Canada. She has over 25 years of experience in the Consumer-Packaged Good with proven success leading and growing businesses for Fortune 500 companies. Judy is passionate about sparking innovation and building the entrepreneurial mindset for students and budding founders. She lives in Ontario with her 2 daughters and is excited to travel the world in the coming years.
Roei divides his time between the academic world as a faculty member and lecturer, and the business sector as a senior executive and entrepreneur.Roei gained his first position as a lecturer in 2005 and is currently a senior faculty member at the School of Industrial Engineering and Management, where he teaches courses in exact sciences with an emphasis on information systems and databases. He also oversees courses that bridge the worlds of academia and business. Over the years Roei has founded several technology and agricultural companies. In 2019 he was invited to give a TED talk regarding his life journey, as one of the owners of Canndoc, which started out as a private farm for producing medical cannabis over a decade ago, expanded its activities in Israel and abroad and became a global company with headquarters on three different continents. Canndoc underwent a merger with Intercure (a public pharmaceutical company) raised approximately 60 million shekels and during Roei’s tenure as CEO, reached a value of over 1 billion shekels.
