Our Team
Andreas Stefanidis
President of the non-profit, historical Educational Association of Athens “Hfaistos” and the non-profit organization ACADEMY of ENTREPRENEURSHIP which I co-founded. I hold a degree in Business Administration with Major in Management Accounting and Minor in Economics from the State University of New York at New Paltz (1994), having graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors. I have also been certified as a trainer of adult non-formal education by the National Organisation for the Certification of Qualifications & Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP). I started my professional career teaching Management Accounting and Financial Accounting in New York College where I taught from 1995 until 2009. I also taught at the University of New York Tirana in Albania for 4 years. From 2004 to 2013, and taught Managerial Accounting, Cost Accounting & Business Decision Support Systems courses as visiting lecturer at the State University of New York at New Paltz. In 1999, I started my own company offering training seminars for Management Accounting. In 2001, I founded the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Young Entrepreneurs and I am currently serving as Honorary President. In 2014 I became the Head of Aephoria.net, an incubator of new business concepts and the host organization of the Bluegrowth initiative in cooperation with the Municipality of Piraeus, where new and innovative and sustainable business ideas related relevant to sea and aquatic resources are supported. In 2008, I introduced the institution of the Global Entrepreneurship Week in Greece, with the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Young Entrepreneurs being the host organization.
Areas of Expertise: Management Accounting, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Certified Trainer of Adults of non-formal Education
Alessandro Carbone
Over 25 years of international experience in training adults and young people, in facilitating groups, in consulting working teams, supporting entrepreneurship. With a relevant social work background (on an academic and professional level) and with tourism expertise (via business action), he’s a free-lancer active in European project consulting, design, management, and evaluation. Born in Germany, raised in his home country Italy, living in Greece, he speaks all the correlated languages, plus English of course!
Areas of Expertise: Training and education, Social work, Project Management
Aliki Anagnosti
Aliki Anagnosti is a professional translator and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Translation Studies from the Ionian University in Corfu, Greece, and a Master’s degree in Chinese Studies and Business from the University of Edinburgh. She has been working as a Project Manager for the Academy of Entrepreneurship since 2015 coordinating, among others, the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme which provides new entrepreneurs with the essential tools to start their own business by learning from experienced entrepreneurs based in other participating European countries. Aliki has a perfect understanding of the field of entrepreneurship as she has been managing her own company offering translation services in Greece and abroad since 2011. She is also a member of the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Young Entrepreneurs (OESYNE) and of the Educational Association of Athens “HFAISTOS”. She is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
Areas of Expertise: Translation, Project Management, Entrepreneurship, Mobility
Οlympia Amvrazi
Holding a Master’s degree in Sports and Event Management, I have experience as project coordinator/manager in educational and cultural events (seminars, workshops, art exhibitions, etc.). In my role as project manager in Academy of Entrepreneurship, I am looking for ways to create a positive impact on the local community. I am enthusiastic about volunteer management in which I gained fruitful insights through my mixed-methods research about volunteer motivation and satisfaction in Denmark and Greece.
I love travelling and communicating with people from other countries – I speak English, Spanish and Danish.
Areas of Expertise: Event Planning, Project Management, Education, Volunteering
Vasiliki Axaopoulou
After years of studies, I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Economic Sciences, and a Master’s degree in International and European Economics. In addition to these studies, I have a diploma in translation as I have always been fascinated and intrigued by the process of creating an entirely new text just by changing the language of the original text.
Being part of AKEP helps me gain valuable knowledge and experience regarding European projects and Project Management, and it also allows me to put into practice skills that I have obtained throughout the years.
Areas of Expertise: Creation of Syllabus, Research reporting
Kalliopi Christopoulou
Ms. Kalliopi Christopoulou holds a BSc in Sociology and a MSc in
Human Resources Management. She currently works as a Senior
Project Manager at AKEP and has a more than ten years’ experience in
managing EU funded research projects working for research centers,
universities, and agencies in Greece and abroad in the fields of
Entrepreneurship, Workplace Innovation and Creative Learning
Environments. Finally, she has been national representative in the
European Workplace Innovation network promoting the network’s aims in
Greek public and private organizations as well as academia.
Areas of expertise: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Change management
Anastasios Giannaros
Mr. Anastasios Giannaros is a PhD Candidate at the University of Patras, with a focus on utilizing blockchain technologies in innovative ways to benefit society. He holds an MSc in Data Driven Computing and Decision Making, jointly offered by the Department of Computer Engineering & Informatics and the Department of Mathematics at the same university.
With a background in web development, he is actively involved in National, European, and International R&D projects, primarily in the areas of blockchain and web applications.
His research interests center on innovative uses of blockchain technologies to benefit society, resulting in several publications on platforms utilizing recommendation systems, blockchain technologies, and e-learning web applications.
Areas of Expertise: Front & Back End Web Development, Research
Elisa Fallani
Graduated from Law School in Italy, I have always demonstrated a keen interest in international and European law as well as in the protection of cultural heritage. Trying to make a difference as an individual in the field of culture, I am a volunteer at the Italian Environment Fund (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) but I would really love to have the possibility to act on a higher level in order to empower communities through the preservation of their cultural heritage.
My Erasmus in the UK and other experiences of studies and work abroad undeniably strenghtened my linguistic skills and developed greater flexibility and adaptability. Combining my ambitions and interests with a traineeship at Academy of Entrepreneurship will help me gain professional experience in European projects and funding as well as realise the vital function of NGO’s and innovation for entrepreneurs who wish to operate in accordance with eco-friendly standards.
Areas of Expertise: International Human Rights Law and Cultural Heritage Protection; Planning and Organisation of Cultural Events; EU Institutions
Advisory Board Members
Vasileios Tiliakos
Vasileios Tiliakos studied Social Work in Democritus University of Thrace and later he acquired his master’s specialization qualification as a social pedagogue. He started his first steps into Social Work by being responsible for founding and managing University Experimental Social Services in Municipalities of Thrace which could not offer social support to their citizens. He turned to Social Psychiatry, believing in the idea of De-institutionalization and the integration of people with chronic mental health disorders to the broader community. He was deeply involved to the affair of the education of the children of the Muslim minority of Thrace via the Education of Muslim Children Programme and for a lot of years he was managing with his wife, Maria Panou, a Social Education Centre for children, adolescents and adults in Komotini. He was the first social pedagogue who worked at a Second-Chance School and the first social pedagogue in Greece who was running privately a Social Education Centre for families and children.
On 2013 he had an offer from UK to be responsible for the training of all residential staff in the child protection department of a county council and to implement Social Pedagogy within its services, an academic discipline which had just arrived in the UK. In parallel, he was a fostering panel member for a private fostering agency, as an expert in social pedagogy and child upbringing. He acquired two vocational training degrees in Management and Leadership. After 3 and a half years he moved to the training of social workers and foster carers in child protection of a different county council. From the beginning of the refugee crisis Vasileios took action in creating awareness and sensitization teams in United Kingdom and in 2016 he was asked to return to Greece and take over on behalf of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) the management of the first safe zone for unaccompanied children in Alexandria, in the mainland of Greece. Gradually, he took over as a manager of all the child protection services of IRC in Greece. He was also the senior area manager of all the operations of IRC in North Greece. On February 2018, he was the co-founder of Athirma, a non-profit civic organization with a focus on improving the lives of children and their families whereas he continues training people, creating training material and facilitating integration projects for youth.
Areas of Expertise: Social Pedagogy, Youth Work
Kleonike Yannakopoulou
I am a mother of five, a Clinical Psychologist, Social Entrepreneur, adult trainer and strong believer of lifelong learning.
I received my bachelor degree in Psychology (major Social and Clinical Psychology) in 2002, by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – Greece and completed my postgraduate diploma in Human Resource Management in 2008, by University of Surrey – UK. In 2019 I completed the postgraduate international program on “Global Mental Health Policy”, organized by the NOVA Medical School of Lisbon – Portugal and WHO and the Global Institute for Mental Health.
I have uninterrupted professional activity since 2001, first as a working counselor, and also as Job Promotion Officer and Responsible for socially vulnerable groups in Lifelong Learning Center SYNERGY.
At the age of 28, I funded ANIMA nonprofit ngo, a not for profit non-governmental organization that has been an active member of the mental health field since 2005, operating a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Unit and providing several services for people who face challenges in life and/or psychosocial difficulties.
In 2011, ANIMA’ management was awarded by the National Network for Workplace Health Promotion (NNWHP) for its important commitment in Health Management and particularly in Mental Health Management in the Workplace, in the context of the European campaign “Work in Harmony with Life”, the only ngo until today receiving such an award on a managerial level.
The Social Cooperative, funded in 2013 on my own initiative, operates since 2015 AnimaCare Store, a store with handmade gifts and craft, whose profits are meant for supporting the service “Accompaniment in times of crisis”, destined to help people with radical experiences and/or during a mental health crisis.
During my professional life I have organized typical and non-typical trainings for adults in the fields of mental health, social entrepreneurship, social economy, intra-corporate communication and – last but not least – managing challenges in the workplace.
Thus, I have so far gained great experience in creating, co-coordinating and managing groups, organizing activities, developing new services, as well as conflict/crisis management, complex problem solving and mediation.
Areas of Expertise: Leadership, Decision Making, Problem Solving
