Meet our Speakers

Achilleas Barlas

Head of Unit-Innovation in SMEs, Technology Transfer Consultant, PRAXI Network

Dr. Achilleas Barlas has been active as an Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) advisor since 2018. He is the Head of Innovation in SME’s Unit at PRAXI Network, the coordinator of EEN-Hellas- the Greek node of the Network. He is a member of the Aerospace and Defence EEN sector group. He is also the National Contact Point for the EU Framework Programme, for Secure Societies since 2018, supporting numerous Greek SMEs to participate. His experience in supporting Greek SMEs has resulted in significant outcomes with more than 18 Partnership agreements and 8 Achievements in the last 3 years. He has extensive experience in basic & advanced advisory services related to innovation management (Certified in both IMP3rove and Innovation Health Check), internationalization, technology transfer, digitalization (Certified in Digital Innovation Quotient), access to finance, single market issues, capacity building, etc. He is also certificated in Corporate Sustainability Navigator. He is pretty experienced in supporting innovative Startups and helping them grow.  Holds an MSc in Recreation Management from the University of Wolverhampton and an MBA from the University of Nicosia. Holds also a Ph.D.in the field of Organizational behavior and Service quality from the University of Thessaly and Democritus University of Thrace. He has published 13 scientific papers in reputable marketing and business journals. He speaks English (C2 level) and Greek.