Our People
The Institute For the Future at the University of Nicosia currently hosts over 40 faculty members, researchers, and support staff and has become the largest institute of its kind in academia.
DIRECTORS
Professor George Giaglis
General Director
George Giaglis
George Giaglis
Director, Institute for The Future
University of Nicosia
Professor George M. Giaglis is Director of the Institute for the Future at the University of Nicosia, as well as a leading expert on blockchain technology and applications and advisor to many blockchain projects and technology start-ups. George has been working on digital currencies and blockchain since 2012, with his main focus being on new forms of industrial organization (programmable smart contracts, decentralized applications and distributed autonomous organizations) and new forms of corporate financing (token economy, crypto-economics and ICOs). He has been one of the first academics to research and teach on blockchain, having: designed the curriculum of the world’s first full academic degree on blockchain (MSc in Digital Currency at the University of Nicosia); led the development of blockchain credentialing technology that has resulted in the first ever publishing of academic certificates on the blockchain; taught on the disruptive innovation potential of blockchain, both at academic programs and in executive seminars worldwide; organized a number of prominent blockchain conferences and events, including Decentralized. Throughout his career, he has published more than 10 books and 150 articles in leading scientific journals and conferences, while he is frequently interviewed by media and invited as keynote speaker or trainer in events across the globe.
Soulla Louca
Director of Partnerships
Soulla Louca
Soulla Louca
Director of Partnerships
IFF
Prof. Soulla Louca is a professor in the newly founded Department of Digital Innovation as well as a Director at the Institute For the Future (IFF) at the University of Nicosia. She was nominated by LATTICE80 in partnership with Miss Kaya as one of the top 100 women in Fintech for 2019. With a background in Computer Science, she is one of the first academics to get involved in blockchain technologies (2014) when she assumed the responsibility of the Blockchain Initiative at the University of Nicosia. The Blockchain Initiative (renamed later to Institute For the Future) has designed and developed the first MSc worldwide in Digital Currency, the technology for publishing academic certificates on the blockchain (http://block.co/). She is leading the DLT4ALL consortium, an Erasmus+ project on designing and developing material on Decentralized Ledgers and also leads the team at IFF for the design and development of a decentralized platform for social networks for trancing fake news for the H2020 project EUNOMIA. She is active in organizing or co-organizing tech events including the Decentralized series (www.decentralized.com) as well as in research.
For seven years, she headed the Domain Committee for ICT for the European program COST (www.cost.eu) for the 36 Member States of COST. Main duties were the evaluation and monitoring of the ICT Actions, which bring together more than 3000 researchers in areas like e-Society, Information Security, Networks, Nanotechnologies, etc. Furthermore, she was responsible for identifying trends, boosting pioneering research activities and help define strategies in science and technology through the organization and participation of strategic initiatives for promoting the ICT policy in Europe and beyond for the betterment and new digital experiences of European citizens. Even though her research interests for many years focused on information society (socio-economic aspects of ICT, e-learning, social integration and digital divide), due to her COST activities she had the opportunity to disperse her knowledge and work over a wide range of subjects such as personalized medicine, women in ICT, and open access. This enables her to integrate the knowledge she has gained over the years into a consistent worldview with a wider division of labor for working towards raising the standard of living for the European citizens and beyond. Her mandate ended successfully in September 2014.
Spyros Makridakis
Director of Research
Spyros Makridakis
Dr Spyros Makridakis
Director of Research
IFF
Dr Spyros Makridakis is a Professor at the University of Nicosia, the director of the Institute For the Future (IFF) and an Emeritus Professor at INSEAD. He has authored, or co-authored, twenty-two books and more than 250 articles. He was the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Forecasting and the International Journal of Forecasting and is the organizer of the M (Makridakis) Competitions.
Marinos Themistocleous
Director of Education and Training
Marinos Themistocleous
Marinos Themistocleous
Director of Education and Training
IFF
Governing Board
Antonis Polemitis
CEO
IFF | UNIC
Antonis Polemitis
Antonis Polemitis
CEO
IFF | UNIC
Mr. Polemitis currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the University of Nicosia (UNIC) and EDEX, as a Board member of EDEX and UNICAF, and as a member of the Council of the University of Nicosia. UNIC serves nearly 12,000 students, along with 6,000 additional students in its affiliated academic institutions. It is the largest university in Cyprus and is the largest English language university in southern Europe.
Mr. Polemitis has two decades of experience in private equity, higher education and software development in New York, as a principal or partner at Ledra Capital, ACG Capital and Oliver Wyman (formerly Mercer Management Consulting). He has been a principal or advisor for a broad range of corporate financings in the United States, Europe, Latin America and India, ranging from multi-billion dollar industrial buyouts to early stage venture capital
Mr. Polemitis helped found the world-leading Digital Currency / Blockchain Initiative at the University of Nicosia, co-taught the first university cryptocurrency course in the world, and is regularly quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Wired and other publications as an expert on cryptocurrency issues.
His research at Mercer on optimal financing strategy in private equity has been published in Buyouts and cited in the Financial Times Mr. Polemitis holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with highest distinction as a Baker Scholar, and a B.S. in International Studies, Accounting and Computer Information Systems from Indiana University, where he graduated with highest distinction as a Wells and Chancellor’s Scholar.
Dimitris Drikakis
VP Global Partnerships
IFF | UNIC
Dimitris Drikakis
Dimitris Drikakis
VP, Global Partnerships
UNIC
Professor Dimitris Drikakis is the Vice President for Global Partnerships and Executive Director, Research and Innovation at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. He has a joint professor’s appointment in the School of Sciences and Engineering, and Medical School. Prior to that, he held academic and executive posts as Professor, Executive Dean, and Head of Department at various UK universities over a period of 24 years; he has also held senior academic/research posts in Germany and France. He has obtained his MEng (Mechanical Engineering) and PhD from the National technical University of Athens (Greece). His research is multidisciplinary and covers topics of engineering science and emerging technologies, including fluid mechanics, acoustics, materials, computational science and nanotechnologies with applications to aerospace, defence, energy and biomedical sector. He has received the William Penney Fellowship Award by the UK’s Atomic Establishment in recognition of his contributions to multicomponent flows; and the Innovator of the Year Award (2014) by the UK’s Innovation Institute for a new generation carbon capture nanotechnology device. He has co-authored two books and has published 417 papers in journals and conference proceedings. He has graduated 45 PhD students who now hold positions in academia and industries around the world. He has also been an Assoc. Editor of Computers and Fluids; Journal of Fluids Engineering; The Aeronautical Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society; Journal of Computational and Theoretical Nanoscience; (advisory board) Physics of Fluids; as well as serves on editorial boards in several journals in the fields of Engineering (Aerospace, Biomedical, Energy, Defence), Computational Science, Applied Physics, and Nanotechnology. He has also served on the Fluid Dynamics Technical Committee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; Board of Directors of the European Aeronautics Science Network; European Research Council (Engineering – Deputy Chair); European Commission (evaluator); UK’s Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC), as a Chair of the academic panel.
Professor George M. Giaglis
Executive Director
IFF | UNIC
George Giaglis
Dr. George M. Giaglis
Eecutive Director
IFF | UNIC
Professor George M. Giaglis is Director of the Institute for the Future at the University of Nicosia, as well as a leading expert on blockchain technology and applications and advisor to many blockchain projects and technology start-ups. George has been working on digital currencies and blockchain since 2012, with his main focus being on new forms of industrial organization (programmable smart contracts, decentralized applications and distributed autonomous organizations) and new forms of corporate financing (token economy, crypto-economics and ICOs). He has been one of the first academics to research and teach on blockchain, having: designed the curriculum of the world’s first full academic degree on blockchain (MSc in Digital Currency at the University of Nicosia); led the development of blockchain credentialing technology that has resulted in the first ever publishing of academic certificates on the blockchain; taught on the disruptive innovation potential of blockchain, both at academic programs and in executive seminars worldwide; organized a number of prominent blockchain conferences and events, including Decentralized. Throughout his career, he has published more than 10 books and 150 articles in leading scientific journals and conferences, while he is frequently interviewed by media and invited as keynote speaker or trainer in events across the globe.
Professor Soulla Louca
Director
IFF | UNIC
Soulla Louca
Soulla Louca
Director of Partnerships
IFF | UNIC
Prof. Soulla Louca is a professor in the newly founded Department of Digital Innovation as well as a Director at the Institute For the Future (IFF) at the University of Nicosia. She was nominated by LATTICE80 in partnership with Miss Kaya as one of the top 100 women in Fintech for 2019. With a background in Computer Science, she is one of the first academics to get involved in blockchain technologies (2014) when she assumed the responsibility of the Blockchain Initiative at the University of Nicosia. The Blockchain Initiative (renamed later to Institute For the Future) has designed and developed the first MSc worldwide in Digital Currency, the technology for publishing academic certificates on the blockchain (http://block.co/). She is leading the DLT4ALL consortium, an Erasmus+ project on designing and developing material on Decentralized Ledgers and also leads the team at IFF for the design and development of a decentralized platform for social networks for trancing fake news for the H2020 project EUNOMIA. She is active in organizing or co-organizing tech events including the Decentralized series (www.decentralized.com) as well as in research.
For seven years, she headed the Domain Committee for ICT for the European program COST (www.cost.eu) for the 36 Member States of COST. Main duties were the evaluation and monitoring of the ICT Actions, which bring together more than 3000 researchers in areas like e-Society, Information Security, Networks, Nanotechnologies, etc. Furthermore, she was responsible for identifying trends, boosting pioneering research activities and help define strategies in science and technology through the organization and participation of strategic initiatives for promoting the ICT policy in Europe and beyond for the betterment and new digital experiences of European citizens. Even though her research interests for many years focused on information society (socio-economic aspects of ICT, e-learning, social integration and digital divide), due to her COST activities she had the opportunity to disperse her knowledge and work over a wide range of subjects such as personalized medicine, women in ICT, and open access. This enables her to integrate the knowledge she has gained over the years into a consistent worldview with a wider division of labor for working towards raising the standard of living for the European citizens and beyond. Her mandate ended successfully in September 2014.
Professor Spyros Makridakis
Director
IFF | UNIC
Spyros Makridakis
Dr. Spyros Makridakis
Director of Research
IFF
Dr Spyros Makridakis is a Professor at the University of Nicosia, the director of the Institute For the Future (IFF) and an Emeritus Professor at INSEAD. He has authored, or co-authored, twenty-two books and more than 250 articles. He was the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Forecasting and the International Journal of Forecasting and is the organizer of the M (Makridakis) Competitions.
Professor Marinos Themistocleous
Director
IFF | UNIC
Marinos Themistocleous
Marinos Themistocleous
Director of Education and Training
IFF
Associate Dean of School of Business and one of Directors of the Institute For Future (IFF) at the University of Nicosia
Professor Marinos Themistocleous is the Associate Dean of School of Business and one of Directors of the Institute For Future (IFF) at the University of Nicosia. He holds a PhD in Information Systems Integration and a Postgraduate Degree in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education both from Brunel University, London, UK. Prior to that, he received an MSc in Information Systems Management and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, both from Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece. Marinos holds a certification in Blockchain, FinTech and future commerce from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Massachusetts, Cambridge, USA and he teaches at the world-leading Digital Currency postgraduate programme at University of Nicosia, Cyprus.
He has developed blockchain applications in the areas of energy and healthcare and serves as blockchain advisor. Marinos retains close relationships with industry and serves as consultant in areas such as blockchain, ebusiness, ehealth and information systems integration. He has collaborated with the Greek Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Greece, the Greek Standardization body, the Greek Federation of SMEs, ORACLE UK, the B3-Blockchain Business Board UK, Intelen US, BTO Research Italy, the Cyprus National Betting Authority and other organizations.
He has authored more than 175 refereed journal and conference articles, several teaching textbooks and has received citations and awards of excellence. His research has attracted funding from various bodies and organizations. Marinos is on the editorial board of academic journals as well as on the board of prestigious international conferences and has run minitracks, tracks and journal special issues on Blockchain. In the past, he served as the managing editor of the European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS).
Faculty and Research
Professor Maria Michailidis
Director
MOFC
Maria Michailidis
Prof. Maria Michailidis
Faculty Member
IFF
Dr. Klitos Christodoulou
Faculty Member-Research Manager
IFF
Klitos Christodoulou
Dr. Klitos Christodoulou
Faculty Member, Research Manager
IFF
Dr. Klitos Christodoulou is a faculty member at the Department of Management and MIS – Digital Currency, at the University of Nicosia (UNIC). He is also a research faculty at the Institute For the Future (IFF) at the same University since 2018.
He holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and an M.Sc. in Advanced Computer Science – with specialisation in Advanced Applications, both from the University of Manchester, UK. In 2014, Klitos obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the School of Computer Science at the University of Manchester, UK. He has been an adjunct staff member of the Information Management Group (IMG) in the School of Computer Science, at the University of Manchester where he engaged in various research and teaching activities.
Klitos has served in the Program Committee of a variety of conferences. Currently, he serves as an Associate Editor at the Frontiers in Blockchain Journal and Guest Editor on the special issue of Future Internet (MDPI Journal) on Blockchain Applications.
His research interests span both Data Management challenges, with a focus on Machine Learning techniques, and Distributed Ledger Technologies; with an emphasis on Blockchain ledgers. He has given numerous invited talks and tutorials involved Blockchain technologies. Klitos teaches a course on Blockchain Applications under UNIC’s MSc in Digital Currency programme.
Dr. Elias Iosif
Faculty Member-Project Manager
IFF
Dr Elias Iosif
Dr. Elias Iosif
Projects Manager
IFF
Dr. Elias Iosif is a senior researcher at the Blockchain Initiative – Institute For the Future at the University of Nicosia.Dr. Iosif received the PhD degree from the School of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Technical University of Crete (TUC), Greece, in 2013. From 2007-2013, he was a research assistant and a postdoctoral fellow at TUC, where he participated in a number of EU projects. From 2014 to mid-2017, he has been a post-doctoral researcher at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece. His areas of expertise include blockchains, machine learning, human language technologies (natural language processing, spoken dialogue systems) and data mining, where he has authored/co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
Dr. Ifigenia Georgiou
Faculty Member
IFF
Dr. Ifigenia Georgiou
Dr. Ifigenia Georgiou
Faculty Member
IFF
Dr. Ifigenia Georgiou is a faculty member at the Department of Accounting at the Business School and a member of the Institute for the Future (IFF) of the University of Nicosia. She holds a Ph.D. (2010) and an M.Sc. (2002) in Finance from the University of Cyprus, an M.Sc. in Information Management (1999) from Lancaster University in the UK, and a B.Sc. in Public and Business Administration with concentration in Management Science (1998) from the University of Cyprus. She also holds a teaching qualification, a PG Certificate in Professional Practice in Higher Education (2012) from Aston University in the UK, and she is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) of the UK. Dr. Georgiou has worked as a Lecturer at Aston University at the UK (2009-2014), and as an Assistant Professor at the Cyprus International Institute of Management (2014-2017) before joining the University of Nicosia. Dr. Georgiou’s research is interdisciplinary and her main academic interests include cryptocurrencies, blockchain DAOs and DAO governance, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investing, behavioral finance, and information management. In addition, she is also interested in Ethics learning in Business Schools. Dr. Georgiou has presented her papers in many international refereed conferences, and she has published papers in international peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings in the fields of Finance and Accounting.
Dr. Ioannis Katakis
Faculty Member
IFF
Dr Ioannis Katakis
Dr. Ioannis Katakis
Faculty Member
IFF
Dr Ioannis Katakis is an Associate Professor and co-Director of the Artificial Intelligence Lab (ailab.unic.ac.cy) at the Department of Computer Science at UNIC. Born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece, he studied Computer Science and holds a PhD in Machine Learning for Text Classification (Aristotle University, 2009). After his postgraduate studies, he served various universities as a lecturer and a senior researcher. Recently, Ioannis has been included in the “Ioannidis list” of “Top 45 young Greek scientists” based on the impact of his work. His research interests include Mining Social, Web and Urban Data, Smart Cities, Sentiment Analysis and Opinion Mining, Deep Learning, Data Streams and Multi-label Learning. He has published papers in International Conferences and Scientific Journals related to his areas of expertise, organised multiple workshops, and special issues and is an Editor at the journal Information Systems. His research has been cited more than 5000 times in the literature. He has extensive experience in European research projects where he participated as a Quality Assurance Coordinator and a Senior Researcher. He regularly serves the program committee of international conferences and evaluates articles in scientific journals.
Dr. Charis Savvides
Faculty Member
IFF
Dr Charis Savvides
Dr. Charalambos Savvides
Faculty Member
IFF
Dr. Charalambos Savvides is an experienced advocate and law lecturer in the University of Nicosia with over 10 years’ experience in Corporate, Competition and Financial law. He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Sheffield in the U.K., with his doctoral thesis being on competition law and more specifically on the EU regulatory framework on state aids to firms in difficulty. Charalambos is managing director of his own law firm in Cyprus, Ch. P. Savvides & Associates LLC, which comprises three distinct units, i.e. litigation, corporate and fund units, with a diverse national and international clientele. His expertise covers both mainstream corporate legal issues and more contemporary and advanced financial and investment areas, such as investment funds, Forex and digital currency, especially ICOs. In 2018, Charalambos joined as a managing partner the BL Advisory International, which is an international provider of end-to-end advisory services in helping businesses that want to raise funds through tokenization and creation of blockchain-based digital assets. Apart from consulting, Charalambos serves as non-executive director both in a prominent Forex company and in a private equity Alternative Investment Fund, both regulated by CySEC and based in Cyprus. Additionally, he is legal advisor and member of the Institute For the Future (IFF), operating under the University of Nicosia, where he is also teaching Regulation and Digital Currencies, a law course offered by the University of Nicosia in the context of its MSc in Digital Currency.
Dr. Leonidas Katelaris
Post-doctoral Researcher
IFF
Leonidas Katelaris
Dr. Leonidas Katelaris
Post-doctoral Researcher
IFF
Dr.Leonidas Katelaris is a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute for the Future (IFF) at the University of Nicosia. He played a crucial role in the successful implementation of UNIC’s open course on NFTs and the Metaverse, marking the first-ever university course to be delivered on-chain and within the metaverse. Joining the IFF in 2019 as a researcher, he participated in EU projects with a focus on blockchains, DLTs, NFTs, and the Metaverse. His contributions to the institute span various roles and responsibilities, including:
- Serving as Managing Director at the Distributed Ledgers Research Centre (DLRC)
- Acting as Lecturer/Trainer for the Cyprus Police course on Financial Investigations for Digital Currencies
- Being the Activity Manager for the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) training course hosted by the University of Nicosia
- Working as a Teaching Assistant for the world-leading Blockchain and Digital Currency MSc program at the University of Nicosia
- Being a member of the team behind the Open Metaverse Initiative (OMI) at the University of Nicosia
Leonidas holds a B.Sc. in Digital Systems from the University of Piraeus and an M.Sc. in Digital Systems, with a specialization in Network Oriented Systems, from the University of Piraeus. His M.Sc. thesis focused on “Optimized Resource Provisioning based on Collective Intelligence in Service Level Agreements in Cloud Computing.” Leonidas obtained his Ph.D. in Information Systems from the Department of Digital Systems at the University of Piraeus, where his dissertation was titled “Innovative Customer Behavior Forecasting Framework for Subscription-based Organizations.” His areas of expertise include Information Systems, Blockchain, DLTs, Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs), and the Metaverse. He has authored and co-authored scientific publications in these domains.”
Eugenia Kapassa
Researcher
IFF
Eugenia Kapassa
Eugenia Kapassa
Researcher
IFF
Evgenia Kapassa received a B.Sc. degree in Digital Systems from the Department of Digital Systems at the University of Piraeus, Greece. The thesis topic was “Web Platform for the storage and retrieval of geo-referenced data in 3D models,” focusing on innovative mechanisms in Data as a Service technologies for integrating big data management in cloud environments.
Subsequently, she obtained an M.Sc degree in Advanced Information Systems from the same department. The diploma thesis, “Complete Service Level Agreements Management Framework in 5G Environments,” was centered around managing the lifecycle of Network Services, emphasizing QoS and QoE parameters from heterogeneous resources.
From 2017 to 2019, she served as a researcher at the Research Center of the University of Piraeus, Greece, engaging in technology-specific studies and real-world case analyses, adopting cutting-edge and impactful approaches for the ICT industry. In 2019, the transition was made to the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, as a researcher, where Ms Kapassa has continued work to the present day, contributing to various research projects in both technical and management roles. Her work is related to blockchain, IoT, IoV, renewable energy and energy management among others.
Simultaneously, Evgenia Kapassa has been pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Nicosia in the Department of Digital Innovation. Her dissertation, titled “Blockchain enabled Demand Response Management in the Internet of Vehicles” was successfully submitted in February 2024, with the viva scheduled for March 2024.
In addition to these roles, Evgenia Kapassa has gained valuable teaching experience as a Teaching Assistant at both the University of Piraeus and the University of Nicosia.
The research interests and expertise of Ms Kapassa including blockchain, smart mobility, renewable energy, cloud computing, IoT management, distributed ledger technologies, and data analytics, are supported by a variety of publications in journals and conference papers (Scholar Profile here).
Dr. Marios Touloupos
Researcher
IFF
Dr. Marios Touloupos
Marios Touloupos
Researcher
IFF
Dr. Marios Touloupou has a background in digital systems, underpinned by his academic accomplishments and professional experiences in the field of emerging technologies such as 5G/SDN networks and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs). He began his academic journey by obtaining a B.Sc. degree in Digital Systems from the Department of Digital Systems of the University of Piraeus. His diploma thesis, titled “Three-Dimensional Web Platform for Multimedia Data Management (Applying the Approach to the Data of the Holy Sepulcher Restoration Project),” showcased innovative mechanisms that leverage “Data as a Service” technology to integrate big data management into cloud environments.
Dr. Touloupou continued his studies at the University of Piraeus, where he earned his master’s degree with a focus on “Advanced Information Systems & Services.” His master’s thesis was on “5G and V&V: Estimation of Performance in 5th Generation Network Services – Targeted Validation and Verification Tests,” highlighting his growing expertise in next-generation network technologies.
From 2017, Dr. Touloupou was actively involved in research at the Research Center of the University of Piraeus. His work, particularly focused on 5G/SDN networks, not only delved into the technological aspects but also considered their application in real-life scenarios, utilizing innovative tools to meet the needs of the ICT industry. He has contributed to research projects within the framework of EU Programmes, such as 5GTANGO, WindSider, MobiSpaces, Atlantis, Fame, with research interests spanning data management throughout the software life cycle and the enhancement of service quality through the monitoring of resources in fully distributed systems.
Dr. Touloupou is currently a senior researcher at the Institute for the Future (IFF) at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. His research has pivoted to distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), participating in the Ripple research program—an open-source, peer-to-peer decentralized platform that facilitates seamless money transfers in various forms, from traditional currencies to cryptocurrencies like litecoin or bitcoin.
Having successfully defended his PhD thesis on “Assessing the Performance of Blockchain Protocols: Proposing and Validating a Blockchain Benchmarking Framework (BBF) through Controlled Deployments of XRPL and Ethereum,” Dr. Touloupou’s work at the University of Nicosia has significantly contributed to the field of decentralized technologies. His research focuses on enhancing the efficiency, security, and scalability of consensus algorithms in decentralized networks, marking a notable advancement in blockchain technology.
Lambis Dionysopoulos
Researcher
IFF
Lambis Dionysopoulos
Lambis Dionysopoulos
Researcher
IFF
Stamatis Papangelou
Researcher
IFF
Stamatis Papangelou
Stamatis Papangelou
Researcher
IFF
Stamatis (Manos) Papangelou is a PhD candidate and researcher in the DLRC.
Stamatis holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics from University of Macedonia in Greece. He also holds a MSc in Data Science from International Hellenic University and graduated with honors.
Stamatis shows his passion about Blockchain technologies from his early part of his academic carrier with Bachelor thesis titled: Digital Currencies: A Multivariate GARCH Approach and Master Thesis titled: Chaotic pattern assessment and exploitation in Blockchain Technology. Stamatis also holds publications on the fields on blockchain, forecasting and dynamics of disaster.
His current PhD research focuses on the decentralization and autonomous aspects of a DAO in the DeFi ecosystem. The ambition of his study is to categorize and measure decentralization levels of DeFi protocols and study how can Artificial Intelligence can promote autonomous financial services.
INDUSTRY FELLOWS & INSTRUCTORS
Andreas Antonopoulos
Bitcoin & Open Blockchain Expert, Best-Selling Author
Andreas Antonopoulos
Andreas M. Antonopoulos
Bitcoin & Open Blockchain Expert, Best-Selling Author
Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a best-selling author, speaker, educator, and one of the world’s foremost bitcoin and open blockchain experts. He is known for delivering electric talks that combine economics, psychology, technology, and game theory with current events, personal anecdote, and historical precedent effortlessly transliterating the complex issues of blockchain technology out of the abstract and into the real world.
In 2014, Antonopoulos authored the groundbreaking book, Mastering Bitcoin (O’Reilly Media), widely considered to be the best technical guide ever written about the technology. His second book, The Internet of Money, unveiled the “why” of bitcoin—and became a bestseller on Amazon— and led to the wildly successful follow-up The Internet of Money Volume Two. His fourth book, Mastering Ethereum (O’Reilly Media) was published in December of 2018.
He is a teaching fellow with the University of Nicosia, serves on the Oversight Committee for the Bitcoin Reference Rate at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and has appeared as an expert witness in hearings around the world, including the Australian Senate Banking Committee and the Canadian Senate Commerce, Banking and Finance Committee.
Professor Nassim Nicholas Taleb
NYC
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Professor Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Nassim Nicholas Taleb spent more than 20 years as a derivatives trader before starting a full-time career in research in the field of risk management and applied probability.
Taleb has been involved in risk-based policy making, advising the IMF, and the UK Prime Minister on model error and the detection and mitigation of tail exposures. He has also been hired the RAND corporation and various branches of the U.S. government and has testified twice for the United States Congress.
Taleb holds a PhD from the University of Paris and an MBA from the Wharton School. He is the author of the Incerto, a 4-volume essay on uncertainty (Antifragile, The Black Swan, Fooled by Randomness, The Bed of Procrustes), and Dynamic Hedging (1997), a technical clinical book on derivatives, in addition to Silent Risk, a freely available technical book (and reexpression of the Incerto) in applied probability theory.
Jeff Bandman
Founder & Principal
Bandman Advisors
Jeff Bandman
Jeff Bandman,
Founder & Principal,
Bandman Advisors
Jeff Bandman leads Bandman Advisors, an advisory practice helping clients ranging from governments to global firms to start-ups meet strategic innovation and regulatory challenges. He is currently advising the government of the Republic of Cyprus on new DLT legislation. He is also conducting a national risk assessment for Cyprus under new FATF requirements with respect to virtual assets and virtual asset service providers. He regularly advises clients on matters relating to cryptoassets, blockchain, FinTech, RegTech, financial markets and the US and international regulatory framework. He also conducts training seminars for regulators on digital assets and international standards.
He leads Regulatory Strategy for Kalshi, an innovative new U.S. exchange recently licensed by the CFTC and dedicated to event contracts. Jeff is widely recognized as a thought leader, speaker and educator on financial markets and regulation as well as blockchain and cryptoasset law, regulation and policy. He is co-Founder and Board Member of the Global Digital Finance policy initiative and leads its regulatory engagement globally. He teaches law, policy and regulation of blockchain and cryptoassets at the University of Nicosia’s Institute for the Future (IFF). As Lecturer in Global Affairs at Yale, he taught blockchain, cryptoassets and public policy in the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. He is also an advisor to CipherTrace, a leading cryptoasset AML, compliance and
forensic intelligence company.
Jeff Bandman is also Founder and CEO of BlockAgent Inc., a new independent SEC-registered transfer agent focused on blockchain-based digital securities. BlockAgent is the new regulated market infrastructure bringing trust and compliance to digital securities. Jeff also chairs the Blockchain Committee of the Securities Transfer Association.
Previously, Jeff was a senior official at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He is best known as the architect responsible for the design and launch of LabCFTC, the CFTC’s hub for engagement with FinTech innovation (the first launched by a U.S. market regulator). As an Advisor to Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo, Jeff was Founding Director and architect of LabCFTC. He established and chaired the CFTC blockchain, virtual currencies and FinTech working group from inception in 2015. Jeff led FinTech and RegTech coordination with domestic and international regulators and led work by international regulators on post-trade digital innovation. He joined the CFTC as Special Counsel to Chairman Timothy G. Massad, and led the CFTC’s Division of Clearing and Risk, which oversees many of the world’s largest clearinghouses. He led the negotiations resulting in “Clearinghouse Equivalence” with the European Commission. He also led the CFTC’s Office of International Affairs.
Jeff worked for many years in the financial industry in New York and London. He rebuilt and ran Cantor Fitzgerald’s market data business after the events of September 11. As Head of Partnerships & Alliances of LCH’s SwapClear, he helped design and launch the SwapClear “FCM service” for clearing interest rate swaps through US intermediaries after the financial crisis.
Mr.Bandman started his career as an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York. He graduated from Yale magna cum laude, with honors in History and English. He received his law degree from Stanford Law School, with honors as a member of the “Order of the Coif”. He is a five-time Jeopardy! Champion and spent his winnings backpacking around Africa, Asia and Europe.
Irénée Dondjio
Faculty Member
Irénée Dondjio
Irénée Dondjio
Dr. Konstantinos Karasavvas
Faculty Member
Dr Konstantinos Karasavvas
Dr. Konstantinos Karasavvas
Software Architect & Researcher
Dr. Konstantinos Karasavvas is a computer scientist with 20+ years of experience. He has worked in academic research in multi-agent systems and service-oriented architectures for about a decade and following that he worked in the industry as a software architect and engineer for several years and in several domains; from bioinformatics to finance. Currently, and for the last 6 years, he is focused solely on blockchain technologies as a consultant. He is teaching and leading several research and development teams in both academia and industry. He is also an open source contributor and an active member of local Bitcoin communities, organizing meetups and presenting in events.
Dr. Apostolos Kourtis
University of East Anglia
Apostolos Kourtis
Dr. Apostolos Kourtis,
University of East Anglia
Dr Apostolos Kourtis is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Finance and the Head of the Finance Group at Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, UK. His research areas include investment management, forecasting, blockchain finance and cryptocurrency markets, corporate finance, mathematical modelling and scientific computing. His work has been published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Journal of Empirical Finance and the Financial Review. His research has also been featured in popular media outlets, such as the Financial Times, Bloomberg and the Telegraph. Apostolos read for his doctorate at the Athens University of Economics and Business. Prior to his doctoral studies, Apostolos obtained an MSc in Applied and Computational Mathematics from the University of Oxford and a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Athens.
Athanasios Leontaris
Lawyer
Athanasios Leontaris
Athanasios Leontaris
Lawyer
Dr. Theodosis Mourouzis
Academic & Entrepreneur
Theodosis Mourouzis
Dr. Theodosis Mourouzis
Academic & Entrepreneur
Mark Toohey
Founder & Principal
Adroit Lawyers
Mark Toohey
Mark Toohey
Founder & Principal
Adroit Lawyers
Mark has been involved with technology throughout his career. After decades of experience in the television industry he became heavily involved in the startup sector. He is a legal expert on cryptocurrencies and digital currency regulation.
In late 2012, he recognised the potential of digital currency and Blockchain technology. The firm he founded, helped organise and lead blockchain conferences at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Oxford and Cambridge universities.
Working in conjunction with the Commonwealth Bank, they organised the most significant blockchain event ever held in Australia: the five-day Sydney Blockchain Workshop. Over 40 industry leaders from around the world flew in for the event in 2015. Speakers included: Vitalkek Buterin (founder of Ethereum); Joi Ito (director of MIT Media Lab); and Lawrence Lessig (Harvard law professor and former US Presidential Candidate).
Mark understands the legal, commercial, and the technical aspects of the technology. He has been a lecturer in a masters course on Digital Currency Regulation with the University of Nicosia since the end of 2015. The course has a strong international reputation for pioneering the field of cryptocurrency studies.
Mark was one of the first lawyers in the world to lecture on the technology and its commercial application. He has spoken at numerous national and international conferences.
His knowledge of this cutting-edge technology is built upon a solid commercial foundation. In addition to working as a lawyer in some of Australia’s leading law firms, Mark has been General Counsel for a telecommunications company and a major television company which were both publicly listed.
After founding Adroit Lawyers, Mark has helped dozens of companies turn their ideas into businesses. Many were technology companies focused on disrupting and transforming industry. He understands how to commercialize products and he knows the importance of strong contracts as a business development tool.
Dimitrios Tzovaras
CERTH/ITI
Dr. Dimitrios Tzovaras
Dr. Dimitrios Tzovaras
CERTH/ITI
Dr. Ioannis Vlachos
Blockchain Energy Expert
Dr. Ioannis Vlachos
Dr. Ioannis Vlachos
Blockchains and Energy Expert
Dr Vlachos is a seasoned professional with more than 15 years of experience working with some of the biggest energy companies, consultancy firms, and system integrators worldwide. He is also actively working closely with both academia and industry in well-known projects in Europe, South America, and MENA region that merge the worlds of energy and ICT. Dr Vlachos has been awarded with the “Ericsson Award of Excellence in Telecommunications” and has authored more that 40 scientific publications in international journals and conferences. His current interests are focused at the crossroads of Internet of Things, blockchains, distributed ledger technologies, and cybersecurity with the energy sector. Dr Vlachos holds an MSc and PhD from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
Dr. Konstantinos Votis
CERTH/ITI
Dr. Konstantinos Votis
Dr. Konstantinos Votis
CERTH/ITI
Staff
Myvonne Alasia
Enrolment Advisor
IFF
Myvonne Alasia
Enrolment Advisor
IFF
Kristina Arapidou
Admissions Officer
IFF
Kristina Arapidou
Kristina Arapidou
Admissions Officer
IFF
Hazal Aripinar
Business Development and Enrolment Manager
IFF
Hazal Aripinar
Hazal Aripinar
Business Development and Enrolment Manager
IFF
Maria Charalambous
Exam Coordinator
IFF
Maria Charalambous
Maria Charalambous
Exam Coordinator
IFF
Marianna Charalambous
Research Project Manager
IFF
Marianna Charalambous
Marianna Charalambous
Research Project Manager
IFF
Zoe Constantinou
Student Academic Advisor
IFF
Zoe Constantinou
Student Academic Advisor
IFF
George Ioannou
Senior Enrolment Advisor
IFF
George Ioannou
George Ioannou
Senior Enrolment Advisor
IFF
Armantos Katsioloudes
Enrolment Advisor
IFF
Armantos Katsioloudes
Armantos Katsioloudes
Enrolment Advisor
IFF
Demetris Klokkaris
Senior Enrolment Advisor
IFF
Demetris Klokkaris
Demetris Klokkaris
Senior Enrolment Advisor
IFF
Elena Kontemeniotis
Office of the CEO
IFF
Elena Kontemeniotis
Elena Kontemeniotis
Office of the CEO
IFF, UNIC
With more than 25 years of experience, after receiving both of her degrees, Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Public Relations from the University of Berkeley, Elena Kontemeniotis started her career working as the Protocol Officer in the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Cyprus to the United Nations in New York. Her work included handling the protocol matters in cooperation with the United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service and the US Department of State Protocol Office, coordinating the Ambassador’s office on major operations and cooperating with high-ranked representatives from various nations. One of her most notable projects included participating in the team designated to handle the negotiations held at the time at the United Nations Headquarters in New York regarding the Cyprus Question. After moving to Cyprus in the mid-2000s, Elena has worked in a range of management roles and offered her expertise in private enterprises handling operations, business development and marketing. She also planned and executed Corporate events for many influential companies. Elena is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Cyprus. From 2019-2021 she was the Chairwoman of the Events & Communications Committee of the Chamber and as of January 2022 she serves as the Chairwoman of the Women in Business Committee. Currently, she holds the position of the Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer at the University of Nicosia, where she serves as a liaison and undertakes projects and special operations.
Andreas Michael
Senior Enrolment Advisor
IFF
Andreas Michael
Andreas Michael
Senior Enrolment Officer
IFF
Ioanna Pavlou
Admissions Officer
IFF
Ioanna Pavlou
Admissions Officer
IFF
Gamaliel Dafe Tuoyo
Enrolment Advisor
IFF
Gamaliel Dafe Tuoyo
Gamaliel Dafe Tuoyo
Enrolment Advisor
IFF
