(in alphabetical order)

Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente

Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6099-7899, Daniel.Balsalobre@uclm.es) is PhD in Economics and Full Professor (Tenure) in the Department of Applied Economics I, at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
At the academic and research level, Daniel Balsalobre is an expert in public finance, energy economics, economic growth and environment, tourism, and innovation and globalization. In recent years I have published more than 150 studies in journals and book chapters of reputed prestige and international scientific impact, including Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Resources Policy, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of Cleaner Production, Sustainability, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Energies, and Journal of Public Affairs, among others. Prof Balsalobre currently serves as editor-in-chief of Evaluation Review (SAGE) and associate editor at Heliyon (Elsevier), Environment, Development and Sustainability (Springer), Gondwanda Research (Elsevier), and other WOS journals. I am also a guest editor for Renewable Energy (Elsevier), Utilities Policy (Elsevier), Energy Sources Part B (Taylor), Sustainability (MDPI), Energies (MDPI), among others; also being an expert reviewer of more than 500 articles for highly indexed journals and handbooks. As a result of his academic career, he currently accumulates around 15000 citations in google scholar and h-index 62 and has entered the International Ranking elaborated by Stanford University for those top2% Researchers and 2022, 2023 Clarivate Highly Researcher 2022 and 2023. Ive received some Awards as Regional Best Researcher in Social Sciences in Castilla La Mancha.

José M. Cantos

Professor José M. Cantos studied Economics at the University of Valencia, holds a PhD in Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid, and has been a professor at the University of Castilla-La Mancha since 1991. He has also taught courses at the University of Santiago de Cali (Colombia), the University of Warsaw, the Maison des Pays Iberiques (C.N.R.S) and the Université M. de Montaigne (Bordeaux III) in Bordeaux (France), as well as at other Spanish institutions. He has completed research stays at the Royal Complutense College of Harvard (Mass.), the Institut d’Economie Regional du Sud-Ouest (I.E.R.S.O.), the University of Santiago de Cali (Colombia), the Université de Bordeaux I, and the Montpellier Business School (Montpellier), in addition to several stays at Spanish research centers. He was Vice-Rector of the University of Castilla-La Mancha from 1997 to 2003 and has held positions on the boards of directors of several companies in the Spanish financial, banking, and insurance sectors. His research interests have included health economics, regional policy and development, fiscal federalism and international taxation, energy innovation and the environment, and the economics of corruption. Since April 2000, he has been a Full Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Castilla-La Mancha.

Carlo Drago

CARLO DRAGO is Associate Professor in Economic Statistics at the University Niccolò Cusano, formerly Expert at the European Commission (HORIZON Expert Group at JRC/ Joint Research Center European Commission), and Member of the Working Group “Market Competition Innovation” of the Technical Panel on Industrial Policies of the Ministry of Economic Development. Carlo held a Ph.D. in Statistics from University “Federico II” in Naples. He was in their academic career senior researcher in Probability and Mathematical Statistics before and then a senior researcher in Economic Statistics at University Niccolò Cusano. Carlo is actually Editorial Board Member at Humanities & Social Science Communications (Springer Nature) and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Computational Economics and Econometrics (Inderscience Publishers). Carlo is also Research Associate at National Research Council (CNR) ISMed Institute
Carlo’s academic interests are methodologically in Machine Learning, both Unsupervised and Supervised Learning, and in applicate themes on Energy, Health, and Social Economic Themes such as Poverty. Carlo has recently published in Internationals Journals, among others, on Scientific Reports, Energy Policy, Ecological Economics, Business Strategy and the Environment, Technovation, Energy Research, and Social Science, Quality & Quantity, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Cliometrica.Carlo bibliometric indexes are 2374 citations, and h-index 24 (Google Scholar), and 1237 citations and an h-index 18 (Scopus).

Oana Driha

Oana M. Driha (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6388-5366) is Associate Professor of Applied Economics in the Faculty of Economics, Business and researcher at the Institute of Tourism Research as well as at the Institute of International Economy within the University of Alicante, Spain. Oana holds an international PhD in economics, a bachelor in International Economic Relations (University of Oradea) and another one in Tourism (University of Alicante).  Her research interests are focused on energy economics, innovation, tourism economics, climate change and economic growth. The results of her research are published in more than 20 papers in well-known international journals like Journal of Cleaner Production, Renewable energy, Resources Policy or Current issues in tourism.  

She also has vast experience as project manager in the field of energy transition, sustainable development, sustainable tourism and climate change in over 45 countries around the world. Oana has been collaborating with different donors like the European Commission, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the Spanish and the Philippines Ministry of Higher Education or the National Secretary of Science, Innovation and Technology.

Maria Gavrilescu

Professor Maria Gavrilescu (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0663-0316) is a chemical and environmental engineer whose work has significantly advanced sustainable industrial processes, environmental protection, and bioremediation technologies. She holds an engineering degree in Chemical Technology from the Polytechnic Institute of Iași, Romania, and a PhD in Chemical Engineering. Currently serving as Professor Emeritus at the ”Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iași, she has played a pivotal role in the development of environmental engineering research and the supervision of doctoral theses in the field. With a strong foundation in chemical and biological processes, Professor Gavrilescu has focused her research on biotechnological solutions for pollution control, including bioremediation, bioaccumulation, and phytoremediation. Her work also promotes sustainable production practices aligned with circular economy principles. She has led and collaborated on numerous national and international research initiatives, contributing to advancements in waste management, environmental risk assessment, and pollution mitigation. Internationally recognized for her academic achievements, Professor Gavrilescu has authored over 375 scientific articles, as well as books and patents, which have been extensively cited. As an editor of leading environmental journals, she actively contributes to shaping the global discourse in environmental engineering. Her affiliations with European scientific societies and advisory roles in research panels reflect her ongoing dedication to fostering sustainable technologies worldwide.

Cristina Góis

Cristina Góis (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1724-9411) is a Coordinator Professor (Associate Professor) at ISCAC | Coimbra Business School, part of the Polytechnic University of Coimbra (Coimbra, Portugal). She holds a Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Extremadura (Spain) and a Master’s degree in Accounting and Corporate Finance from Aberta University. She is Director of the Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Auditing, Coordinator of the Postgraduate Program in Accounting and Corporate Taxation, and Head of the International Relations Office. Since 2004, she has served as the Portuguese Coordinator of the international project ETAP – European Taxation and Accounting in Practice, which brings together 18 universities across 16 European countries. She has also been a Guest Professor at Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” (Novara, Italy), Saint Petersburg State University of Engineering and Economics – ENGECON (Saint Petersburg, Russia), and the University of Girona (Girona, Spain). Her primary research interests include corporate governance, IFRS implementation issues, integrated reporting, and sustainability reporting.

Devkant Kala

Dr. Devkant Kala is Associate Professor of Marketing at the School of Business, UPES, Dehradun, India. He earned his PhD in 2015 in services marketing, with research interests spanning consumer behavior, technology adoption, tourism and hospitality. He has published extensively in renowned international journals such as Current Issues in Tourism, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism, Digital Policy, Regulations, and Governance, Education and Information Technologies, and Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, among others. His paper titled “Examination of relationships among technology acceptance, student engagement, and perceived learning on tourism-related MOOCs” was awarded Best Paper 2023 by Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism (Taylor & Francis). He has supervised two scholars who have successfully earned their doctoral degrees and is currently guiding three other PhD scholars.

Valentina Ndou

Valentina Ndou (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2133-7887) is Associate Professor of Management Science and Engineering at the Department of Engineering for Innovation – University of Salento (Lecce, Italy) and PhD advisor. She is certified associate professor with more than 20 years of experience with European, international and national research projects. She has extensive experience in teaching and education in subjects related to e business, Digital transformation, Entrepreneurship education, project management, innovative management of Tourism systems, developing countries. She serves as expert for project evaluation for different science and research funds (e.g. Lithuania council of science, Serbia Science fund); She served as senior international consultant of UN IOM organization for assisting Albanian Ministry of Education and sports and the office of negotiation in the EU. By conducting research and reporting she has authored more than 50 papers published on leading international journals such as Technology Forecasting & Social Change, Management Science; Current issues in tourism. Co-author and co-editor of different books. She is appointed as advisory expert of the International Academic council of World Tourism Forum Institute. She is a member of the scientific committee of the Contamination Lab of the University of Salento, the extra-curricular laboratory that aims to spread the culture of entrepreneurship in young students. She served as mentor for different development of innovative entrepreneurial projects, leading them toward obtaining awards (such as Startup Puglia award 2018 or ‘Best Ecological Transition Project’ in 2022).

Félix Puime-Guillén

Félix Puime-Guillén has a Degree in Economics and Business Administration and a Doctorate in Business Administration and Management. Nowadays, He is Professor at the Business Department of the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of A Coruña (UDC), Spain. His research focuses renewable energies, finance , entrepreneurship and circular economy . His research activity was developed in various international research projects and in several foreign research centers and universities. He was investigator of the UDC of several research projects and Erasmus+ projects. As a result of these investigations, articles in high-impact journals have been published.

Krishanu Rakshit

Krishanu Rakshit is an Associate Professor in the Marketing Department at ICN ARTEM Business School, France. He had earlier worked as Associate Professor, Marketing at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, India. His research and teaching interests are varied; they include Online search behavior of consumers, Consumers’ identity creation in offline and online spaces, transformative consumer research for sustainable consumption practices and consumer behavior modelling using analytical models. His research has been published in European Journal of Operational Research, International Journal of Management Reviews, the European Journal of Marketing and Journal of Business Research among other academic outlets. He loves traveling across the globe and loves doing his bit for the voiceless.

Baiba Rivza

Baiba Rivza (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8719-3102) is Tenure  Professor of Latvija University of Life Sciences and Technologies ( Dr habilitus oec). Professor Baiba Rivza has different activities as  Secretary - General, Latvian Academy of Sciences, Latvia, full member of the Academy, President of Latvian Academy of  Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Member of the Council of the Union of European Academies for Sciences applied to Agriculture, Food and Nature (UEAA), head of Latvia division and vice chair of the Baltic agri-economic section - Nordic Agricultural Science Association (NJF). Foreign member of the Georgofili Academy ( Italy), Swedish Royal Academy of Agriculture and Forestry and Lithuanian Academy of Science. Her implication as expert from the European Academy of Sciences Academic Advisory Board (EASAC) in the field of economics. Professor Baiba Rivza iscoautor of scientific research „Circular economy: a commentary from the perspectives of the natural and social sciences”( www.easac.eu ) and ex-minister of Latvia Education and Science is the proof of the scientific commitment. Main research areas of prof. Baiba Rivza are digitalisation, sustainability,  agrobusiness, knowledge based economy, rural area development scenarios

Adam Samborski

Adam Samborski is a professor at the University of Economics in Katowice (Poland). He is an economist and lawyer by profession. He specialises in business management (strategic management, corporate governance, corporate financial management, business legal forms, organisation and management theory). At the University of Economics in Katowice, he holds the following positions: Dean of the Faculty of Management and Head of the Department of Enterprise Management. Since 2008, he has been a member of the Management Faculty Council at the University of Economics in Katowice, and since 2020, he has also been a member of the Senate of the University of Economics in Katowice and the Scientific Committee for Management and Quality Sciences. He is also a member of the professional association of tax advisors in Poland (National Chamber of Tax Advisors) and the professional association of economists in Poland (Polish Economic Society). He is also a member of numerous academic networks (including Social Responsibility Research Network, Leadership and Organisational Design RIG, International Network for Pensions Research).

Mahta Saremi

Mahta Saremi is an Adjunct professor in the Department of Tourism Management, Alborz Campus, University of Tehran. Her main research work is focused on the subject of Tourism Behavior and modelling, destination image in historical sites, new technologies for tourism development such as smart tourism and marketing tourism. She has been teaching tourist behavior as well as policy making in the industry of Tourism.
She is member of the Water & Life Foundation and Head of the International Committee of the Scientific Association of Waste Management.
She has work experience with the UNDP and the Department of Environment on the subject of Environmental Impact Assessment in Iran as well as the National Olympic Committee, Sport & Environment Commission. She has also been the member of the managing board of directors of the Iranian Association of Environmental Assessment. She has been working with different NGOs and organizers for conferences and events on environmental studies, knowledge management and sustainable development.

Gulzada Shakulikova

Dr. Gulzada Shakulikova is the Rector of Safi Utebayev Atyrau University of Oil and Gas, a Doctor of Economic Sciences, and Professor. With over 28 years of experience in higher education and scientific research, she has significantly contributed to the development of Kazakhstan’s oil and gas sector education. She is an active member of the KazEnergy Women’s Energy Club and Chair of the Bolashak Alumni Council for the Atyrau Region. Dr. Shakulikova has authored more than 80 scientific works and initiated certified MBA programs in Sustainable Development and Women’s Leadership in Energy. She continues to lead the strategic transformation of the university into a major center for engineering education in Kazakhstan. Dr. Gulzada Shakulikova is a Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor, and Rector of the Safi Utebayev Atyrau University of Oil and Gas.

Over the course of her distinguished career, Dr. Shakulikova has made a profound contribution to the advancement of higher education and scientific research in Kazakhstan, with a particular focus on the economics of the oil and gas sector. She plays an active role in professional networks, serving as a member of the Executive Committee of the KazEnergy Women’s Energy Club and Chair of the Bolashak Alumni Council for the Atyrau Region.

Dr. Shakulikova has amassed 28 years of professional experience, including five years as the Chair of the Management Board — Rector of the Safi Utebayev Atyrau University of Oil and Gas. Her career is closely associated with the development of higher education in Kazakhstan, having served in leadership roles at the nation’s leading universities. She currently leads the strategic transformation of her institution into an industrial university dedicated to producing highly qualified engineering personnel for the national oil and gas sector.

An accomplished scholar, Dr. Shakulikova has authored more than 80 scientific publications, including monographs, and her research is widely published in international academic journals. Her academic interests encompass macroeconomics, the oil and gas industry, oil and gas system management, sustainable development, and environmental issues. Understanding the critical importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles, she initiated the launch of certified MBA programs in Sustainable Development and Women’s Leadership in Energy, reinforcing the university’s commitment to global sustainability standards.

Alexandru Stratan

Alexandru STRATAN (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7086-8604), professor habil., PhD  in economic sciences, rector of Academy of Economuc Studies of Moldova (ASEM Chișinău), corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova has a successful activity, having prestigious scientific works, participating in various competitions, becoming Laureate of the Prize of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova in 2004, 2006 and Laureate of the Prize of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova "Scientist of the Year" (2014). In 2017 he was awarded the National Prize. Prof. Alexandru STRATANhas published as an author or in collaboration over 300 scientific and methodological-didactic works in the field of economics, including 7 monographs, 2 textbooks, 1 patent, 2 certificates of registration of objects of copyright and related rights. He has presented papers at numerous national and international scientific forums (Romania, Russia, Belgium, Georgia, France, Great Britain, Turkey, Latvia, Indonesia, Japan, China, etc.), participated in various professional internships (Germany, USA, Greece, Denmark, China, etc.), conducted research within various applied scientific projects (TACIS, GEF, NATO, CSŞDT, FP 7, Visegrad Fund, OECD, FAO, etc.). He also participated in the development of the regulatory framework: the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex of the Republic of Moldova (2008-2015), Licensing Conditions and Lists of Supplementary Documents, which are attached to applications for issuing licenses for practicing certain types of activity in the agro-industrial field, Integrated Development Strategies for a number of districts of the Republic of Moldova (Hâncești, Rezina, Călărași, Ialoveni, Leova, Fălești, Florești, Orhei), SME Development Strategy, SND 2020, as well as other policy documents attested by implementation certificates.

Upul Subasinghe

Prof. Upul Subasinghe is the dean of Faculty of Applied Sciences from University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. With over 30 years of academic and research experience in forestry and environmental science, Prof. Upul Subasinghe brings a multidisciplinary perspective to innovation in the digital economy. His  expertise spans forest management, remote sensing, GIS, and sustainability standards—areas closely aligned with innovation ecosystems and digital platforms. Prof. Upul Subasinghe has led collaborative research on AI applications in tree growth modeling and pioneered studies on high-value forest products, integrating science with business innovation. As a trained Forest Certification Auditor and past President of the Institute of Biology, Sri Lanka, Prof. Upul Subasinghe contributes insights bridging technology, regulation, and co-creation in environmental and knowledge-based sectors.

Valentina Vasile

Valentina Vasile (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2368-1377), PhD in economics, full professor and senior researcher first degree is working as Scientific Director of The Institute of National Economy- Romanian Academy. She is also PhD coordinator at the doctoral school of the Romanian Academy. Has a wide experience as researcher in economics, who participated in internal and international interdisciplinary research projects, main topics of research being labour economics, migration, human capital, digital economy and employment, social policies, education, and macroeconomics, sustainable development, resilience and circular economy. She has a good international cooperation as coordinator, team member in interdisciplinary research projects financed from European funds, Horizon2020, SEE Program, Black Sea Basin ENI CBC, CEDEFOP, ILO.