Dr Evy Sakellariou

My focus in T&L lies on the student relationship. I am a strong advocate of Comer's (1995) theory that suggests there is no significant learning without a significant relationship that flourishes in a supportive context and within a collaborative culture. Such a culture however is not universally experienced. Supportive teaching and learning are deemed to be inclusive-thus student-centered- so that pedagogy, curriculum and assessments are delivered to engage students into meaningful and accessible learning (Hocking, 2010). Co-created curriculum content, assessments and integrated study skills that are relevant to students' diverse backgrounds and experiences enhance the sense of belonginess which is an important manifestation of the student engagement (Crosling et al., 2009). Such curricula are developed through a strategic approach and innovation in practice (McDuff et al., 2020).

These literature streams have underpinned and shaped the development of my 3D strategy for leading pedagogy and curriculum at the PG Course level and the Group Contract innovative pedagogical approach that embraced diversity in T&L and assessment and enabled students  to "see" themselves, their backgrounds and their aspirations into the curriculum. The mega trends affecting HE and the labour market require the integration of employability skills into the learning process that support the careers of the graduates (Brown, 2014;Lines, 2011). To meet this call by the pedagogical researchers, I have designed and implemented a dynamic interplay between student relationship, engagement, inclusivity and employability in my teaching. By embedding into the curriculum carefully designed skill development workshops with practice-based experiences and by linking those with systematic reflection, the content has become more relevant, meaningful. The results were significant: student engagement and sense of belonging have been one of the strongest within the PG SMI Courses. and the student feedback has been excellent (MEQs): "Lecturers: are very helpful, flexible, kind, full of knowledge, great teaching skills with interactive teaching; Course content and its presentation are great;The modules are very useful and related to the course; Great course, that helps to promote students' leadership and entrepreneurship abilities"

Modules taught:

BS 7603 Entrepreneurship and Growth of Innovative Businesses

BS 6205 International Entrepreneurship in SMEs

BS 4203 Innovation Management

BS 7610 Research Project and Research Proposal (Dissertation)

BQ 7804 Advance Qualitative Research (visiting)

Qualifications and expertise

• Senior Fellowship Higher Education Academy
• Nominated for T&L Impact Award 2020
• Runner up Lecturer of the Year 2019

Undergraduate courses taught

• Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management BSc (Hons)
• International Business BSc (Hons)

Postgraduate courses taught

• Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship MSc

I have initiated and led numerous international research projects with top researchers in their fields and I led (and co-led) the authorship of numerous research/practice based outputs in the fields of creativity and innovation management. My leadership on the video based ethnographic narratives for user foresights project, for example, has achieved a wider impact in a) informing international debate in the areas of market research, foresight and user innovation b) supporting PhD development and examination; d) increasing awareness in the KBS academic community and beyond by receiving funding for open access; e) enhancing international research debate & resulting in two publications (TFS ABS 3* 5,846 impact factor, the top journal in innovation studies, 17th among all business journals).

My co-leadership of the international research project on the under-explored topic of underground creativity and innovation has resulted in a) a publication at a World Elite journal (OS ABS 4*, 5,000 impact factor) and, b) a strong international network of award winning and thought provoking creativity scholars and researchers, c) enhancing the Kingston Business School reputation beyond borders and I organized the first ever international Symposium of Underground Creativity & Innovation with award winning scholars and thought-provoking researchers.

Support for PhD community:

PhD viva Internal Examiner: Mr. Juan Soon

PhD viva Internal Examiner: Ms. Barbara Jensen

Lead developer and author of a novel video-based ethnographic research method 

PhD topics 

• The influencing factors of individual creativity in entrepreneurial innovation
• Underground (hidden) creativity and organizational paradoxes
• Storytelling and future-oriented sensemaking for the early start of innovation
• Playfulness and Artificial Intelligence for future-oriented innovation
• Artificial Intelligence and user foresights for breakthrough innovations
• The role of the Metaverse in the early start of innovation
• The interrelationship of strategic foresight and creativity for innovation management

Qualifications and expertise

• Organizer of the 1st International Symposium Underground Organizational Creativity & Innovation with award winning scholars and thought provoking researchers
• REF 21 Internal Review Panel member
• Kingston University Covid-19 Think Tank member
• Field Expert: UK Parliament Covid-19
• Funding Award: Publication Golden Open Access TFS Journal
• Co-contributor KU interdisciplinary bid for the Leverhulme Center for Cognitive & Sensory Vision
• Internal Reviewer KU bid: Exploiting first-person videos potential for behavioural insights: A proposal for the DASA Behavioural Analytics competition
• PhD registered supervisor/PhD examiner

Areas of specialism

• Qualitative Research
• Video-based ethnographic method

Scholarly affiliations

• University of Surrey UK
• Loyola University of Chicago USA
• British Academy of Management
• Academy of Management
• IPDMC

Research student supervision

• Mr Nishanth Bhimireddy
• Ms Bettina Gárdász
• Mr Lesley Stigling

Publications

I have developed business partnerships through my strong business network to inform two novel pedagogical interventions for bridging theory with practice in the curricula.  The first was the "Experiential reflective visits" scheme that involved live learning experiences that involved reflection log in real time and in class; these activities were in collaboration with the MSc IME Course's new business partners Unilever, GSK and Mayor's of London enterprise team. The second was the "Business Mentors" Program in collaboration with the Young Enterprise South London. In the past two years, these interventions have improved student metacognitive understanding of employability requirements: "Throughout our MSc IME journey, we had multiple opportunities to study…what type of innovation management method they apply to achieve their company objectives…. This discovery was not limited within the classroom setting, but we had a once in a life-time opportunity to visit GlaxoSmithKline, a highly innovative, reputable pharmaceutical company. This was truly an incredible experience, as even entering the doors of GSK filled us with hope and accomplishment…" (Course Rep. testimonial). 

Qualifications and PROFESSIONAL expertise

• Innovation Management
• Marketing Management
• Strategic Management
• People Management

Industry links

• Unilever
• Glaxo SmithKline
• Jacobs Douwe Egberts
• Stirixis Group International Consultancy
• Dixons
• Young Enterprise South London
• Hellenic Association of Management
• Chiltern American Women Association
• Mayor's of London Enterprise Competition Team
• Metallaxis global foresight virtual platform

In my role as a PG Course Director I have developed and implemented a 3D strategy that has integrated and embedded inclusivity, employability and engagement in a holistic manner in the course curriculum. Beyond the direct outcomes, wide ranging impacts have achieved from my leadership of this strategy: a) increasing awareness of best practices within the FBSS community; b) informing PhD research recruitment for KBS; c) influencing PG and UG curricula developments and employability practices at the KBS level.

I have created a staff community that champions the Group Contract a pedagogical innovation that I have designed and which involves a novel approach for the development of group work skills during assessments. The Group Contract pedagogical approach addresses the systemic problems associated with group learning work in formative and summative assessments in HE and provides a living tool of a written agreement among group members to take equal opportunities for ownership and accountability. My leadership in this area has had a wide impact including: a) developing novel resources to enhance professional practice for group assessments at KBS and the School of Arts-these resources have been made available in virtual collaborative spaces in T&L and Employability spaces; b) raising awareness of the new learning and pedagogical practice within the KU academic community. This case was shortlisted among 70 other submissions at the KU Virtual Festival of Learning 2020 where I introduced the approach to a wider audience and was invited for presentation at the 1st KU Employability Summit in 2021; c) supporting colleagues before-during and post implementation and eliciting  their insights into ways to continually develop, refine and customise this educational product.

I have developed and led the deployment of an innovative pedagogical method, the Storytelling Workshop for enhancing critical thinking skills in MSc IME and UG curricula. This novel method addresses the enduring issue of students' low interest in the learning of critical thinking which in turns impacts negatively the improvement of the students' academic and employability skills. The main benefits that arose from this case study were:a) stimulating debate in the KU academic community. I have shared this approach in UG Course meetings and in the KU critical thinking community.  The innovative storytelling workshops for critical thinking skills in the curricula in face to face and virtual classes have been observed by KU colleagues who shared ideas how to adopt this method in their own teaching and underlined the value of the co-creation in storytelling and its impact in student engagement; b) increasing awareness in the KU academic community  at the KU Festival of Learning 2019; c) informing pedagogical innovation at the KU level. The insights drawn from the MSc IME qualitative focus group have informed the development of a new Critical Thinking tool namely the Critically Connect which enables students to use critical thinking as a catalyst to develop skills in professional contexts (Wason, Nov. 2020).

University responsibilities

• PG Course Programme Leadership: design, planning, management and review
• KBS Research Hub Founding team member: production of research output; design/delivery of PhD student workshops
• PG and UG Module Leadership: design, delivery and review