Dr. Erika Vaiginienė
Erika Vaiginienė, Ph.D. is Associate Professor at Vilnius University, Foresight Consultant at Futures Sandbox, Founder of the Research Institute for Changes, and Head of The Millennium Project Node in Lithuania.
She is an experienced researcher with a long history of working in the higher education sector. She is distinguished by her strong entrepreneurial and analytical skills and is a professional in business planning, strategic management, and mentoring.
Her areas of research and consulting include international company development, strategic management, quality system implementation and management, higher education management, entrepreneurship, clustering and innovation process management, and national policy development.
Recently, Erika contributed to several studies and evaluations on European and Lithuanian higher education, entrepreneurship, and innovation support programs. She was involved in the “Global Entrepreneurship Monitor” (2011–2014) – the world’s foremost trusted resource on entrepreneurship for key international organizations, including the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Change management is the keyword that connects Erika’s extensive experience in research and management. As a Researcher at her Research Institute for Changes, she has more than 18 years of work experience in the higher education sector, holding various positions, including lecturer, researcher, head of science, innovation, and quality assurance, head of strategic management, department head, and director of a business school.
She started her work experience at her parents’ small production company, which encouraged her interest in change management research. During her Ph.D. studies, Erika analyzed a production company‘s internationalization process and changes in a volatile business environment.
Erika was the Managing Director at the Ateities biomedicinos fondas, Labdaros ir paramos fondas (The Future Biomedicine Foundation) between 2022 and 2025. The Foundation is the only foundation in Lithuania specializing in personalized medicine research. It contributes to the development of research, solutions, and thus the advancement of the field of biomedicine in Lithuania.
Between 2016 and 2020, she was a Senior Consultant at the Technopolis Group. Founded in 1989 as an academic spin-off of Sussex University (UK), Technopolis Group is an international research and consulting organization working for the public sector. Starting as a frontrunner in the science, technology, and innovation policy sector, they have grown and diversified their areas of expertise and solutions to climate change and environment, digital transformation, education and skills, life sciences and health, and international cooperation.
Concurrently, Erika was the Manager of Strategic Projects at Kaunas University of Technology and an Innovation Consultant at the Agency for Science, Innovation, and Technology (MITA).
Previously, between 2011 and 2016, Erika was the Head of Academic Division at the International Business School at Vilnius University. She became a Deputy Director for Research, Innovation, and Quality Assurance in 2011, and later on became the Head of the Academic Division. Before that, she established an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre at the same business school and began developing knowledge commercialization activities.
She initiated the Entrepreneurship Research Group at Vilnius University’s International Business School and, in partnership with the Ministry of Economy and “Enterprise Lithuania”, started the annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor research activities in Lithuania in 2011. As a result, Lithuania has been included in the Global Entrepreneurship Development Index (GEDI) ranking since 2013.
In 2013, she was appointed as the Acting Director for six months. During that period, she established a faculty management process, changed the management of master’s degree programs, and worked on the Business School’s culture change process.
Erika is a member of the Academy of Management (AOM) and the Academy of International Business (AIB), a representative of Lithuania in the Euro-Mediterranean Research Business Institute (EMRBI), and an expert with the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA).
She is a certified Research manager (EFMD – European Foundation for Management Development), a member of the International Association for Management Development in Dynamic Societies (CEEMAN), and a certified change management Integrator (Adizes Institute, USA).
Between 2014 and 2019, she was the expert of the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Erika has been progressing with Foresight methodologies since 2018. She continues to study Foresight techniques through courses organized by the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (UK) in partnership with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
Erika earned her Ph.D. in Social Sciences with a focus on Business Administration and Management. She is a certified change manager. In 2018, she completed the course “The Art of Insight and Sustainable Future Development” at the University of Manchester’s Innovation Research Institute in the UK, in collaboration with VTT in Finland.
Her recent work includes HEInnovate (Higher education innovation, 2018), Working remotely: interaction and relationships between employer image, employee motivation and retention in the company, Impact of COVID-19 on investments by companies in research, development and innovation: The case of Lithuania, and Management and Leadership Development Needs: The Case of Lithuania. In Business and Society: Making Management Education Relevant for the 21st Century (2018).
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