College of Graduate Studies
Prof Stefan Schepers
| College of Graduate Studies | |
|---|---|
| Department: Research | |
| E-mail: | stefan.schepers@highlevelgroup.eu |
Other
Prof Schepers will bring his extensive experience and expertise to the College of Graduate Studies, where they will be mobilised in service of our catalytic niche area optimisation processes. The focus of his 2025 interventions will be on exploring the impact of research beyond academia. He will facilitate sessions where colleagues and postgraduate students can unpack how the twin imperatives of excellence and efficacy can and should shape our catalytic niche area scholarly engagements.
To serve economic and welfare growth in society, research needs to be designed, and its output measured by a double standard : excellence and efficacy. Excellence concerns the intrinsic quality of research methodology. Efficacy (or optimisation) concerns the usefulness of its output, by internalising strategic challenges in society and/or of the economy. Both excellence and efficacy are not single, but plural and interdependent.
The result of research, knowledge increase, is an inclusive concept. It can only grow through an intelligent mixture of specialisation and trans-disciplinarity, planning and experimentation, and it can involve people who are not scientists according to modern definition, but which have experience and wisdom. It requires outside-the-box thinking, stimulation of creativity and serendipity.
The seminars proposed will seek to stimulate this in the various catalytic niche areas, to start with by taking an interdependent approach, where possible; later followed by a singular niche approach.
Bio:
Stefan Schepers is currently executive director of the High Level Groups on EU Policy Innovation www.highlevelgroup.eu and its research & operational platform ‘The Centre Condorcet’, www.centrecondorcet.eu. Since 2012, they are a new model of public-private-academic cooperation for policy innovation.
He is visiting professor at Henley Business School, Department of Business Strategy, University of Reading (UK) (www.henley.ac.uk) since 2014.
Earlier he has been Director general of the European Institute of Public Administration (Maastricht, 1981-1990) and advisor to EU governments (2005-2018). He was chairman of EPPA, a specialist consulting firm on corporate strategy and policy alignment, working for corporations in Africa, Europe and USA.
Stefan holds a Master in Law, University of Leuven (B), a Master in Advanced European studies, University of Strasbourg (F), and a Ph.D. in Political Sciences, University of Edinburgh (UK).
He published articles on EU governance and corporate management. His latest book is ‘Reimagine Africa’, with co-author Adeyinka Adewale (2022).
Publications:
“Rethinking the future of Europe, co-ed. Andrew Kakabadse” (2014).
“Revolutionising EU Innovation Policy”, co-ed. Klaus Gretschmann (2016).
“Innovation, governance and entrepreneurship : how do they evolve in mid-income countries”, co-ed. Sefer Sener (2017).