Natalia Nikolova

Natalia Nikolova is a Professor in Organisation Studies and Director of PLUS UTS Business Futures at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Business School. She holds a PhD in economic and political sciences from the University of Cologne, Germany. Her research focuses on strategy, innovation, leadership, and the intersection of ethics and business education. She has held leadership roles, including Director of UTS EMBA and Advanced MBA programs, and has extensive experience in designing innovative educational programs.

Education: PhD (Dr. rer. pol.) in Economic and Political Sciences from the University of Cologne (Germany), visiting researcher at the Australian Graduate School of Management, and senior lecturer at the University of Cologne.

Research Interests: Strategy, innovation, leadership, project-based organizations, professional services, design thinking, and ethical business practices. Her work emphasizes integrating insights from multiple disciplines to address complex organizational challenges, with industry collaborations including Mirvac, Royal Australian Air Force, and BAE Systems Australia.

Awards: UTS Business School Achievement Award for Sustained Innovation, Australian Government Learning & Teaching Citation, and multiple UTS Learning & Teaching Awards for her contributions to educational innovation and student learning.

Teaching & Leadership: Academic Director of PLUS UTS Business Futures, leading enterprise learning initiatives. Her pedagogical innovations, such as the 'Managing, Leading and Stewardship' course, focus on ethical decision-making and moral accountability. She has pioneered experiential and project-based learning approaches.

Grants & Collaborations: Led projects funded by BAE Systems Australia, Defence Science and Technology Group, and others, focusing on innovation ecosystems, risk management, and professional development. Her recent research explores distributed leadership in professional sports, veterans' entrepreneurship, and design-driven strategy.

Labs/Teams: PLUS UTS Business Futures, an enterprise learning unit fostering collaboration between academia and industry. She contributes to editorial roles at the Journal of Professions and Organization and reviews for top journals like Organization Studies and Long Range Planning.