Dr. Epaminondas (大龙) Christophilopoulos

Epaminondas (大龙) Christophilopoulos, Ph.D. is the Chair at UNESCO on Futures Research hosted by the Institute of Technology and Research at the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) and is the President of the Management Board of MOMUS, the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki.

In December 2018, the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas and UNESCO signed a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of a Research Chair in Futures Research. The Foresight and Tools Unit of PRAXI Network is leading the activities of the Chair.

Since 2023, Nondas has been a Member of the Expert Group on the Economic and Societal Impact of Research and Innovation (ESIR). ESIR is a high-level expert group that provides evidence-based policy advice to the Commission on how to develop a forward-looking and transformative research and innovation policy.

He has been the Vice President of the Foresight Europe Network (FEN) since 2023. The Network is the joint initiative of the European Millennium Project Nodes Initiative (EuMPI) and the European Regional Foresight College (ERFC) with the aim to promote foresight activities in Europe.

In 2010, Nondas joined The Millennium Project as Co-Chair of the Greek Node located in Thessaloniki, Greece. Their main goal is to help in the modernization process of Southeastern Europe, by giving special emphasis on the implementation of the science of future studies through direct diffusion of the results to organizations, businesses, and other stakeholders. Members of the node are Universities, SMEs, NGOs, state organizations, experts, and the UNDP/BRC Regional Centre for the Regional Centre for Public Administration Reform. Currently, its HQ is located in the Phemonoe Lab, in the Thessaloniki Innovation Zone.

Previously, between 2021 and 2023, Nondas was Chief Scientific Advisor to the Special Secretariat for Strategic Foresight, under the Presidency of the Greek Government and was in the Academic Supervisory Committee of the Master Program on Strategic Foresight and Futures Studies at Hellenic Open University until 2023.

Nondas earned his Ph.D. in Strategic Prospecting and Economics in 2018 from VUZF University. His work hypothesis was that foresight, and especially scenarios, offer a suitable method to create future-orientation, futures mindset, and build a resilient long-term organization strategy. As a case study, he used scenarios and gamification methodologies to address the uncertainties regarding the future development of the complex innovation and economic environment in China.

He earned his Master’s Degree of Science in Environmental Impact Assessment, Auditing, and Management Systems in 2000 from the University of East Anglia. Nondas earned his Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Physics from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) in 1997.

While Nondas was graduating from Physics, Nondas joined the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics (LAP) in the Physics Department (AUTH). He worked on the assessment of a new atmospheric pollution monitoring technique based on a Differential optical Absorption Spectrometer.

After his Masters Degree in 2000, he was the Health and Safety Manager at the Phosphoric Fertilization Industry S.A., and also Freelance Consultant conducting Risk Assessment Audits, Establishing the Safety Management Systems, and Training of the Safety Engineers.

In 2001, Nondas joined the PRAXI Network as Technology Transfer Consultant for three years, before becoming the Head of International Cooperation there in 2004. He initiated and set up a new activity in PRAXI related to International Cooperation and especially consultancy support to Third Countries for establishing research and technological cooperation with the EU. He has coordinated several projects in Eastern Europe (Caucasus), Asia (Central Asia, China), the Gulf Peninsula, and Latin America.

In 2017, he became the Head of Unit on Foresight at PRAXI. This research unit focused its activity on the development and dissemination of cutting-edge foresight methods and techniques.

For more than 10 years, from 2008 until 2018, Nondas was a Member of the Management Board at the Organic Products Cluster responsible for development projects and international collaborations. He was also a Member of the Regional Research and Innovation Council (PSEK) for Central Macedonia between 2018 and 2021.

In 2019, he was Lecturer on China, Innovation, and Foresight in the international Marco Polo Summer School at Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia, Italy.

Nondas initially worked in the field of technology transfer and support of international research cooperation, coordinating numerous projects in Europe, Latin America, Asia and, mainly, China, where he spent significant time designing initiatives aimed at the enhancement of the technological cooperation between the European Union and China.

As of 2010, he has been focusing on future studies and research, with recent projects including the development of scenarios for the future of China’s innovation ecosystem in 2030, as well as the Future of Work and Technology towards 2050.

Nondas’s research interests include the future of the innovation landscape in China, the development of serious games for strategic foresight, the promotion of the concept of literacy for the future in collaboration with UNESCO, and the design of educational experiential workshops for students and organization executives.

He also edited and translated the book The Futures Thinking Playbook addressed to teachers and students aged 8 to 16 years.

Nondas is a Member of the Onassis Foundation Scholars’ Association and is a certified Future Strategist from ICFS. He also contributes to the Journal of Future Studies. Read Interview Nondas Christophilopoulos.

He was an invited lecturer at The Global UNESCO Chairs lecture series organized by the UNESCO Chair in Interdisciplinary Anticipation and Global-Local Transformation, Center for Advanced Studies, Eurac Research in 2023, where Nondas talked about Scenarios for 2050 and the Role of Art.

He was invited speaker at The Delphi Economic Forum’s 8th edition of their Annual Conference in 2023, speaking on Developing an ESG Roadmap to Good Nutrition and speaker at The 13th CoMuseum International Conference.

Nondas is an International Certified Future Strategist who obtained Certification in Future Studies and Strategy from Kairos Academy in 2014. After his Masters Graduation, he did his Postgraduate Course on Wind Energy from Gotland University in 2006. He earned his Certification on International Relations and Political Science from Dalarna University in 2012, and did the Post Soviet Caucasus course on Politics, Civic Society, Economy, International Relations and Affairs from Malmö University in 2013.

Nondas was one of the publishing authors in the book Aftershocks and Opportunities 2: Navigating the Next Horizon.

Listen to Changing Minds – Epaminondas Christophilopoulos.

Read Rethinking Greece | Epaminondas Christofilopoulos on Strategic Foresight and the 7 Megatrends that will impact Greece and What can the current EU AI approach do to overcome the challenges at its core.

Read 4CF Strategic Foresight statement on the war in Ukraine and Paigniophobia: Daring to Use a Serious Game in China.

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Visit his LinkedIn profile, Google Scholar profile, and his ResearchGate page. Follow him on Facebook.