ICABEP TIU

Keynote Speech Title: Real Options and Valuation in Natural Resource Industries.

Thomas Burkhardt, German, full professor, graduated in physics (Diplom 1990) and economics (Diplom 1992). Doctoral degree 1994 summa cum laude, all from Göttingen University. Habilitation 2000 Technical University of Freiberg. Since 2001 he holds the chair of finance at Koblenz- University, Germany. Further call to chair in Banking at Innsbruck University, Austria, declined. Primary research interests are financial decision making, asset management, derivatives, and long term investment decisions, including forest investments. Preferred methods include mathematical modeling and optimization as well as economic experiments.

Habilitation in business administration and economics. Served as Head of Institute of Management, as Director of Examination Board, and Erasmus coordinator of international relations. Regular reviewer of various journals, and member of the program committee/scientific board of several regular scientific conferences.

Around 60 publications in the areas of finance, business administration and informatics, forest economics and physics. Numerous conference contributions. Co-editor of book series “Neue Betriebswirtschaftliche Studienbücher“, Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag.

Regular expert on accreditation boards for several German, among them FIBAA, and Kazakh accreditation agencies.

Keynote Speech Title: Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Large Language Models in Tax Law: Validating the 'LLM as Judge' Concept

Professor at the University of Szczecin, Head of the Department of Decision Support Methods and Cognitive Neuroscience, Director of the Institute of Management, University of Szczecin, Director of the Center for Transfer and Technology at the University of Szczecin, and the President of the Center for Research and Development for the University of Szczecin. My research interests are primarily shaped by issues surrounding the application of quantitative methods and IT tools in the analysis of socio-economic processes, with particular emphasis on multi-criteria methods, multidimensional data analysis, cognitive neuroscience techniques in the study of social behavior, and consumer preferences modelling in the business decision-making process in management. A key component of my research is the development of tools, techniques, and research methods in the domain of cognitive neuroscience. I carry them out within the framework of the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and the Virtual Reality Laboratory, both of which are housed in the Institute of Management at the University of Szczecin. The research focuses on topics related to decision-making, including neuromarketing, analysis of advertising messages, packaging, and banners, as well as website usability testing and logistics processes. To study social behavior and modeling of consumer preferences in decision-making, the research employs measurement techniques such as neuroimaging of the brain (EEG), psychophysiological measurements (GSR, HR), recording and analysis of location and eye movement data (Eye Tracking), and microexpression measurements ( EMG, Face Reading). Additionally, Prof. Nermend has published more than 130 publications (including many monographs published in SPRINGER and articles in journals from the Philadelphia list), mainly in the area of using quantitative methods and tools to analyze economic problems and decision support.

Title of the keynote presentation: AI-Driven Innovation and Digital Transformation: Rethinking Firm Performance and Business Models
Grațiela Georgiana NOJA, BEc, MSc, and PhD in Economics (West University of Timișoara, Romania), is a Full Professor and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at West University of Timișoara, Romania. Her research focuses on European economic integration, international migration, digital transformation, and sustainable development, with over 100 papers published in top academic journals and volumes. She also contributed to multiple books published by Emerald, including Digital Transformation (2023), Economic Development and Resilience by EU Member States (2024) and Green Wealth(2025). Furthermore, in 2023, Dr. Noja received the Emerald Literati Award for outstanding author contribution. Dr. Noja has managed numerous national and international projects, including the Erasmus+ project “Coordinated Higher Education Institutions Responses to Digitalisation” (2019–2021). She regularly serves as an editor, co-editor and reviewer for several international scientific journals. In addition, she is actively involved in academic networks, including the Italian Economic Association (S.I.E.), the International Strategic Management Association (ISMA) andthe Romanian Network for Migration Studies (RoMig). In addition to her academic and research activities, Dr. Noja holds several national and international expert roles. She is a member of the Academic Council of the Association of Faculties of Economics in Romania (AFER), serves as a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Economics, University of Lodz, Poland and a Visiting External Examiner in the Department of Insurance and Risk Management at the University of Malta. She is also an International Expert for the Quality Assessment of Doctoral Schools within the Science Evaluation Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland, as well as an International Expert for the evaluation of postdoctoral fellowship applications for the Research Council of Lithuania.

Title of Keynote Presentation:
"Implementing the Triple Bottom Line in Startups: Evidence from Empirical Research"

Prof. Jarosław Korpysa is a researcher at the Department of Decision Support Methods and Cognitive Neuroscience University of Szczecin. He is Chair of the Scientific Committee of the UNESCO Chair for Social Sustainability and Director of Doctoral School. He has position Professor of business management at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (Indonesia). Prof. Korpysa is a member of Doctoral School Board University of Messina (Italy) and expert of Slovak Research and Development Agency. He is the author of over 120 publications in the fields of entrepreneurship, academic entrepreneurship, and spin-off companies. Prof. Korpysa was a fellow of the 6th, 7th Framework Programmes of the European Union and Horizon Europe within the Human Resources and Mobility Actions (Marie Curie Actions), conducting research at Vilnius University (Lithuania), Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (Lithuania), the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), and the Institute of World Economy and International Relations at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. His research interests include academic entrepreneurship, modern business theories, competitive strategy, risk management, and the labor market. He has participated in more than 70 national and international conferences and has been involved in 12 research projects funded by the Ministry of Education and Science (MEiN), the National Science Centre (NCN), the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR).

Eleftherios (El) Thalassinos

Professor of Quantitative Methods and International Economics at the University of Piraeus, Greece.

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Eleftherios (El) Thalassinos is a retired Professor of Quantitative Methods and International Economics at the University of Piraeus, Greece. He holds a Ph.D. in Quantitative Methods and International Economics from the University of Illinois Chicago (USA), an MBA in International Business from DePaul University (USA), and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Athens (Greece).

He has served as a Visiting Professor at several international universities, including the Hellenic Open University, the University of Malta, Neapolis University of Pafos (Cyprus), and the University of Craiova (Romania). Professor Thalassinos is the founder and general editor of several international journals, including the European Research Studies Journal and the International Journal of Economics and Business Administration. He is also the founder and chair of the International Strategic Management Association (ISMA) and the International Conference in Applied Business and Economics (ICABE).

He has received several honorary doctorates and has delivered keynote speeches at numerous international conferences worldwide.

Head of the Board of Trustees TIU, First Ministry of Higher Education of KRG

Dr. Krzysztof Kompa is a scientist with over 50 years of professional experience, including 17 years in managerial positions in business. He is the emeritus head of the Financial Engineering Chair at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW) in Warsaw, Poland, and a senior research associate in the College of Business and Economics at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. Dr. Kompa cooperates with SLU (Shanghai) and SDUFE (Jinan), two universities in China, as a guest professor. He has also delivered invited lectures and courses at universities in Albania, Belgium, China, Germany, Iran, Mongolia, Montenegro, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and the USA. Dr. Kompa is the author or co-author of six books, over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles (including those listed in WoS and Scopus), and over 150 conference papers. He has managed two research grants funded by the Polish authorities and participated as the main researcher in nine others.
ORCID iD: 0000-0021-2810-6654

Dorota Witkowska Ph.D. is a titular professor with over 45 years of scientific career in economics and finance.
She is a full professor in the Department of Corporate Finance Management at University of Lodz (Poland) and also in the College of Business and Economics at the University of Johannesburg (South Africa). She was a Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Applied Informatics and Mathematics at SGGW in Warsaw and Head of the Chair of Financial Engineering. She conducted research in the USA under the supervision of Prof. Chow (at Princeton) and Prof. Klein (at UPenn) -in frame of two Fulbright scholarships, as well as in Germany in Prof.
Klasen Chair (Gottingen). She cooperates with SLU and SDUFE universities in China as a guest professor, and visited universities in Albania, Belgium, China, Germany, Iran, Montenegro, South Africa and the USA with invited lectures and courses. She is the author or co-author of 30 books, over 300 reviewed articles and chapters (including in the IS and Scopus-listed journals) and over 200 conference papers. She has managed 13 research grants funded by Polish Government.
ORCID ID 0000-0001-9538-9589

Prof. Simon Grima is the Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy, Professor and the Head of the Department of Insurance and Risk Management. Simon is also a Professor at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, a visiting Professor at Hahi Zeka University, Kosovo. He served as President of the Malta Association of Risk Management (MARM) and of the Malta Association of Compliance Officers (MACO) between 2013 and 2015 and between 2016 and 2018, respectively. He has been the current president of MARM since 2023. Moreover, he is the chair of the Scientific Education Committee of the Federation of European Risk Managers (FERMA). He is a member of the Strategic Risk Leaders Association (SRLA), formerly the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMO). His research focuses on Governance, Regulations and Internal Controls, and he has over 30 years of experience in Financial Services, academia and public entities. He has served as co-chair and is a member of the scientific program committee for several international conferences. He is a chief editor, editor, and review editor for some journals and book series. He has been awarded Outstanding Reviewer for the Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance in 2017 and 2022, and the Outstanding Author Contribution for the Book Series Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis, Emerald Literati Awards in 2024.
Moreover, Simon serves as an Independent Director for Financial Services Firms, sits on Risk, Compliance, Procurement, Investment, and Audit Committees, and performs duties as a Compliance Officer, Internal Auditor, and Risk Manager.

Karolina Beyer, PhD is Deputy Director for Education at the Institute of Management, University of Szczecin, where she also serves as a member of the Scientific Council. She is an Assistant Professor specializing in management and innovation studies.
Her current research primarily focuses on neuro-management, with particular emphasis on the neurobiological and psychophysiological mechanisms underlying trust in leader-team relationships. She explores how leadership styles interact with cognitive and emotional processes, contributing to the development of innovative, interdisciplinary approaches at the intersection of management science and neuroscience.
Dr. Beyer is the author and co-author of numerous scientific publications and the editor of academic monographs on innovation and intelligent management.
She has extensive experience in international research and education projects, including Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe initiatives, and is actively engaged in organizing international conferences and scientific workshops.
Her broader academic interests include innovation management, business models, entrepreneurship, digital transformation, and the role of intellectual capital in modern organizations, with a strong focus on integrating advanced technologies and interdisciplinary research into management practice

Salah Koubaa is a prominent Moroccan academic and researcher specializing in entrepreneurship, strategic management, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). He is widely recognized for his work on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Morocco and the broader MENA region.
He serves as a Full Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the Faculty of Law, Economics, and Social Sciences (FSJES Ain Chok), University of Hassan II Casablanca, where he also holds the position of Vice-Dean for Science. In addition, he is an Associate Research Professor at ESCA Ecole de Management, one of Morocco’s leading business schools. Professor Koubaa is also actively involved in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) project in Morocco, contributing to the implementation and reporting of national studies that track entrepreneurial activity and attitudes across the country.
Professor Koubaa’s research focuses on understanding how businesses—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises—innovate, adapt, and sustain competitiveness. His work examines absorptive capacity, exploring how SMEs identify, assimilate, and apply external knowledge to support innovation. He also studies entrepreneurial intentions, analyzing the motivations that drive students and young professionals in Morocco to start their own ventures. Another important area of his research is Islamic entrepreneurship, where he investigates how religious and cultural factors influence entrepreneurial behavior in Muslim countries. More recently, his research has expanded to digital transformation, including the interaction between artificial intelligence and human intelligence, as well as the impact of AI on customer experience in emerging markets.
He holds a PhD in Economics and Management Science, completed around 2008, with doctoral research centered on inter-organizational cooperation and innovation within Moroccan SMEs. Since 2009, he has played a significant role in Moroccan higher education, contributing to numerous scientific publications and international conferences. In addition to his academic responsibilities, he frequently participates as an international guest lecturer, recently delivering courses on Middle Eastern and North African entrepreneurial ecosystems at institutions such as the University of Economics in Katowice, Poland.

Tomasz Czapiewski is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute of Political Science and Security Studies at the University of Szczecin, Poland, a position he has held since 2021. He holds a habilitation (dr hab.) in political science and public administration, and is also qualified in law.
His research interests span electoral law and electoral administration, comparative political systems (with particular focus on Poland and the United Kingdom), internal security, and public policy. He has supervised numerous MA in the fields of security studies, political science, and public management.
Professor Czapiewski serves as Electoral Commissioner for Szczecin I (since 2023) and previously chaired the Regional Electoral Commission for the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (2018). He is a thematic editor of the Polish Political Science Yearbook and a member of the Minister of Science and Higher Education's team for the Social Responsibility of Science programme. He also coordinates the long-running Chronicle of Szczecinproject (since 2016) and serves as Vice-President of the Polish Political Science Association, Szczecin branch.
The author of over 100 scholarly publications, he has recently published studies on poll workers, electoral management, and the spatial analysis of voting behaviour.