As Executive Director of ERIM, she will lead the strategic development of policies and infrastructure that foster the agenda for impactful, top-quality research, and will ensure the effective, efficient and compliant delivery of research support that enables the ERIM research community of faculty and PhD candidates to realise their potential, as well as promoting academic excellence, scientific integrity and scholarly and societal impact. She will co-ordinate a diverse team of research support professionals in the policy team and the doctoral office, and will collaborate with the university as a whole.
This new appointment replaces the role of Natalija Gersak, ERIM’s current Director of Research Development and Support, who is leaving EUR.
Affinity with research and policy making
Prof. Pursey Heugens, Scientific Director of ERIM, said: “The ERIM team is delighted that Dr Chrysoula Papacharalampou has accepted the new responsibility as ERIM Executive Director. She has a doctorate and a strong affinity with high-quality research, which are big plusses in this role. In the two years that she has been with us, she has also developed into a really effective manager and a terrific policy maker.
“Most importantly perhaps, through her long exposure to the field of water management, she has a keen interest in, and hands-on experience, with societally engaged and practically impactful research. This makes her the perfect candidate to pilot ERIM into the next phase of its evolution. RSM and ESE are lucky to have her in this role.”
Research and teaching
Dr Chrysoula Papacharalampou joined ERIM in October 2018 as Policy Officer for Doctoral Education. She has worked on the modernisation, organisation and management of the ERIM Doctoral Programme, ran the annual recruitment cycle for PhD Candidates and co-ordinated the ERIM doctoral office staff. Chrysoula holds a PhD in Integrated Water Resources Engineering and Asset Management from the University of Bath in the UK. She has worked in research and teaching positions in academia in Greece and the UK.
Teamwork and impactful research
Dr Papacharalampou said: “It is the challenging and comprehensive nature of the role that attracted me to apply. This role will give me the opportunity to expand my knowledge portfolio and develop new skills. And it is this personal development factor, combined with my passion for teamwork and impactful research, that made it so attractive.”
Start of the academic year
Dr Papacharalampou starts her new role in July with prioritising the co-ordination of activities that start the new academic year in September; this year is notable for its challenging circumstances. In the short-term, she plans to engage with ERIM’s key stakeholders in order to co-create research support structures for stimulating, tracking and reporting the societal impact of the institute’s top-quality research.
"In terms of my role as ERIM's office team lead, I will prioritise the further development of a supportive and creative working environment. A key part in this involves the smooth integration of the incoming members, in particular the new Office Manager and the individuals who will be covering our needs for research support in the PhD programme, in data stewardship, and in the field of open science," she said.
Dr Chrysoula Papacharalampou
Dr Chrysoula Papacharalampou (1989) grew up in Kavala, Greece and has a broad academic background with a PhD in Integrated Water Resources Engineering. She is particularly passionate about impactful research and has been recognised for her extensive and successful partnerships with the water industry in the UK and the Dutch water sector. Her policy-driven research drove her to seek a policy-intensive role, which led her to join ERIM as Policy Officer in 2018.
