Dimitris Koureas

Dimitris Koureas has a diverse work experience spanning various organizations and roles. Currently, they are the Managing Director for Digital Strategy & Innovation / Chief Information Officer at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Prior to this, they served as the Programme Director and Head of Department at the same institution. Dimitris also held the position of Coordinator (Executive Director) at DiSSCo, where they played a crucial role in developing pan-European research infrastructure for natural science collections.

In addition to their roles at these institutions, Dimitris has been significantly involved in leadership and advisory positions. Dimitris served as the Co-Chair of the FAIR Digital Objects Forum and the Chair of the Mobilise COST Action. Dimitris was also a member of the Technical Advisory Board at Research Data Alliance and Chairman of the Board at Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG).

Dimitris has contributed to academia as an invited lecturer at the University of Oxford and the University of Reading. Earlier in their career, they worked as a Research Associate at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, focusing on researching and assessing Medicinal and Aromatic Plants.

Throughout their career, Dimitris Koureas has demonstrated a strong research focus on biodiversity and biodiversity informatics and has been involved in initiating and developing research projects in this field.

Dimitris Koureas completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Research Infrastructures at the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca in 2021. Prior to that, they obtained a PhD in Plant Systematics and Biodiversity from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) in 2011. Their education journey began with a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) in 2002.