Champions 2024
Teacher of the Year
Paweł Urgacz is an experienced education leader and lecturer with over 15 years in international higher education, project management, and innovative teaching. As Deputy Dean for Internationalization and Director of the International Cooperation Office at WSB University (Akademia WSB), he has played a key role in shaping the university’s global strategy through strategic partnerships and educational innovation. Paweł has taught internationally through Erasmus+ and intensive programs in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Uzbekistan, Romania, Portugal, and Brazil. His teaching covers entrepreneurship, intercultural and team communication, and sustainable development, with a focus on hands-on, project-based learning. He specializes in Challenge-Based Learning (CBL), integrating it with gamification, Design Thinking, and micro-learning. His simulation game Brick by Brick is used by partner universities across Europe. He also trains educators and collaborates with CERN IdeaSquare to explore cutting-edge teaching methodologies.
Researcher of the Year
Prof. Bilan is full Professor at SAN University. He is an internationally recognized scholar whose research epitomizes both credibility and utility, significantly advancing the understanding of organizational and managerial practices through the lens of sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and economic complexity. Prof. Bilan's scholarly portfolio is extensive and impactful. As of April 2025, he has authored 269 publications indexed in Scopus, with over 4,600 citations (excluding self-citations) and an h-index of 42, demonstrating the reach and influence of his research. In the Web of Science, his work includes 208 documents with 3,314 citations and an h-index of 33. These figures are a testament to his consistent scholarly productivity and the high regard in which his work is held by the global academic community. His repeated inclusion among the top 2% of the world’s most cited researchers by Stanford University from 2020 to 2023 further underlines the exceptional relevance, visibility, and scientific credibility of his research. Such recognition highlights Prof. Bilan's role as a thought leader whose work shapes contemporary debates in economics, management, and sustainability.
Responsible Management Educator of the Year
Soula Kyriakou is the co-founder and President of the International Executive School (IES) in Strasbourg, France. Of Greek and Lebanese heritage, her global outlook has been shaped by an academic path spanning France, India, and New York, with a strong commitment to inclusive and future-oriented education. Soula brings over a decade of leadership experience in global corporations such as Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, and British American Tobacco. She later transitioned into higher education, where she now designs and leads internationally oriented programs that blend academic rigor with practical relevance. Her areas of expertise include brand and marketing management, corporate culture, strategic communication, curriculum development, and institutional leadership. A committed educator and researcher, she lectures on international marketing, communication, and global strategy, and has published on topics ranging from e-learning to women’s leadership and education in crisis contexts. Trilingual in Arabic, French, and English, Soula advocates for cross-cultural learning, digital innovation, and social responsibility in higher education. Through IES, she works to empower students from diverse backgrounds to become adaptive, ethical, and globally-minded changemakers.
Leader of the Year
Maciej Dębski has a PhD in economics in the field of management sciences. Currently, he is the Managing Director of the SAN University branch in Warsaw and is a SAN University Professor and Head of the Department of Marketing and Tourism. In the past, Professor Dębski served as Rector of the Warsaw School of Social and Economic Studies and was Vice-Rector acting as Rector of the Bolesław Prus University of Humanities in Warsaw. He has been working at the SAN University since 2011. He began his academic career at the University as Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics, later serving as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Management and Security Sciences, and as the Rector’s Plenipotentiary for Organisation and Marketing of the SAN University branch in Warsaw, where he assumed operational responsibility as Managing Director. Professor Dębski, in addition to his managerial role, is an active university lecturer and researcher. His research interests focus on marketing, management in higher education, and marketing management in tourism. He is the author or co-author of several books, including “Creating a Strong Brand”, “Tourist Policy”, “Brand as a Source of Shaping Competitiveness in the Tourism Industry”, “Tourism Satellite Account as a Framework for Assessing Sustainability”, and “Tourism Satellite Account for Poland for 2018 and 2019”, as well as several dozen publications published both in Poland and internationally. An important aspect of Professor Dębski’s teaching and scientific work is its strong international dimension, which is reflected in guest lectures at foreign universities, such as the University of Economics in Varna (May 2023), Klaipeda State University of Applied Sciences (December 2024), Ventspils Augstskola (December 2023), and the University of Žilina (April 2025), as well as research internships at the University of Economics in Varna and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, and scientific collaboration with these institutions, resulting in joint international publications.