Chair of the Board
Dr. Christina Giannopapa is the Head of the Office of the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA). Before that, she was advisor to the Secretary General of Telecommunications and Post of the Ministry of Digital Governance in Greece, seconded from the European Space Agency (ESA). At ESA she held the position of the Head of Political Affairs Office of the ESA Director General in Paris. From 2012 to 2015, she has been working in the Member States Relations Department of ESA.
From 2010 to 2012, she was seconded by the Agency as a Resident Fellow at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in Vienna, where she supported the European Interparliamentary Space Conference (EISC) and led studies on innovation, Galileo, Copernicus, and Africa. In the policy areas, she also worked briefly in DG Research at the European Commission. Between 2007 to 2010, she worked in the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Technical and Quality Management Directorate of ESA in the Netherlands.
Prior to joining ESA, she gained further experience as a consultant to high-tech industries in research and technology development. She held various academic positions, notably at the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands, and the University of London, UK. She has received 14 academic scholarships and awards and has more than 80 publications in peer-reviewed journals, books, and conferences. She has co‐edited the Springer “Handbook on space security”. Dr. Christina Giannopapa holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and Applied Mathematics; an MEng in Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Mechatronics; and an MBA in International Management from the University of London, UK. Additionally, she holds an assistant professor position in the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences at the Eindhoven University of Technology.
Furthermore, she is active in various fora such as the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), where she has engaged in a number of Committees. Currently, she holds the post of vice chair of the Committee on Space Security. Prior, she held the post of chairperson of the Committee for Liaison with International Organisations and Developing Nations (CLIODN). Before being elected as the Chair of the Board at Women in Aerospace Europe (WIA-Europe), she was the Director of Professional Development.