Short Profile
The Greek Research and Technology Network (GRNET S.A., http://www.grnet.gr) is a corporation owned by the Greek Ministry of Education (General Secretariat of Research & Technology - GSRT). GRNET was established as a corporation in 1998, though as a network started operating in 1995. The mission of GRNET is the provision of high-quality international and national networking services to Greek academic & research institutions and to the public and private sector in support of their research and educational activities. GRNET is a member of the ARIADNE Foundation (http://www.ariadne-eu.org) that interconnects learning repositories around Europe with more than 400,000 learning objects. GRNET served as the coordinator of a big eContentplus initiative that interconnected various educational communities and content providers working on environmental and agricultural topics (i.e. the Organic.Edunet project, www.organic-edunet.eu). Moreover, GRNET has extensive experience in forming networks and disseminating innovative ideas as well as in promoting green ideas.  GRNET coordinates the CIP PSP Natural Europe project (http://www.natural-europe.eu/) which suggests a coordinated solution at European level aiming to deploy the necessary software tools that allow teachers museum educators to design innovative online pathways through the digital collections of Natural History Museums. The purpose of these is to educate the European students and adults on objects related to educational objectives and curricula on Natural History, Environmental Education, and Biological Sciences in a more interesting and attractive way. To this end, a community of teachers and museum educators exchanging views, approaches, and ideas is being developed and trained through workshops, summer schools and other parallel events. The collected educational material is made available through a repository open to all. GRNET will offer access to the community, material and approaches developed.

Key People

Katerina Papakonstantinou is currently working with the Greek Research and Technology Network, responsible for the design, implementation, monitoring, quality and financial control of several European Projects (FP7 Projects, Leonardo da Vinci) and a number of national IST Projects funded by the EC (Structural Fonds), aiming at strengthening business competitiveness in the new digital market and supporting electronic entrepreneurship in Greek SMEs by providing a lifelong learning.
She is currently working on the eParents Training Academy of the Open Discovery Space Project (A socially-powered and multiligual open learning infrastructure to boost the adoption of e-learning resources, http://opendiscoveryspace.eu/ CIP-Pilot Action) and as a Project Manager of the GreeNET Project (http://greenet.ea.gr/ Lifelong Learning Programme)
Katerina Papakonstantinou received her Bachelor of Arts Honours in European Business Economics, with upper second class from the Anglia Polytechnic University in Cambridge, England and a second degree (Europäische Betriebswirtschaftslehre) from the German Fachhochschule Landshut in Landshut, Germany. She holds a Master’s degree on Advanced Studies in European Integration from the Danube Universität of Krems in Krems, Austria.

Ilias Hatzakis is a consultant, currently working (since 2001) with the Greek Research & Technology Network, as a Project Manager of EU-funded projects, connected to the promotion of ICT to the academic community as well as to  citizens and businesses. He is coordinating a number of international cooperation projects, in the frameworks of FP7 research program, Competitiveness and Innovation ICT Policy Support Programme (CIP-PSP), eContent, eContentplus, Leonardo, INTERREG etc. in the areas of e-learning, e-business,  and the promotion of open access to scientific information.
In the past years (1999-2001) he has worked as an advisor to the General Secretary of Industry at the Greek Ministry of Development dealing with project planning for the promotion of IT to the Greek industrial sectors, and previous to that (1993-1999) to various companies as logistics manager (L’OREAL Paris, Petris S.A., Pirelli Cables S.A.).
Since 1999, he has been also working as an evaluator of IST projects for the European Commission, the Greek Information Society Special Secretariat and the General Secretariat of Industry.    
He received the Diploma of Engineer from the National Technical University of Athens (1990) and the Master’s Certification in logistics management from Université IX Paris Dauphine. (1991). His major areas of expertise are: e-learning, e-business, logistics management, EU-funded program/project management.
He has been a coordinator/ key note speaker/national representative in various Policy Making and academic conferences and dissemination events.
He is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Greek (native language).

Nikolaos Marianos holds a diploma in Maritime Business Administration (2002), a M.Sc. in ICT Applications in Transport (2003) and a PhD in Integrated Evaluation Methods for Electronic Port Services (2013) from the Departments of Shipping, Trade and Transport of the University of the Aegean, Greece. He is a research associate for GRNET and has a great experience in EU funded research projects. Currently, he is a member of the expert team consulting the coordination of the CIP PSP Natural Europe and he is also involved in the implementation of the Comenius GreeNET, CIP PSP Organic.Lingua and ISLE Erasmus Network and initiatives.
Due his involvement in the eContentplus Organic.Edunet and LLP KA3 ICT Politics initiatives he has experience in designing and developing digital learning objects and educational pathways with the use of Web 2.0 tools and OER. Nikos is working as a trainer for adult learners in the fields of ICT and eGovernment since 2002 and has experience in the organization of training seminars and workshops for teachers and trainers.