Annick Castiaux

Annick Castiaux holds a doctorate in science (physics), achieved with the support of the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS). After several post-doctoral projects, she decided to join the private sector. For 4 years, she worked as an information and knowledge management consultant at I.R.I.S. SA, a UCLouvain spin-off located in Louvain-la-Neuve. 

This experience led her to deepen her knowledge in the field of innovation management in order to better understand the difficulties and opportunities facing organisations during major technological changes. It was with this experience that she returned to the academic world. 

She has been Professor of Innovation Management in the Department of Management Sciences at the University of Namur since September 2002. She teaches courses that examine the role of technology in the management and strategy of organisations, with a particular focus on digital technologies. She also encourages her students to question managerial practices and possible innovations in this area in the light of the major challenges facing society today: sustainability, digital transition, inclusion of vulnerable groups. In both her teaching and her research, she is motivated by the complexity of managerial situations and the systemic approach to organisations. 

Her research focuses on collaborative and participative innovation practices and the societal and territorial impact of innovation. In 2016, she founded the Creativity and Innovation Research Centre with four academic colleagues. The centre now has a staff of 15. One of the themes on which the centre focuses in particular is the digital transition of organisations and regions, with particular attention to the challenges of sustainability and social inclusion.