Bernd M. Zunk (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0985-4769) is in his role as an Associate Professor the Deputy Head of the Institute of Business Economics and Industrial Sociology as well as the Head of the Industrial Marketing, Purchasing and Supply Management working group at Graz University of Technology. Furthermore, he is the Dean of Studies of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Economic Sciences.  In this function he is responsible for the Mechanical Engineering and Business Economics Master and PhD programmes at Graz University of Technology. His current research interests are focusing on “Attractiveness, Risk, Trust and Power in Buyer-Supplier Relationships”, “Preference of Industrial Customers”, “Personality and Motivation of Purchasing Professionals” as well as “Sustainable Supply Management”. In 2014, he took over the chairmanship as well as the strategic management of EPIEM. This task also includes the strategic network development activities of the whole EPIEM organization.

Anabela C. Alves (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2926-4187) is PhD in Industrial Engineering and Systems and she is Assistant professor in University of Minho, School of Engineering, Department of Production and Systems and researcher of ALGORITMI R&D Center. Her main research interests: Design and Operation of Production Systems; Lean Production; Engineering Education with focus on Lean Education and Project-Based Learning. It has published over 130 papers and mentored over 50 dissertations in Industrial Engineering and Management. Within EPIEM, Prof. Alves is the “Coordinator Teaching Activities”.

Carina M. O. Pimentel (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4284-1628) is an Industrial Engineering Assistant Professor at the Department of Production and Systems of the School of Engineering at the University of Minho in Portugal as well as the director of the Bachelor degree in IEM at the same university. Prof. Pimentel’s research activities are developed in the ALGORITMI R&D Center. Her main research interests are the development of solution approaches for supply chain and operations management decision problems, namely in production planning and scheduling, lean manufacturing, supply chain 4.0 and urban logistics areas. Over the last years, she has been involved in numerous funded research projects. Furthermore, within EPIEM she is the “Coordinator Research Activities”.

Cristian Mustata (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5783-268X) is an Associate Professor at the Department of Engineering in Foreign Languages, and Vice Dean at the Faculty of Engineering in Foreign Languages of the Polytechnic University of Bucharest. He is an experienced Trainer and Professor with experience in higher education and corporate workshops. He is strongly skilled in training and developing management skills, marketing, entrepreneurial and personal/soft skills. Furthermore, he is highly interested in sustainability topics and the developer of the “Bucharest Integral Management Model”.

Stevan Stankovski (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4311-1507) is a professor at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences, and head of Laboratory for Intelligent Systems and Artificial Intelligence at the Faculty of Technical Sciences. His main research interests: Intelligent Systems, Mechatronics, Automation and Project-Based Learning. He is an experienced trainer and professor with rich experience in higher education and corporate workshops. Over the last years, he has been involved in numerous funded research projects. He is managing editor in the Journal of Mechatronics, Automation and Identification Technology (www.jmait.org). Within the EPIEM Drive Group, Prof. Stankovski is the „Coordinator Project Activities“.

Erwin Rauch (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2033-4265) studied at the Free University in Bolzano, the Technical University Munich (TUM) and obtained his Ph.D. degree from the University of Stuttgart with summa cum laude. He is an Assistant Professor for Manufacturing Technology and Systems at the Free University of Bolzano and member of the study council of the Master in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering. In addition, he is the Head of the Smart Mini Factory laboratory for Industry 4.0 and member of the scientific advisory board of Fraunhofer Italia. He is the author of over 150 scientific contributions and an expert/member of various associations and organizations e.g. AITeM, Associate Member EuroScience, Expert Group World Manufacturing Forum. His research interests are focusing on Industry 4.0, Smart Manufacturing, Socially Sustainable Production, Digitalization and Assistance Systems in Production, Engineering Education 4.0 and Axiomatic Design for Complex Systems. Within the EPIEM Drive Group Prof. Rauch is the “Coordinator for Research Projects”. 

George Onofrei (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3508-370X) is an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Operations and Supply Chain Management at Atlantic Technological University, Ireland. He completed his PhD at University College Dublin, Smurfit Graduate Business School, Ireland. His research interests focus on behavioural operations, supply chain practices, sustainability, business data analytics and lean implementation in manufacturing and service industries. His work has appeared in premier journals including  International Journal of Production and Operations Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Cleaner Production, Business Strategy and the Environment, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Production Planning and Control, Resource Conservation and Recycling, Waste Management, International Journal of Production Research, Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, Operations Management Research and many more. He is working on several European projects and served on the executive board of European Operations Management Association (EurOMA).

Iztok Palčič (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-0209) is Full Professor at University of Maribor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Slovenia. He is member of Laboratory for Production and Operations Management. Currently he serves as Vice-Dean for Cooperation with Industry and Quality Assurance. From 2015 to 2019 he was Vice-Dean for Studies at the University of Maribor, and from 2019 to 2022 Vice-Dean for Infrastructure and Cooperation with Industry. His areas of expertise are production management, project management, value management, technology management and innovation management. He is author of over 300 publications, among them 40 original scientific papers and 7 scientific monographs. He publishes his work in journals, such as Applied Mathematical Modelling, Journal of Cleaner Production, Journal of Purchasing and Supply management, International Journal of Technology Management, Sustainability. Prof. Palčič is a project manager of research project European Manufacturing Survey in Slovenia. He has many experiences in different national and international R&D projects as a project leader or project team member: Leonardo, PHARE, Tempus, Erasmus projects, Slovenian Research Agency projects, CEEPUS etc.

Manuel Woschank (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1496-3388) He is currently Deputy Head of the Chair of Industrial Logistics at the Montanuniversitaet Leoben and Adjunct Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business, Management, and Economics at the University of Latvia. He received a Ph.D. in Management Sciences with summa cum laude from the University of Latvia and the Habilitation in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Montanuniversitaet Leoben. His research records include more than 380 publications and research actions as well as activities as a reviewer and editor for leading journals in the field of logistics and production management. He was a visiting scholar at the Technical University of Kosice (Slovakia) and the Chiang Mai University (Thailand). His research interests include the areas of production planning and control, logistics 4.0/5.0 concepts and technologies, green logistics, behavioral decision making, and engineering education. Within the EPIEM Collaboration Network, Manuel is a “Coordinator for Education Activities and Research Projects” 

Klaas Stek (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0807-9844) combines an assistant professorship in purchasing and supply management with a trailblazer role establishing the European Lab for Innovative Purchasing and Supply at the University of Twente (UT) in the Netherlands. Klaas is also the coordinator of a master course in purchasing management for Industrial Engineering Management students at UT. He contributed to several European Horizon and Erasmus+ projects. Furthermore, he has been a member of projects on designing purchasing and supply management curricula and (online) courses, a benchmarking tool, and didactics introducing serious gaming elements in lectures aiming at competencies in the era of Industry 4.0 as well as the circular economy and innovative solutions towards sustainability. His main interests are purchasing and supply competencies, personal skills development and novel statistical methods.

Gordana Ostojić (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5558-677X) is a full professor at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences and head of Laboratory for Computer Integrated Systems at the Faculty of Technical Sciences. Her main research interests are Mechatronics, Automation as well as Project-Based Learning. She is a trainer and professor with rich experience in higher education and corporate projects. Furthermore, Gordana is the director of the Accredition Center for Identification Technologies at the University of Novi Sad. Over the last years, she has also been involved in numerous funded research projects and serves as an associate editor for the the Journal of Mechatronics, Automation and Identification Technology (www.jmait.org).

Jabier Retegi (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5953-0274) is Ph.D. from the Polytechnic University of Catalunya (UPC), Industrial Engineer and M.Sc.A. both from the Polytechnic School of Montreal and Mechanical Engineer from Mondragon University. In industry, he has worked for different periods as Industrial Manager, R&D and Innovation Manager and Strategic Alliance Manager in an international multiplant company. At Mondragon University, he has been Life-long Learning Manager and Director at the Engineering School, as well as member of the Governing Board of the University. He currently combines his professional work at Mondragon University as a lecturer and person in charge of projects in industry and at Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness as associate senior researcher. He works as a consultant in a range of fields related to industry, such as business strategy, the relationship between business and value chains, circular economy, industrial management, knowledge management, research and development and innovation.

Peter Trkman (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1664-8026) is a full professor at the School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana. His expertise covers various aspects of areas such as digital transformation, business models (innovation), supply chain management, business process management, and technology adoption. He has published over 80 papers/book chapters, including papers in highly-rated journals. He serves as a reviewer for 44 (S) SCI indexed journals and a panel member/lead reviewer/reviewer for ten European research funding agencies. His papers have been cited over 8000 times and have an h-index of 32. He has been a visiting professor at several universities (e.g., India, South Korea, Denmark, China, Dubai, Austria, Germany, Peru, and Colombia). In his courses and workshops for managers, he combines theory with practical examples and consulting experience. School of Economics at the University of Ljubljana is a triple crown (EQUIS, AACSB, AMBS) business school. It has a highly-ranked masters study program in Supply chain & Logistics (fully in English).

Marco Formentini (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3397-5229) is an Associate Professor in Management Engineering at the Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science (DISI) of the University of Trento (Italy). He has been previously Post-Doc Research Fellow at Cass Business School, London (UK), Lecturer in Operations Management at University of Bath, School of Management, Bath (UK) and Associate Professor in Sustainable Supply Chain Management at Audencia Business School, Nantes (France). His research involves activities in the areas of Operations and Supply Chain Management, focusing mainly on supply chain and sustainability and digital transformation. He published in leading journals such as Journal of Product Innovation Management, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, European Journal of Operational Research, International Journal of Production Economics, etc. He is currently Associate Editor of Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, and sits in the Editorial Review Board of International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Journal of Business Logistics and Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain. He has been Guest Editor of two special issues in IJOPM and Socio-Economic Planning Sciences.

Mats Engwall (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9277-0288) is Chaired Professor of Industrial Management at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. He holds a MSc in Aeronautical Engineering and a PhD in Industrial Economics and Management from KTH, and did his habilitation in Business Administration at Stockholm School of Economics. His research addresses technology innovation management, project organizing, business model innovation and strategies in socio-technical transitions. Mats Engwall is fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), European Academy for Industrial Management (AIM), as well as the Swedish project Academy. His research is published in, e.g., Harvard Business Review, Research Policy, Technovation, R&D Management, Organisation Studies, Environmental Innovation and Sustainability Transitions, and International Journal of Project Management. Mat Engwall is chairman of the Scandinavian Academy of Industrial Engineering and Management (ScAIEM), representing approximately 600 IEM-scholars in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Emmanuel Francalanza (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0317-5909) is a professor and a member of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering and carries out research in the field of digital manufacturing. His research is mainly focused on developing methods and tools to support industry in implementing “Industry 4.0” and “Industry 5.0” technologies. This research work involves the design and implementation of digital technologies, including Collaborative Robotics, Industrial Internet of Things, Digital Twins and Artificial Intelligence within industrial automation systems, transforming traditional manufacturing machines into cyber physical systems. Prof Ing. Francalanza is also an associate editor of the Journal of Production & Manufacturing Research.

Bojan Jovanoski (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4010-4504) is a professor at Industrial Engineering and Management, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje and responsible for the Master program Lean Management. His research interests are in the field of Modelling and Simulation of Production Systems, Production Planning and Control, Technology Management, Lean Systems and Digital Transformation concepts. He is also head of the newly established Smart Learning Factory – Skopje where together with a team of experts deliver trainings for the industry, conduct experiments for digital transformation solutions and integrate full scale projects in the industry. Over the last years he has been involved in numerous funded international projects. Bojan recently received a certificate as Expert in Digital Transformation.