Dr. Bettina Bastian is an associate professor of entrepreneurship and innovation management at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), wherein she heads the USEK entrepreneurship academic program and is member of the Asher Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ACIE). Bettina has been interested in entrepreneurship and innovation since college years.
In the early 2000, while preparing for her doctorate in Technology and Innovation Management at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), she cofounded two startups in finance and real estate. As research assistant at the Chair of Corporate Strategy and Innovation (EPFL), she was involved in building the Entrepreneurship and Technology Master’s Program.
During her post-doctorate phase, she worked at the University of Bern, Switzerland and was responsible for the development and implementation of the continuing education curriculum at its Entrepreneurship Centre. Since 2011, she has been an assistant professor at the American University of Beirut (AUB), during which time she has been responsible for the development and coordination of entrepreneurship and ethics. In line with her academic activities in 2013, sheco-chaired and organized the Beirut Ethics Colloquium, which brought together multidisciplinary participants on a weekly basis to learn and to discuss ethics and business.
As an active member of the thriving Lebanese entrepreneurship ecosystem, she organizes seminars and workshops, especially for women entrepreneurs, together with the Lebanese League of Women in Business (LLWB), and acts as a mentor and speaker at numerous conferences and panels. Dr. Bastian has published her research in entrepreneurship and innovation management in several renowned journals, such as the Journal of Management, Gender in Management, and the Journal of Enterprising Communities. in addition to her journal publications, Bettina has published in books and written several business case studies, especially about organizations in Lebanon and the Middle East. She is currently working on a book about female entrepreneurs and is regular contributor to a monthly column on entrepreneurship in the Executive magazine.