Geoffrey Aerts holds a Master’s in European and Comparative Politics from the Universiteit Antwerpen, a Master’s in Diplomacy and International Relations from the Universiteit Antwerpen and a Master’s in Management Science from the Institute for Transport and Maritime Management Antwerp, ITMMA. In 2015, Geoffrey Aerts obtained a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, after receiving a research grant provided to the VUB Chair in public–private partnerships sponsored by Deloitte, Grontmij and Laga. He currently runs the VUB Business Design & Development Academy. His academic work focuses on knowledge transfer, stakeholder management, and project management and has been published in major scientific publications, including the Project Management Journal. Furthermore, he won the triennial Joseph Merlot–Joseph Leclercq prize in 2015, awarded by CIRIEC for his work in the field of cooperative economy. Currently, Geoffrey Aerts is working both as an academic as well as an academic director and entrepreneur. In his academic work, Geoffrey Aerts is affiliated with the Business Technology and Operations research group within the Economics and Social Science and Solvay Business School department of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where he conducts research that studies the optimization of research valorization at the university level and the impact of innovation ecosystems within urban regions.