Prof (Dr) Alex Koutsouris is the Head of the Lab of Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Systems & Rural Sociology, Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Agricultural University of Athens. He is a graduate of AGSA (Higher Agricultural School of Athens), holds an M(Agr)Sc in Agricultural Extension from University College of Dublin, Ireland, and PhD in Extension Education from AUA. He teaches, at the undergraduate level, the courses Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Education, and Agrotourism as well as the course Worldwide Agricultural Systems with Assistant Professor G. Vlachos. At postgraduate level he is responsible for the module “Innovation Communication/ Councelling and Skills Development”. His research interests revolve around sustainable rural development focusing on topics such as agricultural extension (interactive innovation & communication), training & education, project design and evaluation, with emphasis on systemic and participatory approaches. He has served as coordinator and member of research teams (among others, recently in HORIZON2020: AgriFossilFree, i2connect, FAIRshare, AgriLink, INNOSSETA, AgriDemo-F2F, AgriSpin), scientific networks (including Presidency of ETAGRO, ESEE, IFSA) and executive of development companies/Local Action Groups (LEADER II).

His research interests revolve around sustainable rural development focusing on topics such as agricultural extension (interactive innovation & communication), training & education, project design and evaluation, with emphasis on systemic and participatory approaches.