Landabaso, Mikel

JRC, Spain

Mikel Landabaso works in the European Commission since 1990.

He is Director for Growth and Innovation at the Joint Research Centre, managing the Seville site. Previously he was Director for Strategy and Corporate Communication at DG COMM under the President’s Cabinet. He has also worked as Head of Cabinet of Regional Policy Commissioner and Head of Unit in several Units, including as responsible for Smart and Sustainable Growth and the Structural Funds for Spain, as well as assistant to the Director General of DG Regio. These jobs covered both, policy design and policy implementation.

Before joining the EU Commission he worked as Head of the Research Department and Assistant to the Director General of the Basque Innovation Agency (SPRI S.A. a holding company with over 20 subsidiaries) 1986-1990.

He has also worked part time as lecturer at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Belgium (2001-2007), visiting Fellow at University of North Carolina (USA) (2000), lecturer at Deusto University and the public University of the Basque Country in Spain (1987-1990). He is currently Honorary Visiting Professor at Cardiff University.

He was given the 2004 “Christiane Bom Award” for his contribution to innovation in European Regional policy by the European Regional Development Agencies Association – EURADA.

Mikel Landabaso is PhD in Economics (University of the Basque Country 1994, Spain), M.A. in Development Economics (University of East Anglia 1983-84, U.K.), Diploma in Advanced European Studies, with a scholarship from the Basque Government (College of Europe 1985-86, Belgium) and Licenciado en Ciencias Economicas (Universidad del Pais Vasco, 1978-1983). He did with senior year of Highschool at Moundsview High (Saint Paul, Minnesota, 1977-78, U.S.A.) with an AFS scholarship.