Alicia Maria
Rubio Bañon

She holds a degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Murcia (1989–1994) and a PhD from the same university, awarded in 2004 with Outstanding Cum Laude. She is currently a Full Professor in the Department of Business Organization and Finance, where she began her academic career in 1998, and has served as Vice-Rector responsible for Employment, Entrepreneurship, and Students at the University of Murcia since 2018. She was a Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton in 2012 and has held several management positions at the University of Murcia, including Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Labour Sciences (2004–2006) and Coordinator for Graduate Employability at the Vice-Rectorate for Students and Employment (2006–2014). She has been Deputy Director of the Chair of Entrepreneurs at the University of Murcia since 2006 and is a researcher at the Chair of Corporate Social Responsibility. Her research focuses on improving competitiveness strategies for SMEs and entrepreneurship. She is also the Director of the regional research teams of two international entrepreneurship research networks, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students’ Survey. She serves as Executive Secretariat of MetaRed X, an international entrepreneurship network spanning eight countries and led by Banco Santander. Among her professional achievements, she has been a researcher at the Spanish Entrepreneurship Observatory since 2005, where she was also a member of the national executive committee from 2016 to 2019. Since 2022, she has been responsible for the Employment Working Group within the Students’ Sector of CRUE. She has published more than 45 academic articles, contributed to 60 books, and participated in over 100 research and knowledge transfer contracts and projects, all related to business and entrepreneurship. As a result, she has been awarded two six-year research periods and one six-year knowledge transfer period. She maintains continuous contact with the business community of the Region of Murcia and has collaborated with the Institute of Development of the Region of Murcia, CaixaBank, Caja Rural, the Economic and Social Council of the Region of Murcia, Municipal Initiative Centers, the European Business and Innovation Centre, various commercial and third-sector organizations, relevant regional ministries, and working networks involving more than five hundred universities worldwide.