Jelena Žovnikova

Jelena Žovnikova is a Junior Research Fellow and PhD candidate at Estonian Business School, as well as a business and financial advisor, trainer, mentor, and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience. Throughout her career, she has supported more than 1000 entrepreneurs, startups, creative businesses, and non-profit organisations in Estonia and internationally, helping them develop business models, strengthen financial planning, and navigate growth and innovation challenges. She has also designed and managed entrepreneurship programmes, combining training, mentoring, and practical activities to support participants’ entrepreneurial growth.

In her research, Jelena examines how collaboration between academia and industry can be strengthened to accelerate the adoption of research-based solutions and increase the impact of innovation on business. Drawing on her extensive practitioner experience, she focuses on innovation ecosystems, open innovation, university–industry collaboration mechanisms, and the development of evidence-based frameworks that enhance the effectiveness of knowledge exchange and innovation processes.

Alongside her research, Jelena is actively involved in managing and implementing international and national entrepreneurship projects at Estonian Business School and contributes to the school’s development activities. She is a certified Models of Impact methodology ambassador and trainer; a member of the management board of Hooandja, the largest reward-based crowdfunding platform in the Baltics; and an active member of Startup Estonia’s Regional Development Expert Group.