About The Speaker
When And where
Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo
Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo is a Senior Lecturer in Science Policy and Innovation at the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester. She serves as the Deputy Director of the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research and is the Digital Economy theme lead for the University’s Digital Futures platform.
Since April 2026, Mabel has also joined the CERU/SRUK Executive Committee as the Director of the North West and Yorkshire Constituency.
Originally from León, Mabel studied Statistics at the University of Salamanca and University Miguel Hernández de Elche. She holds a PhD from INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), with a focus on the economics of higher education. Following her doctorate, she joined the European Commission as a Research Fellow at the Joint Research
Centre, where she focused on “science for policy” concerning areas like learning
mobility, role of higher education institutions, and the impact of digitalisation on the future of work.
Mabel’s engagement activities centre on influencing policy. She was recently an
Ambassador for Science for Connects-UK, an initiative bridging the gap between
scientists and diplomats, where she presented her institute’s research on
international research collaboration and science diplomacy.
Her advisory portfolio includes memberships on the Policy & Strategy Advisory Board of the European
Higher Education Sector Observatory (EHESO), the Advisory Board of the European Tertiary Education Register (ETER), and expert advisory roles for Eurofound and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. She is also actively engaged with UK policymakers, having submitted evidence to the Business and Trade Committee, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, and the Government’s Technology Adoption Review.
Her primary research interests include the role of universities in economic
development, scientific careers, university-society collaborations, and the
relationship between digital technology deployment and skills.
She serves as an editor for the Journal of Technology Transfer, Regional Studies, Regional Science, and the Journal of Engineering and Technology Management.