STRATEGY

Selected assignments

2022 Strategy workshop design and moderation for logistics company (semiconductor/microelectronics, Germany; not disclosed)

2017 Business development strategy and management advisory for industrial IoT solutions provider (Germany; not disclosed)

2016 Research and strategy advisory on innovation ecosystem strategy development for KAZATU National University Astana, Kazakhstan

2015 Strategy coaching for Generator Hub Chisinau, Moldova

2013 Feasibility study and strategy advisory on business incubation program development in mono-towns in Kazakhstan (Deloitte)

2012 Design and moderation of strategy and visioning workshop for SIVA International Management, Norway

2006 Public relations strategy and capacity building for Ministry of Science and Education Kazakhstan

2005 - 2007 Strategy coaching and methodology for strengthening the digitalization capabilities of ABIT Association of Business Incubators and Technology Parks in Uzbekistan

2004 - 2005 Capacity building and strategy coaching for CSSC Tbilisi, Georgia

2000 - 2001 Business development strategy planning (renewables, Germany; not disclosed)

2000 Branding strategy development (microelectronics, Germany; not disclosed)

RESEARCH

AND ANALYSIS

Selected assignments

2023 Business Angels and Reconstructing Ukraine: Exploring the Potential Role of European Business Angels in the Recovery of Ukraine (BACB, Gigahertz Ventures)

2021 Impact study on innovation ecosystems in Kazakhstan (FIPRO/EBRD)

2013 - 2014 Impact assessment and evaluation of business incubation models in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (infoDev, World Bank)

2009 Pre-feasibility study on technology park development in Ramallah/Palestine (PEM GmbH/GIZ)

2009 Needs Assessment for Youth Startup Centres in Georgia (SPARK International, The Netherlands)

2007 Impact assessment for Creeda Projects Ltd. Canberra, Australia

2001 Empiric public opinion research (municipality level) with 300 face to face interviews (client: FDP, Germany)

2000 Empiric consumer behavior analysis (state level) with 1.200 face to face interviews (client: Saxon State Ministry of Environment and Agriculture, Germany)

CAPACITY BUILDING

Selected assignments

2023 Training design and delivery on Managing Intercultural Teams (not disclosed; Germany)

2017 Training design and delivery on Internationalization of German SMEs (IHK Chamber of Commerce)

2015 Training design and delivery on Managing Global Innovation Hubs at Slush Helsinki, Finland (with infoDev, World Bank)

2013 -2015 Direktor (principal) at IBCM International Business College Mitrovica (Northern Kosovo)

2011: Training design and delivery on Business Incubation and Startup Support in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, at: The 14th International Training Workshop on Business Incubation. Shanghai Technology Innovation Center. Shanghai, China (PRC)

2010 - 2013 World Bank staff trainer (training design; training of trainers ToT)  for infoDev Global Business Incubation Management program

2006 - 2007 Training program design and delivery on strategic organizational development for Armenian SME development centres (PEM GmbH)

2005 Capacity building on international project management for Congress of Business Women Kyrgyzstan

2001 Training design and delivery on Agribusiness Marketing Strategies for Agrar-Marketing Sachsen e.V., Germany

1999 - 2000 Lecturer (Lehrbeauftragter) for Marketing and Startup Development at University of Applied Science Dresden (HTW Dresden), Germany

CAPACITY BUILDING

Capacity-building and training delivered in a variety of countries and intercultural settings, including Armenia, Azerbeijan, Belarus, Brazil, China (PRC), Finland, Germany, India, Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Capacity-building techniques and practical experience include design and delivery of training programs as well as training of trainers (ToT). Able to design and to deliver participant/student-centred training. Twenty plus years of experiences in designing and leading intercultural trainings.

Seasoned expert jury member; e.g. EIT Urban Mobility Investment Readiness Programme (EU), GIST Tech-I Competition (US Department of State)

See Capacity building case study:

Case Study

Capacity Building

This training program was the first-of-its-kind, drawing from the lessons, models, and examples in business incubation from across Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean, Middle East & North Africa, and South Asia.

Industry: Innovation ecosystems, international development, business incubation, capacity building

Period covered: 2010 - 2017

Published: 2023

Organization: infoDev, World Bank

PUBLICATIONS

& SPECIALIST LECTURES

2024: Deglobalization and  Hardware & Engineering Nearshoring.

Opportunities, Barriers and Myths for Ukrainian Tech Companies & Startups. Kharkiv IT Cluster Matching & Bridging Event, March 2024. Kharkiv, Ukraine

2023: Investing in Startups: Main Criteria for  European Investors. U-Nation Innovation. Final Conference 2023. Odesa, Ukraine

2023: Business Angels in Germany and Europe: Case Study Gigahertz Ventures. Kharkiv IT Cluster Business Breakfast. Kharkiv, Ukraine

2023: Start-up Financing: The Role of Business Angels. Case study Germany. EUSLink ERASMUS Jean Monnet Program. Lviv Polytechnic National University, Ukraine

2023: Crafting an Exit Strategy: Insights for Business Angels. Panel discussion at 2023 IT Arena. Lviv, Ukraine

2021: Financing Green Innovations and Impact Investment, at: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) ReStart 2.0. Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

2021: The Human Capital of Things: Innovation Ecosystems and Talent Development. Case study Industrial IoT, at: 2021 IEEE XIIth International Conference on Electronics and Information Technologies. Lviv, Ukraine

2019: Industrial IoT: Development of Human Capital, at: IT-Forum Shymkent 2019. Shymkent, Kazakhstan

2019: Entering Industrial IoT Value Networks, at: IoT Focus 2019 Tech Conference. Minsk, Belarus

2017: Industrial IoT and Industry 4.0: Trends and Opportunities for Ukrainian IT Companies, at: Lviv Innovation Spring 2017. Lviv, Ukraine

2015: Wings up: Reaching out to the Business Angels: Private Sector Investment for Innovation in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, at: Moldova ICT Summit 2015. Chisinau, Moldova

2014:  Humala, H.; Schandera, S.: Establishing International Market Linkages: Lessons and Insights. IV Russian-American Forum on Business Incubation. Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). Moscow, Russian Federation

2014: Lessons Learned from the infoDev Access to Finance Program in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, at: EBAN 14 Annual Congress 2014. Dublin, Ireland

2014: Ellen Olafsen, Heidi Humala, Stefan Schandera; infoDev/UKBI (2014): An Evaluation and Impact Assessment of Business Incubation Models in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. World Bank. Washington D.C., USA

2012: Valentin Makarov, Stefan Schandera, Jean Paul Simon (2012). The ICT Landscape in BRICS Countries 5. Russian Federation. IDATE: Communications & Strategies 87. Forthcoming, ISSN 1157-8637

2012: Schandera, S.; Knappertsbusch, V.; Teltewskoi, W.: Staerkung und Aufbau von Bioenergienetzwerken in Osteuropa; Beitrag in: Thraen, D.; Pfeiffer, D. (Hrsg.): Brueckenschlag nach Osteuropa – Biomassepotenziale und -nutzungsoptionen in Russland, Weißrussland und der Ukraine. Schriftenreihe des BMU- Foerderprogramms „Energetische Biomassenutzung“ No. 06; ISSN 2192-1806

2011: Business Incubation and Startup Support in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, at: The 14th International Training Workshop on Business Incubation. Shanghai Technology Innovation Center. Shanghai, China (PRC)

2011: Nelles, M.; Scholwin, F.; Rensberg, N.; Schandera, S.; Stinner, W.: Stand und Perspektiven der Biogasnutzung in Deutschland und international (Status and Perspectives of Bioenergy Use in Germany and Internationally). ZUK der Deutschen Bundesstiftung Umwelt; Tagungsband / DBU, Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt; 2011; ISBN: 978- 3-9813776-1-3

2011: Setting the Scene - Russian Federation. The ICT Landscape in BRICS Countries: Lessons from Emerging Economies (R&D, innovation and trade). Second International Workshop organized by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies / Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC-IPTS). Johannesburg, South Africa

2011: WIN WIN in Transition. Complementary Advantage through Economic and Technological Co-operation with Eastern European Transition Economies and Western European and US partners, at: Innovation Accross Borders. MaRS. Toronto, Canada

2010: New Co-operations with the Old World – Technical and Scientific Co-Operations between the Russian Federation and Germany. Case Study Bio- Energy, at: MGIMO/Seliger 2010 Forum, Russian Federation

2010: Foresight on Business Incubation in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, at: Astana Economic Forum 2010. Astana, Kazakhstan

2009: Incubating the Incubators: Lessons Learned from Eastern Europe and Central Asia, at: World Bank Knowledge Economy Forum VIII 2009. INSEAD Fontainebleau, France

2009: Business Incubation and Innovation Management in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, at: Advancing Innovation in Eastern Europe and Central Asia 2009. Gabrovo, Bulgaria

2009: Strategies for SME Sector Development, at: International Conference 'EU Accession - Possibilities for SME Sector Development in South East Europe'. European Commission SME Week 2009. Kragujevac, Serbia

2008: Development of Regional Networks and Global Working Groups, at: Technology Transfer and Innovation Support Networks, International Workshop on Experiences and Prospects for Ukraine. Kharkiv, Ukraine

2008: Who's Business Is It, Anyway? World Bank 2008 Ukraine Knowledge Economy Training Initiative. Kyiv, Ukraine

2007: Technology Transfer in the Eurasia Region, at: Asia and the Pacific Incubator Conference AAPIC. Hanoi, Vietnam

2007: Keynote on Innovation Development in the Eastern European and Central Asian Region, at: Shanghai - Xinjiang Technology Forum. Urumqi, China (PRC)

2006: Application of ICT in Business Incubation: Industrialized versus Transition Economies, at: International Forum 'Internet and Business Incubation 2006', Tashkent, Uzbekistan

2004: Kasachstan – Brutkaesten fuer den Mittelstand (Incubators for the Middle Class), in: DED Brief Armutsminderung. Bonn, Germany

2000: Seidel, Steinborn, Schandera 2000. Purchase behaviour and consumption patterns of Saxon consumers with regard to meat, meat and sausage products from self-service areas of consumer markets. Berichte aus der Oecotrophologie. Schriftenreihe der LfL, 5. Jg. 4. Heft. Saxon State Ministry of Environment and Agriculture. Dresden, Germany

1999: Zastrow und Schandera: Election campaign poster. Elections to the European Parliament 1999; Inventory number P 99/270. German Historical Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum). Berlin, Germany

1998: Zastrow und Schandera: Election campaign poster. Elections to the German Bundestag 1998. Inventory number P 98/1554. German Historical Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum). Berlin, Germany

CEO and co-founder at Gigahertz Ventures GmbH (Germany), an angel investment company that focuses on hardware and deep tech investments.

CEO and co-founder at EDUVISO GmbH (Germany), and education and HR development service provider that addresses the shortage of skilled workers in Germany by providing education and career development programs.