Dr Kadja Manninen is an interdisciplinary academic specialising in digital entrepreneurship, digital business model innovation, and the creative industries, with a background in contemporary circus arts. She earned her PhD in Digital Entrepreneurship as a member of the Horizon CDT 2018 cohort at the University of Nottingham, where she was based at the Haydn Green Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Throughout her doctoral studies, Kadja played a key role in bridging academia and industry through her research projects with The Space, including the AHRC-funded Digital Access to Arts and Culture project (digiaccesstoarts.org). She also played a role in academia-industry collaborations, serving as the creative producer for the Fineline Immersive project, which was supported by the Nordic Culture Fund and XR Network+ and focused on prototyping a VR circus performance (https://xrnetworkplus.xrstories.co.uk/project/fineline-immersive/).
Since completing her PhD in 2023, Kadja has continued to drive impact in the digital and creative industries. Kadja joined the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University as Lecturer in Entrepreneurship in the Digital Creative Industries. In 2024, she advanced to the position of Senior Lecturer in Digital Innovation at the Centre for Enterprise, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. She currently acts as the Academic Lead on the Greater Manchester Electrochemical Hydrogen Cluster (GMEHC) project, funded by Innovate UK, and the Cheshire Innovation Network (CIN), funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Both projects focus on supporting SMEs in their innovation journeys. Kadja also teaches undergraduate Business and Management students in subjects such as Business Creation and Employability.
Beyond research and industry engagement, Kadja is committed to shaping the next generation of entrepreneurs, teaching Business and Management students in subjects such as Business Creation and Employability. Her work exemplifies the transformative potential of interdisciplinary research, demonstrating how academic expertise can translate into real-world impact in the digital economy.
The interdisciplinary Horizon CDT PhD programme, centred on the digital economy, provided Kadja with an excellent foundation for an academic career. It equipped her with the skills and networks to drive meaningful change, foster collaborations between academia and industry, and contribute to innovation in both the creative and business sectors.
