Ursula El Hage is a leading voice in entrepreneurship and open innovation, with over two decades of experience at the intersection of education, employability, and organizational development. She currently serves as Director of the Career and Placement Office and the Entrepreneurship Center at Saint Joseph University of Beirut (USJ), where she drives transformative initiatives that foster entrepreneurial mindsets and support innovation-driven ecosystems.
With a deep belief in the power of open innovation, Ursula has successfully bridged academia, government, and industry through her work in Lebanon, Latin America, and Europe.
Previously, Ursula held several high-impact roles, including Head of the Innovation Office at the Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador, where she co-led the national E-Government transformation in collaboration with international experts. As Vice President of CODEFE (Ecuador) and CORFEP (Peru), she led advisory efforts to elevate over 100 institutions to global performance standards using the EFQM Excellence Model.
Ursula’s influence extends to thought leadership and mentorship. She is a faculty sponsor of the Stanford University Innovation Fellows program, a speaker at global forums such as TEDx, RiseUp Summit, and the EFQM Forum, and an expert evaluator for the World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI). She also mentors young innovators through the United Nations Global Compact Network Lebanon and actively contributes to academic scholarship in change management and higher education transformation.
Her educational background includes an Executive Doctorate in Business Administration from Saint Joseph University of Beirut and Université Paris Dauphine – PSL, and an MBA from IDE Business School in Ecuador. She has pursued advanced training in innovation and entrepreneurship at Stanford University and is certified as a master assessor in excellence management by EFQM.
Fluent in Arabic, French, English, and Spanish, Ursula’s multicultural insight and global engagement make her a compelling advocate for inclusive and sustainable innovation. Her work continues to inspire educational institutions and entrepreneurial ecosystems to embrace collaboration, rethink boundaries, and unlock new value through open innovation.