Maria Azucena Gutierrez Gonzalez
Maria Azucena Gutierrez Gonzalez
mariaazucena.gutierrez@ntnu.no
About
With more than 25 years of international experience in higher education, research, innovation, and organizational development, I specialize in building bridges between people, disciplines, and institutions. My professional experience includes over 18 years at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Trondheim Municipality, where I have led and coordinated complex interdisciplinary initiatives across academia, the public sector, and international partnerships.
Holding a Master's degree in Management and Business Administration and doctoral-level training in Systems Change, I combine strategic thinking with a collaborative and solution-oriented approach. I have extensive experience securing and managing competitive funding from programmes such as Horizon Europe and the Research Council of Norway, while supporting the development of sustainable partnerships, effective governance structures, and knowledge-sharing networks.
Alongside my administrative and project leadership experience, I am committed to education and capacity building. Through teaching, student supervision, academic mentoring, and course coordination in international Master's programmes, I have supported students and professionals in addressing complex societal and sustainability challenges.
I am known for building trusted relationships across organizational levels, fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders, and translating ambitious ideas into practical and lasting results. Whether coordinating international consortia, educational initiatives, or organizational development processes, my focus is on creating meaningful impact through collaboration, continuous learning, and effective knowledge exchange.
Key words: Management, international background, facilitation, interdisciplinarity, organizational learning, knowledge brokage, marketing, communications.
Educational Background:
University of León, Spain – Master’s Degree Management & Business Adm. MBA (‘98 - ’00)
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands - International program Faculteit der Economie, Business Studies & Econometrics as part of the Masters Degree. (‘99 – ’00)
University of León, Spain – Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management (’92 - ’98)
Aarhus School of Business, Denmark – International program Quality Management, Marketing & Human Resources as part of the Bachelor’s (’97 - ’98)
University of Aalborg, Denmark – International program Management in an International Perspective as part of the Bachelor’s (’96 - ’97)
Competencies
Research
As researcher I am interested in better understanding interdisciplinarity and the approaches for building more efficient and sustainable collaborative projects/programmes.
Researching the role of 'the facilitator' in the the creation of Communities of Practice and exploring their impact (both of facilitator and the CoPs) in the design and management of collaborative programmes.
Current Research Projects:
Sept. 2023... - Project co-coordinator & Leader of the WorkPackage Coordination for the Horizon Europe Project DiverSea: Integrated Observation, Mapping, Monitoring and Prediction for Functional Biodiversity of Coastal Seas (96,9Mkr)
Past Research Projects:
2020-23 - Building Capacity to Crosslink Coastal Pollution with Climate Change (BC5) – a strategic north-south-south collaboration project funded by NORAD under Norhed II (20Mkr).
2020-22: PDP2 - Atlantic Observatory/EEA Grants program/Norway NTNU representative partner at the projects’ advisory group
2021-22: In collaboration with Kunstakademiet i Trondheim KiT _ Real-Time Telematic Audiovisual Improvisation (RTAI): artistic frameworks and techniques for technology enabled learning. Grant (3Mkr) provided by The Norwegian Artistic Research Programme (NARP)
Publications
New Publication soon to be published - Teaching & Learning Inquiry
Innovating Interdisciplinarity in Higher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Grassroots Community of Practice
ABSTRACT
Skills in interdisciplinary collaboration are required to address many complex problems facing society. As such, interdisciplinarity is a critical competency for students to develop. Experts in Teamwork (EiT) is a MSc programme in a Norwegian university that develops students’ interdisciplinary teamwork skills through projects that address real-world challenges. However, teachers’ effectiveness in teaching interdisciplinarity is often hindered by silo structures within university faculties. To address this issue, a community of practice (CoP) evolved among teachers from different EiT classes. Over a period of twenty months, CoP members participated in digital and in-person discussions, lecture exchanges, student and professional conferences, and co-evaluation of student work, with an aim of better understanding interdisciplinarity and approaches for teaching it to students. The success of the CoP in achieving these aims was evaluated through a series of focus groups consisting of members of the CoP. The CoP achieved some success in fostering pedagogical conversations that were transformative for participants’ understanding of interdisciplinarity in their practice. Participants reported that CoP participation influenced their interactions with students, ultimately helping students to develop a better understanding of interdisciplinarity. However, participants reported limitations in the CoP as a professional development resource, citing its newness and the required time commitment. Participants felt that these issues could be addressed via greater institutional support.
2024
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Gutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena;
Mandeville, Caitlin Marie;
Edwards, Ferne Leigh;
Rice, Paula Maria.
(2024)
Innovating Interdisciplinarity in Higher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Grassroots Community of Practice.
Teaching and Learning Inquiry
Academic article
2023
-
Østern, Tone Pernille;
Bichao, Helena;
Preston, Carol;
Ardelan, Murat van;
Kumarswamy, Manola Gayatri;
Martin, Rosemary Kate;
Buck, Ralph;
Gutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena.
(2023)
Water education, ocean literacy and arts integration.
A literature review in an interdisciplinary team.
Nordic Journal of Art & Research (A & R)
Academic article
Journal publications
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Østern, Tone Pernille;
Bichao, Helena;
Preston, Carol;
Ardelan, Murat van;
Kumarswamy, Manola Gayatri;
Martin, Rosemary Kate;
Buck, Ralph;
Gutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena.
(2023)
Water education, ocean literacy and arts integration.
A literature review in an interdisciplinary team.
Nordic Journal of Art & Research (A & R)
Academic article
-
Gutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena;
Mandeville, Caitlin Marie;
Edwards, Ferne Leigh;
Rice, Paula Maria.
(2024)
Innovating Interdisciplinarity in Higher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Grassroots Community of Practice.
Teaching and Learning Inquiry
Academic article
Teaching
Past Teaching&Education:
Humanities in the Workplace (HiP) 2022 & 21 - Course responsible - Teaching, programme responsible, external partner collaborations & project definition.
Experts in Teamwork EiT Villages 2022 & 21 - Village Leader - An Ocean for All: Ocean Literacy for Sustainability
Supervision
Management of NTNU Ocean's internship program and supervision of research projects linked to the internship work 2018-2022. Supervision of MSc and BSc student from different programmes belonging to:
- Faculty Engineering: Dept. Civil & Environmental Engineering
- Faculty of Humanities:
- Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture
- Dept. of Historical Studies
- Dept. of Geography
- Music Department, NTNU/UiO
- Dept. Art & Media Studies
- Faculty Social & Educational Studies: Dept. of Psychology
- Faculty of Architecture & Design: Dept. Design/NTNU Gjøvik
Outreach
2022
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Conference lectureGutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena; Mandeville, Caitlin; Edwards, Ferne Leigh; Rice, Paula Maria. (2022) Innovative online collegial coaching: a virtual community of practice for interdisciplinary educators. Interdisciplinary Teamwork Skills for the 21st Century, 6th Annual Meeting
2021
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InterviewErichsen, Ingrid; Salaberria, Iurgi; Blindheimsvik, Thea Farstad; Mendez, Andres; Mészey, András; Wojtczak, Weronika; Gutierrez Gonzalez, Maria Azucena. (2021) Action Ocean Plastic Waste.