./welcome

Hello 👋.
Thank you for stopping by.

I am Apostolos Kritikos, Ph.D., a critical (software) engineer with a passion for new technologies and all things open. I love coffee, listening to music / podcasts and audiobooks, reading, writing and doing the lindy hop (= swing dancing).

🔭 I am currently serving as an Engineering Team Lead at Toggl, a time tracking, planning and hiring SaaS company!

With Don Rossa at Comic Con Thessaloniki 2019
(with Don Rosa at The Comic Con Thessaloniki 2019)

tl;dr

(in reverse chronological order)

  • ✨ I completed my PhD in Software Resilience and Open Source Software in 2023.
  • ✨ I received a fellowship from the European forum of the software research community for advocating for the future of Open Source Software.
  • ✨ I received a fellowship of the State Scholarships Foundation (ΙΚΥ), Greece, for my Doctoral Research on Software Resilience and Open Source Software.
  • 🎤 Participated as a speaker at major international events such as OSS Conference, re:publica, Wordcamp Athens.
  • 🇪🇺 Supported the EUvsVirus Hackathon as a volunteer mentor and matchmaker.
  • 🇪🇺 Participated in the preliminary study for the Open source software strategy 2020-2023 of the European Union, a project led by the European Commission.
  • 🌱 Curated the Open Coffee Thessaloniki Meetups for 10 years, supporting the local entrepreneurial community.
  • 🛰 Participated in 10+ Research & Development projects funded by the European Union.
  • 🏬 Worked in 150+ software projects for the private sector in 10+ years. Started as a freelancer, then founded a small software house that turned to a 12-person digital solutions’ agency (e-commerce – marketing – advertising). Exited in 2022 to re-focus purely on software engineering.

The long version

(a.k.a. areas of focus)

Open Source Software

The first time I heard about Open Source Software (OSS) was in 2001. But I really started getting a grasp of its true potential and actively working with it in 2005, during the 3rd year of my bachelor studies in the School of Informatics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Nowadays, OSS is considered mainstream globally and I couldn’t be more happy. It has been the running force of all my professional endeavors, has fueled my academic research and makes my digital life easier every day.

Work

I started working as a software / web developer circa 2006. Back then, (we) developers were considered Swiss knives. That is why during the early years of my career I worked on IT support, networks, software / web development and research oriented ICT projects. It was amazing, and I learned tons of stuff about the profession.

In 2011, I founded a two-person software house with the aim of getting bigger contracts from being a solopreneur. In 2014, our little software house evolved to Social Mind, a digital solutions’ agency that is growing ever since. In 2022, I exited Social Mind’s executives and shareholders board. I am currently serving as an Engineering Team Lead at Toggl, helping to provide the best time tracking, project planning and hiring experience online. If you or your team are interested in high quality time tracking services, give Toggl a try!

Research

After getting my Bachelor’s degree in Informatics, I completed a Master’s degree in Informational Systems. In 2023, I successfully completed my PhD with the School of Informatics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in the fields of Open Source Software Engineering and Software Resilience. 

Academic Research has been professionally enhancing me with extremely useful skills for the last decade. Analytical thinking, out of the box design, agile methodologies, fact checking mechanisms, test first design approaches are only a select few.

See also: Google Scholar, DBLP, ORCID, Research Gate

Support & Voluntary Work

I am trying to support the following tech, business and / or innovation oriented networks, organizations or charities, either financially or with voluntary work: Open Coffee Club Greece, WordPress.org, Archive.org, MyData.org, World Wide Web Foundation, Mozilla Open Leaders, EUvsVirus.

I am also a proud signatory / supporter of:

Speaking & Press

I was honored to have been invited to talk and to have received some publicity over the years. Here are some selected items.

Speaking

Open Source Systems Conference 2020.
WordCamp Athens 2017: Challenges in Integrating ERP Systems With WooCommerce E-shops.
re:publica 2017: Open Data in Smart Cities – Enabling Citizens’ Participation.

You can find the whole list featuring both Greek and International speaking engagements here!

Press

You can find the whole list featuring both Greek and International press here!