Ioannis Zikidis

Ioannis Zikidis is a postdoctoral researcher at imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, working on StreamSCAPES, a pan-European Horizon Europe project investigating the role of video-on-demand platforms in the sustainable transition of Europe’s cultural and creative industries.

He holds a PhD in Visual, Performing and Media Arts from Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, awarded Eccellente con Lode, for a thesis examining environmental sustainability in Italy’s screen sector through a comparative analysis of seven sustainable audiovisual production protocols, situated within transnational agendas, technical standards, and reporting regimes.

His professional background spans broadcast television, documentary production, and sustainability practice in the screen sector. As Assistant Editor at Radio Arvyla (ANT1, Greece) and Video Logger for Olympic Broadcasting Services (London 2012), he developed end-to-end fluency in both post-production and live broadcast workflows.

As Producer and Creative Director at Minca Ventures, he co-produced 42 documentaries on sustainability and the circular economy, co-developed three FutureLearn MOOCs that reached over 5,000 learners, and curated video case studies for a Routledge volume on the Social and Solidarity Economy. His doctoral industry placement with EcoMuvi S.r.l. took him on set across productions for Netflix and Amazon in Italy and Greece, where he applied the EcoMuvi sustainable production protocol, coordinated compliance audits with an Accredia-accredited certification body, and represented the company at sector forums, including the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.

The research of Ioannis Zikidis sits at the intersection of screen sector governance, sustainability policy, and media production, with a particular focus on how environmental standards and certification frameworks are adopted, mediated, and standardised across the audiovisual value chain.