Dr Viktoriia Ivannikova, Assistant Professor and Programme Chair for BSc in Aviation Management at DCU Business School, has been appointed Judging Coordinator for the Aviation Industry Awards 2026, bringing a research and teaching career spanning aviation management, sustainable airport design, and digital transformation in aviation to oversee the evaluation of Ireland's benchmark programme for aviation excellence and innovation.

Ivannikova leads the BSc in Aviation Management at DCU Business School, where she combines extensive teaching experience with active research into geopolitics and aviation, sustainable airports, and the digital transformation reshaping the aviation industry.

Her concurrent role as External Examiner for the MSc in Airport Planning and Management at Cranfield University in the UK reflects an engagement with aviation education that extends well beyond Dublin, connecting her to one of the world's leading centres for aviation and aerospace research.

Prior to joining DCU, she served as Associate Professor and Director of Education in English at the Faculty of Transport, Management and Logistics at the National Aviation University of Ukraine, where she also directed BSc and MSc programmes in Air Transportation Management, giving her a depth of curriculum leadership across aviation management education that is rare among Irish-based academics.

Her research credentials are equally substantial. Ivannikova holds a PhD in Air Transportation Systems, sits on the editorial boards of prestigious peer-reviewed aviation and transport journals, and is the author and co-author of four aviation books alongside numerous research papers.

She won the Award for Best Published Research Paper in the category of Airports Designing and Planning from the Construction Academy of Ukraine in 2014, and is a regular speaker at international academic and industry conferences on airport operations management, aviation innovation, and the evolving dynamics of the global aviation industry.

As Judging Coordinator, Ivannikova will oversee an independent panel evaluating entries across 25 categories, from Aviation Company of the Year and airport management to aviation technology, airline safety, aviation innovation, and Aviation Rising Star.

The panel includes John McMahon of M.J. McMahon & Company, Adam Bouchard of Nashville International Airport, John Drysdale of Annadale Aviation, Samantha Harding of SILC, Aidan Flanagan of ACI EUROPE, Kieran O'Brien of KPMG Ireland, Dr Kyriakos Kourousis of the University of Limerick, and Michael Treacy of Enterprise Ireland.

The awards gala will take place on 3 December 2026 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dublin Airport.

Visit the official Aviation Industry Awards website to explore the categories and subscribe to the newsletter for the latest awards and event updates.