Nick Harutyunyan

Dr. Ing. | UX & Open Source Researcher | Project Manager

University of Erlangen–Nuremberg

Hey, I’m Nick!

I research open source governance, corporate open sourcing, user experience design, and other topics in software engineering and information systems.

I am interested in UX research, R&D and software product management. I love software that helps improve individual lives.

Since 2016, as a PhD student and then postdoc, I have worked closely with industry and:

interviewed and collaborated with experts from 20+ companies, including Facebook, Intel, Software AG, BMW, and Zalando
helped acquire €800K+ in research and industry funding
published 10+ papers alongside my 447-page dissertation.
developed a practical handbook of industry best practices for corporate open source governance and helped implement it at three large multinational companies.

I am based in Nuremberg, Germany. In the last decade, I also lived in the US, Canada, France, and Armenia. I co-founded the 100+ member NGO Enlight. I was also nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize alongside Malala Yousafzai.

Interests

Open Source Governance
User Experience Design
Actionable Research
Product Management
Corporate Open Sourcing
Information Systems

Education

PhD in Computer Science, 2016–2019
University of Erlangen, Germany
MSc in International Information Systems, 2014–2016
University of Erlangen, Germany | Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
BSc in Economics and Business Management, 2010–2014
Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, France | Chadron State College, NE, USA

Skills

Java

R

Python

LaTex

Statistics

Photography

Experience

Senior Researcher and Postdoc

University of Erlangen–Nuremberg

Oct 2019 – Present Erlangen, Germany

Highlights:

Researched open source governance in companies
Published on corporate open sourcing and governance, software supply chains, requirements engineering, and more
Graduated from Software Campus 2.0 – German IT excellence and leadership program with access to industry and executive education
Supervised PhD and MA student projects.

Researcher and PhD Student

University of Erlangen–Nuremberg

Oct 2016 – Sep 2019 Erlangen, Germany

Highlights:

Researched corporate open source governance and user experience design
Published 10+ journal and conference papers
Presented at international academic and practitioner conferences in the US, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Czechia
Acquired €400k+ in industry funding for open source governance research, €300k+ in research funding from DFG (German Research Foundation), and €100k in industry–academic collaboration funding from BMBF (German Ministry of Education and Research)
Worked with 20+ industry partners from eight countries
Taught graduate courses on software product management, open source software, team building, and research methods.