Founder and Director, AGILE Research Ltd.
Dr Sandra Mandic, PhD, PMP is a transformational leader, innovator and award-winning researcher and author. Sandra has over twenty years of research experience in the health and transport sectors. She also holds a Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification from the Project Management Institute, has experience of working in academia, government and business sectors and has published six books linking research and project management.
Sandra’s personal and professional experience spans nine cities across five countries and three continents – including Europe, Canada, United States and New Zealand. She completed a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Novi Sad (former Yugoslavia), Master’s of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees at the University of Alberta (Canada) and postdoctoral training at Stanford University (United States), and has worked as an academic (2009-2024) and a researcher (2009-present) in New Zealand.
Sandra is passionate about research, innovation, mentoring, project and programme management, and building bridges between people, sectors and cultures. She is the founder and director of AGILE Research Ltd., a research consultancy which specialises in creating research and project management training resources, offering customised high-quality research and project management training and providing research consultancy services to academic institutions, government organisations and industry.
As a researcher, Sandra initiated and managed a wide range of research projects and programmes, including the award-winning and internationally recognised Built Environment and Active Transport to School (BEATS) Research Programme, published over 100 scientific journal articles to date and supervised over 40 research students.
Sandra designed the Compass Guide Research Training Resources for researchers, current and future research students and their supervisors, research project managers and coordinators, and professionals involved in research activities in various sectors. Currently the Compass Guide Research Training Resources consist of award-winning Compass Guide books, a range of courses and workshops and a series of short research training videos on the AGILE Research YouTube channel. Six Compass Guide books have been published to date in English. Some of the books are also available in Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese. Sandra received the New Zealand Academic Achievement in Project Management Award from the Project Management Institute of New Zealand for two of her books (finalist in 2024 and winner in 2025).
Sandra speaks four languages, is happily married to a Canadian husband and they are fortunate to have two wonderful children. She loves travelling and learning about different cultures and has many friends and professional connections around the globe.