Denys Smolennikov received PhD in Economics in 2017, majoring in "Economics of natural resources and environmental protection". He has more than 120 educational and scientific publications. He is a member of several NGOs of academic orientation and one of the founders of the "Lifelong Learning Centre”. He is also an expert on the National Agency for Quality Assurance of Higher Education, the National Research Fund of Ukraine.

He has experience in leading international scientific and educational projects, as well as organizing numerous events under the auspices of the EU/UNDP "Community-based approach to local development" Project, the Baltic University Program, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Canadian-Ukrainian Trade and Investment Support Project, etc.