Agnieszka Radziwon, Aarhus University, Denmark

Agnieszka Radziwon is an Associate Professor of Innovation Management at Aarhus University in Denmark and a Research Fellow at the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley in the United States. She holds a PhD in Product Design and Innovation from the University of Southern Denmark, a Master’s in Engineering from Wroclaw University of Technology, and an MBA in Relationship Management from the University of Southern Denmark. Professor Radziwon’s expertise is in innovation and technology management. As a scholar, she is looking into a broader perspective of inter-organizational collaboration in various types of (eco)systems. She is interested in the ways knowledge is transferred across organizations, the role of networks in facilitating or hindering innovation, and how institutions codify ideas and practices. She has published several highly cited articles concerning open innovation, open innovation in science, and ecosystems. She is a co-author of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Open Innovation (Oxford University Press, 2023). For over a decade before joining academia, Professor Radziwon lived in multiple EU countries while working both for the private sector and non-governmental organizations. She has experience in Research and Development (project) management, community building, and marketing. Managerial experience along with academic expertise make her an expert reviewer and speaker for the European Commission, a leader and manager of the Open Innovation Community, and an advisor and mentor for both academics and managers.

Alexander Kies, Aarhus University

Alexander Kies is an accomplished researcher in the field of energy system modelling and analysis, currently serving as a Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Aarhus University, Denmark. He completed his PhD in Physics at the University of Oldenburg, Germany, in 2016. Previously he held positions as a research group leader & research fellow for Energy Systems and AI at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies. His research is focused on interdisciplinary modeling of energy systems, examining their dynamics, meteorological influences, and impacts on sustainable development.

Anna Hubatova-Vackova, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague

Anna Hubatova-Vackova works at the Department of Sustainability and Product Ecology at UCT Prague, where she focuses on sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment and pursues her PhD degree. In her research, she specializes on sustainability of food production and studies the links between environmental impacts and health implications of dietary habits. Moreover, she is interested in the agri-food sector, has completed an agricultural course at Mendel University, co-founded an organic farm for the sustainability initiative @udrzitelnaspolecnost. She also used to develop innovative food products for plant-based companies. At UCT Prague, Anna participates in teaching the Product Ecology seminar. Based on a collaboration between UCT Prague and the National Museum of Agriculture, she holds lectures for primary and secondary school teachers who are seeking to implement sustainability topics into their curricula. Anna is currently based in between Prague, Czech Republic and Cairo, Egypt.

Arash Rezazadeh, Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics

Arash Rezazadeh is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Digital+Sustainable Innovation Lab at Católica Lisbon. Dr. Rezazadeh has a Ph.D. in Business Administration and Management from Universidade do Minho in Braga. Dr. Rezazadeh is currently researching new Business Models enabled by Digital Transformation Technologies, including blockchain, crypto tokens, digital assets, and NFTs. In the past, he was researching on new business models developed in the Portuguese Textile and Clothing Industry as well as on Connected Mobility Platforms for two-wheelers.

Bob Jones, Startup Enterprises

A serial entrepreneur with international business experience and two patents in the field of nutrition, Bob is a mentor with MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service. He has served as a judge in MIT’s $100K Business Plan Competition. Bob served for ten years as a National Advisor for Pipeline Entrepreneurs, where he led several intensive workshops for high-growth entrepreneurs. He has started four companies in the nutrition space and served as CEO of a food company that’s publicly traded on the Hong Kong exchange. Bob is the author of The Start-Up Starter Kit: How to Avoid Failing in the Crucial First Two Years, which is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. He has an A.B. in biology from Princeton University, and an MSM (MBA + thesis) from MIT. After hours, Bob is an enthusiastic motorcyclist and a working musician, performing regularly with several Boston-area groups, including a blues band. He's also on the Board of Trustees for Music with Heart and joins them playing in local homeless shelters.

Carla Oliveira, Biorbis

Carla Oliveira received her PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Minho (UM) in 2009. From 2010 to 2019, she developed her Post-Doc at CEB – Centre of Biological Engineering (UM) in the field of Molecular Biotechnology. Since 2019, she is Senior Researcher at CBQF – Católica University of Porto, being Director of the Fermentation Platform. Her research focuses on the development and optimization of value-added biomolecules production from sustainable feedstocks by microbial fermentation, in flasks and bioreactor systems. Since 2020, she leads the research group “Precision Fermentation”, within the CBQF thematic line “Biotech Innovation and Tech Transfer”. She participated in many projects, including the Alchemy project (2019-2023), one of the largest biotechnology programs ever co-financed by Portugal 2020. Currently, she coordinates fermentation projects at Biorbis, a hosted company dedicated to the commercialization of new and innovative biomolecules.

Catarina Conrado, Food for Sustainability

Catarina Conrado obtained a degree in Environmental Engineering and Agronomic Engineering from the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, and her dissertation focused the “Analysis of Environmental and Productive Impact of Portuguese dairy farms” as part of the Interreg Atlantic Area program. With professional experience in soil and groundwater decontamination as well as environmental consultancy, she also serves as a trainer in the fields of regenerative agriculture and conservation agriculture. Her curriculum includes numerous lectures on topics such as sustainable agriculture, carbon farming, composting and agricultural robotics.

Gert Kootstra, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands

Associate professor at Wageningen University since 2022, works on computer vision and robotics with applications in the domain of agriculture with the aim to facilitate the transition to more sustainable agriculture and food production. Holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of Groningen, within the Artificial Intelligence Institute, on the topic of “Visual attention: inspiration from human eye movements for applications in artificial systems (e.g., object recognition and navigation)”. M.Sc. degree in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Groningen, where he taught different courses on robotics and autonomous systems. Assistant professor in computer vision and robotics at the Farm Technology group of Wageningen University, between 2017 and 2022. Was scientific Coordinator and Researcher in Computer Vision and Robotics at Wageningen UR Food and Biobased Research, working on non-destructive quality inspection and robotic handling of food products and plants, from 2012 to 2017. Has performed research on visual processes for object detection, segmentation, and robotic grasping, at the Computer Vision and Active Perception, at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, from 2009 to 2011.

Gonçalo Amorim, CEO from BGI – Building Global Innovators

In the past 10 years, Gonçalo Amorim has mentored over 200 tech-based founders, entrepreneurial teams and technology start-ups & spinoffs through various structured programs. Gonçalo has been actively involved as an advisor & board member in a number of emerging technology-intense start-ups. Started off his career in England back in 1997 designing scientific experiments at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire (UK), joining in 2000 Hewlett Packard Semiconductor division (UK), where he filed a dozen of international patents (US, Europe & Japan). In Portugal since 2005, held several managerial roles in some of the most dynamic and successful Portuguese multinationals listed in the Portuguese Stock exchange, PSI20. Specialties: Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Board Management, early-stage funding, Venture Capital, New Business Creation.

Manuela Pintado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, UCP, Porto

Coordinator of the DIP4Agri project and Deep Tech Innovators course, Manuela Pintado is the Director of CBQF - Centre of Biotecnology and Fine Chemistry, State Associate Laboratory and the leader of Biobased and Biomedical products group and coordinates the Bioactives and Bioproducts Research Laboratory, at CBQF. Main research interests include development and characterization of bioactives and by-product upgrading through bioprocesses and extraction processes aiming to obtain high-added value products to be applied to Food and other industries. She has established strong interaction with industry for several years mainly in food sector. She co-authored ca. 300 papers in international journals, a creator of 16 patents and she has been involved in the supervision/co- supervision of 20 concluded PhD theses and coordinated/co-coordinated ca. 80 externally funded projects.

Olga Pelekh, EIT Food Seedbed Research Fellow, University of Warsaw

Dr. Olga Pelekh is the EIT Food Seedbed Warsaw Hub Manager. She is responsible for the implementation of the program supporting the startups at an early stage of development as well as entrepreneurs and scientists with ideas in the agri-food sector in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. For several years she has been working at the Faculty of Management of the University of Warsaw. She received her PhD in Social Sciences at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. She was a scholarship holder of the John Paul II Foundation and the Polish Government under the Eastern Partnership.

Raquel Madureira, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, UCP, Porto

Senior researcher at CBQF (Centre of Biotecnology and Fine Chemistry, State Associate Laboratory, UCP) and invited professor for the teaching of Industrial microbiology. Leader of the Biotech Innovation and Tech Transfer (BITT) Research group, at CBQF, with focus on white biotechnology processes, on the resulting by-products and value-added biomolecules, using renewable sources of carbon and nutrients (e.g., sugarcane). Also works on applied research and market driven innovative solutions for cosmetic and skin care, pharmaceutical, food and animal feed and materials applications with strong engagement of companies at an early phase of product development. Recently involved a new and exciting collaboration project with one of the most promising new companies Biorbis dedicated to commercialization of new biomolecules. European projects evaluator since 2017.

Sofia Pereira, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, UCP, Porto

Sofia Pereira is researcher at CBQF (Centre of Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry, State Associate Laboratory, UCP), and invited assistant professor for teaching Mycology. She holds a PhD in Biology, Master in Toxicology, and Bachelor in Biology from the University of Aveiro. Her scientific activity is primarily focused on advancing biotechnological approaches for sustainable and resilient agriculture, as well as the restoration of degraded areas, with a particular emphasis on environmental and agricultural biotechnology. Specifically, she focuses on devising tailored biofertilizers and exploring the application of amendments and cropping patterns to enhance soil health, biodiversity and crop resilience.

She is actively involved in various national and international projects and supervises students at different academic levels. Currently, she is an associate editor for the journal Frontiers in Plant Science (Plant Symbiotic Interactions section) and is involved as guest editor in several special issues.

Teresa Brandão, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, UCP, Porto

Researcher and Invited Assistant Professor at CBQF (Centre of Biotecnology and Fine Chemistry, State Associate Laboratory, UCP), Teresa Brandão graduated in Chemical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering/University of Porto in 1990. She completed the curricular part of her Master in Food Science and Technology at ESB-UCP in 1992. She obtained her Ph.D. in Biotechnology with a specialization in Food Science and Engineering at ESB-UCP in 2004. During her doctoral program, she took postgraduate courses in data analysis and experimental planning at the University of California, Davis, USA. Her research interests focus on thermal and non-thermal food processes, addressing quality and safety characteristics, and exploring bioactive and nutritious compounds in fruit waste, aiming to develop new strategies to add value to these products. She is a co-author of over 100 internationally indexed scientific publications and book chapters and has been involved in supervising 7 doctoral theses and 10 master's theses at ESB-UCP. She has participated in various national and international research projects and is a member of the Advisory Board of the scientific journal International Journal of Food Studies.

Tim Hogg, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, UCP, Porto

Associate Professor at the School of Biotechnology at Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), with a PhD in Food Science and Technology from the University of Reading, UK, with Aggregation in the same discipline from UCP. His scientific background was initially in biochemistry and microbiology, but he has been involved in various research areas in the agri-food sector. Currently, he serves as Co-Chair of the European Technology Platform - Food for Life (https://etp.fooddrinkeurope.eu/), and until February 2021, he was the co-founder and Scientific Director of the National Collaborative Laboratory on Vines & Wines. Among other previous responsibilities, he was the Director of the CBQF (Centre of Biotecnology and Fine Chemistry, State Associate Laboratory, UCP) from 2009 to 2017, President of the R&D agency of Viniportugal (2006-2013), and Vice-President of Portugal Foods from 2009 to 2017.

Tobias Brambrink, VP, Legal & IP at Chroma

Tobias Brambrink is a patent attorney leveraging his experience in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and intellectual property law to create and maximize intellectual property value for his clients. He utilizes his deep technical expertise across various biotech, pharmaceutical, and chemical technologies to establish and protect IP rights in areas including biologics and biosimilars, pharmaceuticals, oncology, immunology, microbiology, neutraceuticals, pre- and probiotics, CRISPR/Cas, RNAi, therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies and antibody derivatives, embryonic and adult stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, regenerative medicine, epigenetics, directed evolution, alternative fuels, and synthetic biology.

Trine Hundevadt, Aarhus University

Trine is a Startup Advisor and Business Developer at The Kitchen, located at Aarhus University's Startup Hub and Accelerator. Trine works with the most promising university startups and spinouts to realize their innovative potential. Trine organizes and delivers workshops & courses providing tools and knowledge needed to build a successful startup, also helping with customer research, user centered design, but also with business strategy, planning and execution.

Vítor Verdelho, Visiting Professor at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, General Manager of the European Algae Biomass Association

Born in Porto, Portugal, on March 9th, 1966, I hold a degree in Physics from the Sciences Faculty of Porto University. With over 25 years of experience in biotechnology projects, I am a Co-Founder and shareholder of Necton, SA, a marine biotechnology company established in 1997. Our ventures encompass the commercial production of traditional sea salt and microalgae. In 2008, I embarked on another entrepreneurial journey as a Co-Founder and shareholder of A4F – Algae for Future SA. Currently, I serve as the CEO and co-founder of Cell4Food, a pioneering company in the 'cultivated meat' segment of cellular agriculture since 2022.

Throughout my career, I have actively participated in over 20 European and 40 National research projects across various frameworks and programs, collaborating with more than 100 partner organizations throughout Europe. I have held the role of General Manager of the European Algae Biomass Association since 2015, representing the Algae Biomass sector. Over the past three decades, I have honed a diverse set of teaching and management skills in various domains, directly mentoring over 200 start-ups across different frameworks. Furthermore, I am privileged to serve as a Visiting Professor at the Católica Porto Business School and have contributed as a co-author to the trilogy of books titled "The Business Case Roadmap".