Speakers
The page is constantly updated.
Cezary Błaszczyk is the deputy director of the Department of International Cooperation at the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR). Since 2010 in different managerial positions linked to international cooperation of the Centre. His responsibilities include advising and assisting the director of the Centre in the coordination of international research projects, analysis of foreign innovation systems and its potential applicability in Poland, bilateral contacts and their development into joint programmes based on MoU or other agreements, government policy implementation focusing on Horizon Europe partnerships or ERA-Net schemes. Mr Błaszczyk is also the Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR) at the National Centre for Research and Development related to all EU programmes and projects. The main task is to initiate and organise bilateral cooperation between Poland (NCBR) and other European and non-European countries in terms of calls and scientific seminars. He stood behind the concept and implementation of the INNOGLOBO programme, a unique funding scheme that allows Polish researchers to collaborate with partners from almost any country in the world.
Sean Chen is the Associate Director of Ecosystem Development (AI&Data Science) at Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park (HSITP). He leads the AI cluster’s strategic and operational activities. Sean focuses on establishing the global AI ecosystem of cross-industry alliances and partnerships while supporting enterprise digital transformation with innovative technology. Key projects include developing government BaaS platforms and cross-border data management solutions to comply with data privacy, sovereignty, and security. Sean expanded the AI ecosystem network beyond Hong Kong and the region by collaborating with global authorities, telecom, cloud providers, and academic institutions. A tech enthusiast and serial entrepreneur, Sean started his career a decade ago promoting Digital Twin and Smart City technology in Greater China and ASEAN. He co-founded multiple tech startups integrating Artificial Intelligence, Smart Sensors, and Motion Recognition technology. Sean holds a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering from Stanford University and a BEng in Civil Engineering from the University of California-Davis. PhD candidate in Industrial Management and Industry 4.0 at Peking University.
Bence György is a Translational Scientist and leads the Ophthalmic Translational Research Group at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB, www.iob.ch). Previously, he obtained an MD-PhD degree rom Semmelweis University, Budapest, and conducted research at the Harvard Medical School. He directs various research programs focused on developing treatments for vision loss. He is one of the Scientific Founders of RhyGaze AG (www.rhygaze.com), a Basel-Philadelphia-based biotech firm, which recently obtained $96M USD investment from European and US venture capital firms.
Csaba Janáky obtained his PhD degree at the University of Szeged. He was a Marie Curie fellow at the UT Arlington (USA) between 2011-2014. His group at the University of Szeged focuses on energy orientated electrochemistry, and scale-up of both CO2 electrolysis and hydrogen generation. He is the founding director of the Greennovation Center, where a team of 100+ people is focusing on developing chemical energy conversion technologies. He is co-Founder of eChemicles, a company scaling-up its best in class CO2 electrolysis technology to decarbonize the hard-to-abate sectors. He has published over 130 papers, filed 20+ patents. Since 2024 he is an EIC Ambassador, helping to shape the European innovation ecosystem.
Jakub Jasiczak is the Chairman of the Polish Association of University Knowledge Transfer Companies, a forum uniting tech-transfer companies of 37 universities. This forum has successfully acquired and completed over 3,500 R&D projects for business and established 246 technological spin-off companies. He also serves as the Head of Commercialization at the Institute of Human Genetics PAS and is a Member of the Council for Innovation in Higher Education and Science. Since 2015, he has supervised over 370 research and consulting projects for over 200 enterprises and public institutions. He holds a PhD in economics in commodity science (2010).
Julian Laufs currently serves as Head of Partnermanagement and Innovation Methods at the Cyberagentur, Germany’s advanced research projects agency, focused on long-term, high-risk innovation for defense and national security. He holds a PhD from University College London and has conducted research at the Dawes Centre for Future Crime, Yale University, and the Alan Turing Institute. His work centers on transforming abstract future needs into concrete, high-impact research programs that align science, technology, and strategic policy.
Assistant Professor Dejan Mirčetić earned his PhD from the University of Novi Sad in the field of forecasting and supply chain analytics. He has published over 60 scientific papers, with a strong focus on solving real-world challenges in business, supply chains, and industrial systems. With several years of experience in industry collaboration, he has led supply chain analytics teams in designing AI-driven solutions for process optimization. Also he is leading the startup for developing AI solutions in industry. As a scientist at the Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Serbia, Dr. Mirčetić is responsible for developing AI applications for business and industry. He currently leads the ISIOP project, part of the AIPlan4EU platform under the Horizon 2020 program, aimed at creating AI-based solutions to optimize operations for a leading agricultural company in Southeast Europe. At the Faculty of Technical Sciences, he teaches multiple logistics courses and leads several research, student-mobility and industry-driven projects. His academic work centers on supply chain optimization, digital transformation in logistics, and AI applications in transport and distribution. Through his involvement in teaching and projects across transportation, healthcare, and the food industry, Dr. Mirčetić applies artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency and support the digital transformation of traditional sectors.
Martin Olczyk is an MD at Techstars and has more than 15 years of experience in the tech industry. He launched the first Techstars program in Italy and built it into one of the leading programs globally. He currently runs the Transformative World Accelerator in Torino, Italy. Previously, he led the Smart Mobility and Torino Cities of the Future Accelerator and was the MD at accelerator programs in Berlin and Amsterdam. Before Techstars, Martin was a founder, having built two bootstrapped and two VC-backed companies, including one successful exit. As an investor, he has backed over 100 startups across the globe.
Marko Sever is an innovation strategist and deep tech advisor with 15+ years of experience in university tech transfer, startup development, and EU-funded programs. He has led digital transformation and AI governance projects across academia, public sector, and industry. Marko actively supports science-based ventures in bridging the gap from research to market.
Linda Võeras is an Investment Manager at Karma Ventures, a pan-European late seed / series a deep tech software fund, backed by former leaders of Skype, Pipedrive, Wise and others. She brings experience in deep-tech executive search and global team building from her time at SH Gillamor Stephens in London and began her career as a creative editor in Ekspress Media.
