Sprekers

Abunama has more than eight years of technical and teaching experiences in different countries, i.e., Malaysia, South Africa, and Palestine. His expertise can be reflected in his leading and involvement in various international projects related to water, wastewater and environmental monitoring and modeling. Abunama expertise extend to writing, reviewing, and editing of funds proposals and scientific publications in internationally peer-reviewed journals. His scientific research impact factor (as i10-index) is 15 according to Google scholar.

Iuliia Anosova is a researcher and practitioner specializing in international law and human rights. She obtained her PhD degree in International Law at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in 2019. In her PhD thesis she explored the jurisdiction of the international courts over the crime of genocide, focusing on co-existence and interplay of the regimes of individual and state responsibility for this crime. Since 2018 she has been working as a lawyer and legal expert at Ukrainian civil society organizations, specializing in gender-based violence, human trafficking, children and women`s rights. She is also a regular guest lecturer at the Educational and Scientific Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. In 2022 she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Iuliia joined the Human Rights Center at Ghent University as a postdoctoral fellow under the MSCA4Ukraine fellowship programme. Under the mentorship of Prof. Tine Destrooper she will be conducting the research titled “(In)Visible Crime: Dealing with Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in International and National Contexts. A Case-Study of Ukraine”.

For many years she worked as a researcher at the Peace Institute in Ljubljana and taught at the Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis in Ljubljana. She has been a visiting scholar and lecturer at the Central European University in Budapest, the Centre for Women’s Studies in Belgrade, the Inter-University Centre in Dubrovnik, Birkbeck University in London, the Centre for Women’s Studies in Novi Sad, and the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.

Her research interests are: Women’s Studies and Feminist Theory, Feminist Political Theory, Women in Politics, Gender and Globalisation, Gender and Violence, Gender and Migration.

Begoña Arano is Head of the Department for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions & Support to Experts at the European Research Executive Agency. She holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the Complutense University in Madrid. She worked as a researcher at the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) and was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship between 1996-1998.

In 1998 she joined the European Commission as Scientific Officer within the Unit for Marie Curie Fellowships (Improving Human Potential Programme). From 2007, she was a Head of Unit in the Directorate General for Research and Innovation, where she was successively responsible for the Marie Curie Actions (Networks), Communication, and the International Cooperation with North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. She later became Head of Unit in charge of innovation and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), in the Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

After 8 years in research, in several international laboratories (France, Italy, Israel), Audrey moved to the European Commission in 2009, working in research and policy programme management of Marie Curie Actions and Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions in DG Research and Innovation, DG Education and Culture before joining the European Research Executive Agency (REA) in January 2012, in the MSCA Innovative Training Network (ITN)/ Doctoral Network unit. She was coordinating the ITN call for more than 5 years and has been in charge of the operational sector in the same unit since 2021. She has participated in numerous conferences and MSCA events in the last 14 years. Audrey holds a PhD in Biotechnological Therapeutics from Paris VII University.

He holds a PhD in Chemistry with a specialty in materials science and catalysis for environmental applications from the University of Littoral Opal Coast (FR). Between 2015 and 2018, he worked as an MSCA research fellow at the University of Namur (BE) on the development of an efficient solution for exhaust air purification. A patented process ensued, which then led him collaborating with Stûv, the University of Namur and the SPW Research (BE) to set up a startup dedicated to the development and integration of efficient solutions for industrial air purification. This project earned the MSCA2019 award in the category of “Innovation and Entrepreneurship”. In 2023, the startup project was incubated at Stûv and is ongoing. In parallel, Dr. Barakat also works as a project manager and a scientific expert in emissions control at Stûv.

Starting her studies in Istanbul, Dr. Bebiroglu earned her Master’s in Applied Psychology from New York University and later her PhD in Human Development from Tufts University, USA. Following postdoctoral fellowships at King’s College London, UK, and Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium, she joined the Observatory in 2018. Currently, Dr. Bebiroglu oversees multiple projects on the job transition of doctorate holders and the value of a doctorate in the labor market. Dr. Bebiroglu has served for the past four years as an expert group member of the OECD Global Science Forum. Presently, she is a member of the Expert Group on “Research systems and the future research workforce: promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.”.

In this role, Kristina guides researchers in career development in the non-academic sector, communicates about doctorate, collaborates with companies and recruiters to share their advice and insights within the researcher community. With a PhD in Intercultural Management from the University of Paris-Saclay, she emphasizes integrating researchers across all levels and disciplines into the non-academic sector, championing diversity. Kristina’s expertise lies in supporting researchers in international and intersectoral mobility.

Alessandro earned his DPhil in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford where he conducted research on microelectronics funded by the MSCA European industrial doctorate programme. During this time, he did his secondment on the island of Madeira at Awaiba, a startup operating in the field of image sensors. After the completion of his studies, he worked in the semiconductor industry where he transitioned across several roles from R&D to business development. Since 2021, he is at the Tech Transfer office of the University of Mons, where he supports researchers with EU projects.

After working in Academic Research, Amandine was convinced of the added value and assets that PhDs can bring to companies, but also of the difficulties that some companies have in finding and evaluating these profiles. She co-founded Adoc Talent Management (France, BENELUX, Canada) in early 2008. Driven by the conviction that it is by bringing together diverse talents that mountains can be moved, she enjoys above all to bring together and connect various players. Passionate about entrepreneurship & innovation and convinced that it is a lever for employment & growth in our knowledge-based economy, she is very invested in this ecosystem. During the “Researcher’s career: multiple pathways” conference, she will share her eye as a seasoned HR & Recruitment Consultant and as an experienced Trainer & Career Coach for PhDs, over-seeing 15 years of evolution and diversification of the career paths opened to PhDs.

Julien Calmand holds a PhD in education from the Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, and is a research associate at Doshisha University, NISTEP (National Institute of Science and Technology Policy) in Japan, and a member of the CC (Consultant Chercheur) collective. He is a recognized expert on the training-employment relationship of young people, and more specifically those with higher education qualifications. His thesis work on transformations in higher education in France and Europe, and on the career prospects of PhD graduates, led him to study national and international innovation and research systems.

Julien Calmand has taken part in several national and international research projects as part of his work as a research fellow at CEREQ (Centre d’Études et de Recherche sur les Qualifications). He has been called upon by international research centers, universities, ministries and professional sectors.

As part of his consultancy activities, Julien Calmand provides assistance with the development of higher education, research and innovation schemes. He also participates in the implementation of interventions in the field of training-employment relations for development agencies. Finally, it has recently broadened its spectrum of expertise to include vocational training, lifelong learning and certification policies.

After obtaining his PhD in neurobiology in Spain, he moved to the USA, conducting biomedical research at the Rockefeller and Stanford Universities. Back in Europe, he transitioned to science consulting, founding Carreras Cientificas Alternativas, a platform devoted to guide scientists and researchers to find new professional paths.

In 2019 Manolo founded Talento Cientifico, a talent consulting agency where he works with of biotech and agrifood startups and SMEs who need highly qualified scientific-technical personnel.

In addition to his recruitment activity, Manolo conducts training seminars and workshops related to scientific professional careers, participates frequently in employability forums and runs two podcast about professional development for scientists and entrepreneurs in biotech.

He also worked in the consultancy sector, where he evaluated EU public policies in the field of research and innovation and supported the preparation of Horizon Europe through studies on mission-oriented research and innovation and the European Partnerships. Julien holds a PhD in economics from Grenoble Alpes University.

He conducted and published research on innovation policy and citizen engagement in policymaking.

He is the group coordinator of The Guild’s Innovation, Open Science, Deans of Health, Heads of Digital Research and  Research Careers & Assessment working groups.

Before that, he was a senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne, Australia, from 2010 to 2014. He obtained a Ph.D. in Economics from the Solvay Business School at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, in 2010. He was a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley (California, USA) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Massachusetts, USA). The overarching objective of his research is to provide the policy environment that best addresses the needs of the knowledge economy. This objective is met by producing sound empirical evidence on research questions related to science, technology, and innovation policy issues. His work appeared in many international peer-reviewed scientific journals. He frequently engages with government agencies across the world to help shape innovation policies.

He works as a scientific associate and assistant professor at the Department of Wood Science and Technology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Further, he leads the Plasma Center at the Biotechnical Faculty, which was established in 2019.

Besides the academic activities, Dr. Dahle is shareholder of the Plasma Green GmbH, a start-up company that is the outcome of a technology transfer he led in Germany.

After being the scientific manager on behalf CSIC in the FP6 Network of Excellence EDIT (Towards a European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy), he started working in FECYT in 2011 where he has participated in several FP7 and H2020 projects linked to the EURAXESS initiative and researcher career development in general. Apart from EU projects, Xavier works in the management of the EURAXESS Spain network coordinated by FECYT and since the beginning of Horizon Europe, he is also MSCA NCP for Spain.

Sarah has a Master degree of Science in Biochemistry from TU Munich and a PhD in Molecular Systems Biology from the ETH Zurich. Sarah worked as postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), before starting her independent research program in 2013. Sarah’s lab is specifically interested in understanding the role of metabolism in driving metastasis formation and in defining the principles of metabolic regulation that enable cancer cells to communicate with and respond to their environment. Her team applies the powerful technologies of single cell and spatial multi-omics analysis in pre-clinical mouse models and patient samples to study this interplay between cancer cells and their metabolic environment during metastasis formation. The research of Sarah’s lab has been published in high impact journals including Nature and is funded by multiple (inter)national grants and industry, which include ERC consolidator and proof of concept grants. In 2020 Sarah has been awarded with the highly prestigious EMBO Gold Medal and a Baillet Latour Grant for Medical Research. Moreover, in 2021 Sarah received the Beug Prize for Metastasis Research and was elected in 2022 as EMBO member. In 2023 Sarah received the Francqui-Collen prize (most important science prize in Belgium) and the 51st Léopold Griffuel award (renowned international cancer prize).

Born in Argentina, Natalia Forneris is a quantitative geneticist with a degree in Agricultural Engineering (2009) and a PhD in Agricultural Sciences (2016) from the University of Buenos Aires. Following a research stay at INRAE Toulouse and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, Barcelona, she became Research Assistant at Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council, and Assistant Professor of Animal Breeding at the College of Agriculture (UBA). Since then, she has contributed to the genetic evaluation programs of various Argentinian beef cattle breeds. Currently a BEWARE Research Fellow at the University of Liège and Inovéo, a Walloon breeding organization, her project aims to develop a software that uses genomic information to optimize the management of inbreeding, recessive genetic defects and deleterious variants in Belgian Blue cattle.

He pursued both his Master’s and Doctorate in France, securing prestigious European fellowships along the way. Currently holding the esteemed BEWARE fellowship, he collaborates as a postdoc researcher with Multitel, a research institute, and D-tek, a diagnostic company, leading the groundbreaking SPRaidlab project. His innovation has resulted in the development of an advanced optical biosensor prototype, which is currently undergoing trials at D-tek and has the potential to revolutionize real-time detection of multiple autoimmune diseases. Eagerly anticipating the ideal moment, Siva is prepared to launch a startup in Wallonia focused on smart optical biosensor development. His dream is to establish a forward-thinking health monitoring company that leverages technology to promote peoples healthier lifestyles globally.In his pursuit, Siva is actively seeking collaborations to bring his visionary endeavor to fruition, remaining steadfast in his commitment to achieving these ambitious goals.

Gian Maria Greco is the Chair of the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA), actively contributing to its advancement through his involvement in various working groups including Policy, Communication, and Genders, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. He co-lead the creation of the MCAA Whistleblowing Channel and co-leads the ResearchAbility Initiative, a multi-organisation initiative for researchers with disabilities, orchestrated by the MCAA. He is also co-chair of the Working Group on Multilingualism and Language Biases at the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) and leads the Task Force on Interdisciplinarity in Horizon Europe at the Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE).
He works as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Macerata, where his research focuses on accessibility, diversity, and inclusion. He held several university positions, including Junior Research Associate (University of Oxford), Ulam Research Fellow (University of Warsaw), and Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow (Autonomous University of Barcelona). He is coordinator of the Media Accessibility Platform. He complements his research expertise with an extensive experience as a consultant on accessibility, diversity, inclusion, and science communication for public institutions and private organisations.

He completed the Marie Sklodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Paris Sud, France, and the MSCA Tecnipsring Cofund Fellowship at the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM-CSIC) in Spain.
During his career, Dr. Gunes founded startups Enerins and He3 Llc. He volunteers as the Chair of the Bridging Business and Science Working Group at the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA), where he was formerly Secretary of ExCom. He is a founding member of the Turkish Chapter and the Science Diplomacy Task Force of the MCAA. Murat Gunes regularly organizes conferences and workshops and mentors young researchers.
Murat Gunes is a supporter of gender equality, science diplomacy, and science policy. He is currently a researcher at IMB-CNM in Spain.

Manuel Heitor was Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education in the Portuguese Government between November 2015 and March 2022. From March 2005 to June 2011 he served as Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education. 

He is a Full Professor at the Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, having a PhD from the Imperial College of London in Mechanical Engineering (Experimental Combustion, 1985). He did a post-doctorate at the University of California at San Diego, 1986, having subsequently pursued an academic career at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, where he started to develop his research activity in the area of ​​energy and environment, with an emphasis on Fluid Mechanics and Experimental Combustion.

He served as Deputy President of the Instituto Superior Técnico between 1993 and 1998, and since early 1990s has been committing to the study of science, technology and innovation policies, including higher education policies and management. In 1998 he founded the Center for Studies in Innovation, Technology and Development Policies, IN +, from IST, which was named in 2005 as one of the Top 50 global centers of research on Management of Technology, by the International Association for the Management of Technology, IAMOT. He coordinated, among others, the IST PhD programs in Engineering and Public Policies and in Design Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing Systems.

He was a Research Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, at the IC2 Institute, Innovation, Creativity and Capital, and during the 2011/12 academic year he was a Visiting Professor at Harvard University.

She represents Czechia in the Council for National Open Science Coordination (CoNOSC). For many years, Eva has been active in research and higher education policy at different levels. She is former president of the European Council of Doctoral Candids and Junior Researchers (Eurodoc) and has been involved in various EU project Advisory Boards (e.g. DocEnhance, DIOSI, DocTalent4EU) dedicated to doctoral training, early-career researchers and PhD careers. In 2023, she was active in the EUA-CDE Thematic Peer Group on institutional support for postdoctoral researchers. Eva obtained her PhD in Process Engineering at Tomas Bata University in Zlín.

Since March 2022 she has been a Visiting professor in KU Leuven and then obtained the MSCA4Ukraine fellowship.

Mrs. Kuzina has a 25-year experience of teaching and conducting research in accounting and finance. She was a Head of Department of accounting (2015-2018) at the Odessa National University of Economics (Ukraine). Her research interests are: the application of IFRSs in emerging economies; implementation of SDG reporting, issues of accountant professional ethics; the changes in the accounting profession. She has over 50 publications.

Practicing business coach, since 2006 is CAP, ACCA DipIFR international certification programs trainer. During her Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship, she worked as independent contractor in International Federation of Accountants, Q&D department, Capacity building project (New York, USA).

She is certified auditor and member of Chamber of Auditors (Ukraine).

Since 2000 he has been a National Contact Point and programme committee expert for the MSCA, and since 2007 for the European Research Council. He has also earlier been NCP for Research Infrastructures and Regions of Knowledge and contact for the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT).

Anouk Lafortune is a policy officer in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) unit, in the Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture at the European Commission. As a policy officer, she works notably on the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships action, as well as more horizontal topics closely linked to the programme’s objectives, including academia-business cooperation, research careers and assessment. Before joining the Commission, she was an early-career researcher and holds a doctoral degree in social sciences from Durham University.

She holds a doctorate in sociology from Charles University in Prague. Her research focuses on sociology of gendered organizations, research careers, governance of research and research assessment from a gender perspective. Marcela also examines the material-discursive practices through which gender equality policies and initiatives are adopted and implemented at the European and Czech country levels. She is the chair of the ERAC Standing Working Group on Gender in Research and Innovation. She is active in developing policy solutions for gender equality in research at the Czech and EU levels. Marcela has been involved in several EU funded projects; most recently, she is the coordinator of Horizon 2020 GENDERACTION and participates in GE Academy, Gender-SMART, CASPER, UniSAFE and RESISTIRE. She has served on expert and advisory bodies of the European Commission and in the Czech Republic. Her work has appeared in European Journal of Women’s Studies, Gender and Research, and Science and Public Policy, among others. She is co-editor of Gender and Neoliberalism in Czech Academia (Sociologické nakladatelství, 2017). With Mary Frank Fox and Kjersten Bunker Whittington she contributed to the 4th edition of the Handbook of Science and Technology Studies (2018) and with Lut Mergaert to the Routledge Handbook of Gender and EU Politics (2021). She is an alumna of the International Visitor Leadership Programme “Women in STEM”.

 As a world-renowned expert in technology and innovation management, she has built one of the largest research teams focusing on open innovation research across Asia Pacific with research projects sitting at the intersection of strategy, technology, and people, across units of analysis. Professor Mention is the academic lead for a portfolio of H2020 projects including the EINST4INE European Training Network which brings together a unique group of world-leading experts in the areas of Digital Transformation, as well as the OpenInnoTrain project which explores the theory and practice of research translation in the broader context of university-industry collaboration and open innovation in the tech economy. Her recent research interests include a.o. the design, efficiency and performance of regulatory sandboxes as instruments to foster innovation in traditionally heavily regulated areas; the development of a readiness index for university-SME collaboration; and the role of social media and other digital technologies for innovation. Her research has been published in e.g. Technovation, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of Product Innovation Management, R&D Management, and Small Business Economics. She is also a co-founding editor and co-editor in chief of the Scopus-ranked open access Journal of Innovation Management, and has recently spearheaded a Henri Stewart Talk Series on Digital Transformation. She serves on the board of the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM), as Director, Community Engagement and Impact. Increasingly, the research projects she has designed and led use the SDGs as a lens towards intentional, responsible, and ethical societal impact.

Claire Morel is, at the European Commission, the Head of unit in charge of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions for the mobility and training of researchers and the development of excellent doctoral programmes.

Before that she was the Head of the Unit for international cooperation at DG Education, Culture, Youth and Sport of the European Commission, with particular focus on the international dimension of the Erasmus+ programme and international policy dialogues in higher education and youth with various partners of the EU in the world.

She has worked several years with the countries neighbouring the EU. Before, she worked for the Tempus programme (for higher education modernisation), cooperating with Central Asian countries, and for the European Training Foundation, an agency of the EU based in Turin, on the reform of vocational education and training systems in the Eastern neighbouring countries and Central Asia.

During her studies, she focused on synthesis of electrolytes and electrocatalysts, performing physicochemical characterization with elemental analysis and spectroscopy methods. In post graduate studies in Germany in Institute of Chemical Reaction Engineering (CRT) ,  Department of Chemical and Bioengineering (CBI) within the School of Engineering (TF) at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, she focused on synthesis of molten salts electrocatalysts and in the post-doctoral research on Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, she aimed in synthesis of organic hydrogels for medical applications. She has worked for two years as Production Manager in pharmaceutical industry in the section of solid dosage form drugs and vitamins.

Anastasia Moschovi has participated in national and international funded projects of European Institute of Technology and HORIZON2020 for investigating novel methods for synthesis and application of electrocatalysts in hydrogen technology application, in CO₂ capture and utilization to produce e-fuels, for designing integrated stationary and marine systems for reducing CO₂ environmental print.

In 2023, she was announced winner of the European Sustainable Energy Week “Woman in Energy” award, for leading outstanding activities that help to advance the clean energy transition in Europe, and also placing efforts to drive the gender mainstreaming agenda and support equality and equal opportunities in the energy sector.

lexia’s interests center around the nutritional composition of foods and the connections between diet and human health. Her expertise spans food sciences, nutrient bioavailability, and insect rearing, complemented by a background in agronomic engineering. Alexia has been leading the BEWARE INSECTA project since 2022, collaborating with three Walloon university colleges in Liège, Ath and Ghlin. Through this project, her goal is to develop hyper-protein supplements using mealworm flour, exploring various parameters such as insect feed and the transformation process to enhance the mealworm’s nutritional content.

Committed to fostering innovation, building international partnerships, and investing in promising talents.

With over 20 years of experience in top Italian universities, serves as a career development coach and EU project management trainer. Evaluator for Horizon 2020 / Europe proposals, lead assessor for Human Resources Strategy for Researchers – HRS4R , and honored for outstanding contributions to the Marie Curie Alumni Association’s growth.

Passionate about enhancing research opportunities and contributing to the success of EU initiatives.

 She joined the European Commission in 2013 and the Directorate-General for Education and Culture in 2015. She is currently responsible for the framework programmes evaluations, aspects related to talent circulation and widening, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Seal of Excellence, as well as cooperation with ASEAN, Korea and Japan.

She regularly facilitates professional development workshops and delivers keynote presentations at institutions across the US, Canada, and internationally. Jen created her PhD Career Clarity Program to help PhDs navigate their career paths with confidence. Jen’s writing is published in University Affairs, Inside Higher Ed, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Globe and Mail, Academic Matters, and in three books. More recently, she was an expert panelist for the 2021 Canadian Council of Academies report, Degrees of Success, on the challenges PhDs face transitioning to employment. Jen currently serves on the board of directors for the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies, and she’s on the management committee for a multi-year transborder project about PhD career paths. She earned her PhD in history from the University of Toronto.

Her research interests are: Women’s Studies and Feminist Theory, Feminist Political Theory, Women in Politics, Gender and Globalisation, Gender and Violence, Gender and Migration.

From 2011, Normunds Popens has been the Deputy Director General for Implementation in the Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission and in charge of overseeing the implementation of structural and cohesion fund programmes in EU member states and candidate countries.

Before joining the European Commission in March 2011 he has occupied several posts in the Latvian diplomatic services. Notably from 2007 until 2011, he was a Permanent Representative of Latvia to the EU.

Before that he dealt with European affairs as Undersecretary of State of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has been also responsible for the issues of foreign trade and transatlantic relations and has worked as an Ambassador in Norway, Iceland and in the USA as a diplomat.

In that position, he contributes to the overall development of the Charter & Code and manages the process for its implementation via the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R).

In the previous seven years he worked in DG GROW in the Directorate for the Galileo project.

An Italian national and a former international researcher, Michele holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Pisa (Italy) and a M.A. in History from the City University of New York (USA). As a Fulbright scholar, he spent several years studying, researching, and teaching in New York City before coming back to Europe in Brussels, where he has been based since 2004.

Where she advises inventors in the biotech and life sciences fields on matters relating to freedom to operate, patentability of inventions, drafting and filing patent applications, prosecution, and opposition actions.

Prior to this, Saba was a postdoctoral researcher at the Biosensors Group at KU Leuven, where her research revolved around developing bioassays based on an innovative CRISPR platform. Saba was part of the Marie-Curie ITN project ND4ID, and obtained her PhD in Bioscience engineering from KU Leuven, Belgium, in 2020. She also holds a Master’s in Biomedical engineering from Arizona State University, USA, where she was a Fulbright fellow.

Her appetite for supporting transformation of research into market-ready products led her to the field of intellectual property. Throughout her (academic) career, she has also been routinely involved in initiatives to mentor and promote women in STEM fields, particularly from resource-limited backgrounds.

She is the project manager of the Research and Innovation Careers Observatory project. Previously she was the project manager of the OECD Global Science Forum projects on Reducing the Precarity of Academic Research Careers and Promoting Diverse Career Pathways of Doctoral and Postdoctoral Researchers. Before joining the OECD, she was a Professor at the School of Economics and Management of the University of Minho, and a senior researcher at the Centre for Research on Higher Education Policies, Portugal. She holds a PhD in Industrial and Business Studies from Warwick Business School.

After ten years as European Affairs officer in French universities, she joined in 2021 the French Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation as MSCA NCP coordinator and French Delegate to the Programme Committee for the MSCA configurations.

Her team, composed of four NCPs, provides information, training, tools and advice to research grant applicants. It supports proposal preparation as well as project implementation. The services are tailored to communities’ needs, with the objective to stimulate applications in different sectors, offer advanced training and increase the quality of the proposals.

Mostafa Shawrav has over 14 years of scientific research, policy and innovation experience in academia, business and nonprofit sectors in Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium. After working for over ten years in an academic environment. he moved into the semiconductor industry & currently manages several European R&D Projects.

Her career spans steel-trading in Africa, business development in the post-Soviet states, and as well as head of production of a broadcast PR company. Here she produced packages for BBC, Sky News, Channel 4, ITV and Reuters. She also worked as a media and presentation trainer at an international film, TV, radio and theatre facility. Since 2010, Katrina moderates in Brussels and globally diverse topics – R&I and digitalisation; agriculture; fisheries and maritime affairs; environment and climate change; energy transformation; aviation; health(care), financial governance and more. Until 2017 she managed the design and roll-out of EU multimedia communications campaigns for two big agencies in Brussels. She speaks French, Russian and German.

Former Deputy Head of Cabinet for the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management during JC Juncker’s Commission mandate (2014-2019).

Previously, Dr. Luka held the position of Political Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service (EEAS).  Within the EU, he also previously held positions in the European Commission with responsibilities in the development and implementation of Scientific Research Policies as well as in International Cooperation.

He received his B.Sc. degree in Microbiology and Chemistry from Ain Shams University in Cairo in 1986 and his Ph.D. in Molecular Microbial Genetics from the University of Tennessee, USA.  Since then, he has occupied several academic positions in Egypt at the National Research Centre (NRC), Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI) and Mubarak City for Science and Technology (MuSCAT), respectively.  During the period of 1994-1997, he acted as a Visiting Professor in Molecular Genetics at the International Institute for Genetics and Biophysics, Italian National Research Council (CNR), Naples, Italy.

In 1997, he moved from academia to the Industry joining Procter & Gamble company, first in the Human & Environmental Safety department and ultimately as External Relations Manager for Europe, Africa and the Middle-East.  He was based in the company’s R&D centre in Brussels.

He is the author of various scientific and science policy articles in international peer-reviewed journals as well as book chapters in the scientific literature.
Dr. Luka speaks Arabic, English, Italian and French.  He is a musician of classical Arabic music and a Judo coach and referee.  He has had a musical release in the USA and two published food recipes.

From 2016 to 2019, he spent three years as a scientific analyst at L’Oréal. He is a PhD in chemistry, obtained within the framework of a Cifre industrial PhD program between the University of Lyon1 and Adisseo, a leader company in animal nutrition. He graduated from the University of Lille and the University of Bologna in Advanced Spectroscopy in chemistry.