Description
Eit Conference Youth And Entrepreneurship – Drivers Of Innovation
EIT CONFERENCE
YOUTH AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP – DRI VERS OF I NNOVATION
SPEAKERS’
BIOGRAPHIES
WHO’S WHO?
When I was younger I
wanted to set up further
innovative companies
based on fresh, valuable
and novel scientific
concepts.
Session: Dzie? dobry!
Alexander von Gabain, Chairman of the EIT Governing Board
Alexander von Gabain obtained his Ph.D. in Genetics at the University of
Heidelberg and held a post-doctorate position at the Stanford University.
During the 1980s and 1990s, he was professor at the University of Umeå
and at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, as well as an advisor
to pharmaceutical and biotech companies. From 1992 to 1998, he was Chair
of Microbiology of the University of Vienna at the Campus Vienna Biocenter,
Austria and helped building the public private partnership of the Vienna
Biocenter/IMP. In 1998 he co-founded Intercell AG and led the company as
CEO until it was successfully floated on the Vienna Stock Exchange in 2005.
From 2005 to 2009, he was Member of the Executive Management Board
and CSO of the company. His research interest is in the field of biomedical
research and documented by a large number of publications, book chapters
and patents. He is professor of Microbiology at the Max Perutz Laboratories
of the University of Vienna, and foreign adjunct professor at the Karolinska
Institute, Stockholm, and serves on the boards of biotech enterprises,
including TVM Capital, Munich. In 2008, he was appointed to the Governing
Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and
since 15 September 2011, he is now Chairman of the EIT Governing Board.
Session: Dzie? dobry!
J osé Manuel Leceta-Garcia, EIT Director
J osé Manuel started his professional career working in space industry in
Finland already in 1987, France, Spain and J apan, prior to joining Spain´s
Innovation Agency (CDTI) in 1992 as part of the Spanish Delegation to the
European Space Agency (ESA).
Initially responsible to foster Spain´s contribution and leadership in the
practical applications of space, he became Head of Department for
Technologies and Space Programmes at CDTI in 1996 and was nominated
Chairman of ESA´s Ariane Launchers Programmes Board and Vice-Chairman
of ESA´s Telecommunication Programme Board from 2000 to 2002 until he
was promoted to the post of CDTI International Director in 2004. As
Director, his responsibilities included the promotion and management of the
Spanish participation in the EU R&D Framework Programmes and other
international close-to-market technology cooperation initiatives in Europe
and Latin America. In that capacity, he represented Spain in European fora
like CREST, Eureka and TAFTIE – the European Association / Network of
Innovation Agencies for which he served as Executive Secretary in 2010. He
joined the EIT in J uly2011 as its Director.
My entrepreneurial role model is Bill
Rutters, founder of Chiron, for starting his
company, after having become a
renowned senior scientist, but then
growing into an outstanding entrepreneur
with a strong smell for markets and
commercial opportunities, but also for
hiring excellent industrial competence into
his team that have complemented his
competence. When I was
younger I
wanted to be
an inventor.
My entrepreneurial
role model is my
father Lazaro Luis
Leceta Cerrato.
Session: Entrepreneur – Why and When?
Daria Tataj, Member of the EIT Governing Board and
Executive Committee
Dr. Tataj obtained her PhD at the Polish Academy of Sciences, followed by
an MBA at the Warsaw University of Technology Business School. She
worked as a consultant in an investment banking firm specialising in
mergers and acquisitions in media and telecoms before becoming a Director
at Copernicus Capital Management, a venture capital fund. Later, within her
consulting firm, she led projects under the EU/EBRD SME Finance Facility in
the banking sector. I n 2004, she co-founded the DIADEM Foundation - an
incubator for the Polish Professional Women's Network and the Vital Voices
Poland Chapter. In 2006 she was a fellow under the US Department of
State/FORTUNE Mentorship Program for Emerging Global Women Business
Leaders.
Dr. Tataj is currently a Managing Partner at EMF (Enterprise Management &
Finance) and Assistant Professor of management and block coordinator at
the Warsaw University of Technology Business School, teaching
Organisational Behaviour, Leadership and Change Management.
Session: Entrepreneur – Why and When?
Kristo Ovaska, Founder of Startup Sauna
Startup Sauna, founded in 2010, is a non-profit seed accelerator that
is designed to kick start the region by coaching the selected start-ups
from Northern Europe and Russia. We want to increase the quality
and volume of deal flow to attract investors and talent into
the region. Currently, we do not take equity stakes from the
companies that get selected to the program.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
millionaire. ?
My entrepreneurial
role model is Steve
J obs. I just love him
for who he was and
what he created.
When I was
younger I
wanted to have
an impact
making the
world a better
place.
My entrepreneurial
role model is
Mårten Mickos, ex
CEO of MySql.
Session: Entrepreneur – Why and When?
Amir Nissen, Founder of “Agents of Change Programme” and
CEO of “Student Entrepreneurs”.
I founded Student Entrepreneurs in 2008, initially as a student society at the
University of Melbourne. In that first year we ran an 'Entrepreneurs Week' and a
pitch competition that succeeded beyond expectation. From this early success
„Student Entrepreneurs Inc” was born, as a not-for-profit association dedicated to
raising awareness and supporting entrepreneurship amongst tertiary students around
Australia.
Throughout the year we run a number of events, from „Hackathons”
(startuphack.org) to Pitch competitions (ideapitch.org.au), and an annual
Entrepreneurs Week (eweek.org.au). These events are primarily aimed at raising
awareness of entrepreneurship amongst tertiary students, and we've inspired and
educated thousands of students in entrepreneurship through this process. On top of
the events, we also run an entrepreneurship development program -
agentsofchange.org.au - based on the seed accelerator model championed by
Ycombinator. This program (initially open only to students, but by demand now open
to any aspiring entrepreneur) focuses on taking students from idea to start-up in the
space of 8 weeks, and includes legally establishing a company, prototyping business
models, attracting followers, and building an mvp. There is no cash/equity exchange,
and unlike most seed accelerators we accept applications from profits or not-for-
profits, tech and non-tech ideas alike.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Mary Ritter, CEO Climate-KIC
Mary was appointed Pro-Rector for Postgraduate Affairs at
Imperial College London in October 2004, and added the
International portfolio in October 2005. She has been Pro Rector
for International Affairs since 2007. She was Head of the
Department of Immunology from 2004-2006, and from 1999 to
February 2006 was Director of the Graduate School of Life
Sciences and Medicine (GSLSM) at I mperial. In December 2010
she was asked to act as InterimCEO of Climate-KIC, and in April
2011 she accepted the invitation to take on the full substantive
CEO role.
After a BA in Zoology and DPhil in Immunology from the
University of Oxford, and Research Fellowships at the University of
Connecticut, USA and Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London, UK, she took up an academic post at the
Royal Postgraduate Medical School – now the Hammersmith Campus of Imperial College London, following
the 1997 merger. Her research centres on the development of the immune system, and she has published
more than 100 peer-reviewed articles on her research and taken out several patents. She has supervised
more than 20 PhD students, all of whomhave successfully gained their degree.
She was the founding Director of the first Graduate School (the Graduate School of Life Sciences and
Medicine; GSLSM) at Imperial College, steering it through frominception in 1999 to its current overarching
role providing interdisciplinary research activities, an extensive skills training portfolio and quality assurance
for all the postgraduate students in Life Sciences and Medicine. She subsequently helped to establish
Imperial’s second Graduate School, of Engineering and Physical Sciences, launched in 2002. She initiated
and oversaw the strategy, design and delivery of Imperial College’s postgraduate and postdoctoral
transferable skills training programme, which was awarded the THES prize in both 2006 and 2008. In
addition, she has established new academic taught courses at both bachelor’s and master’s level and has
regularly taught undergraduate and postgraduate students in her specialist area of immunology as well as
running workshops in transferable skills. She developed and chaired Imperial’s ‘Bologna Task Force’, ensuring
that the College’s education programmes are compatible with the Bologna Process and EHEA.
She has established a portfolio of Collaborative and J oint International PhD programmes with research
Institutes and Universities in Asia, and international transferable skills Summer Schools with several
universities - Tsnghua, NTU, NUS, HKU, Shanghai J iao Tong. She also played a key role in the establishment
of a joint medial school with the Nanyang technological University in Singapore (The Lee Kong Chian School
of Medicine).
Mary sits on a number of national and international committees including the UK Medical Research Council’s
Non-Clinical Careers Training and Development Panel, the UK Prime Minister’s Initiative (PMI) 2 for Higher
Education, The UK Academy of Medical Sciences’ Academic Careers Committee (non-clinical), the European
Universities Association (EUA) Institutional Evaluation Programme Panel of Experts, the German Excellence
Initiative (Institutional Strategies) Evaluation Group, and the Programme Review Committee for the
Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI). She chairs the UK Research Councils’ ‘Vitae’ (previously ‘UK GRAD’ and ‘UK
HERD’) National Advisory Board and was Chair of the UK-I ndia Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI)
Evaluation Panel, is Vice Chair of the EUA Council on Doctoral Education. She is a member of the
International Advisory Panel of the A*STAR Graduate Academy of Singapore, the International Panel of
Advisors of the Singapore Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), and the Council of AgroParisTech, is Vice Chair
of the Governing Board of the EIT Climate-KIC.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Paul
Graham.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
Chess
Grandmaster.
When I was younger I wanted to
be an international scientist whose
work could be applied, have
impact and make a real difference.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Raphael Stargrove, Co-founder, Hedgehog Energy
Raphael has experience in design, architecture, IT development, project
management and entrepreneurship. He completed his Bachelors of
Architecture at California College of the Arts (San Francisco), before
enrolling at Utrecht University in the Human Geography MSc program. Here
he focused on evolutionary and innovation economics and the theory of the
firm, completing a thesis examining the role of imitation in firm learning and
capabilities development in the Chinese wind turbine manufacturing
industry. Alongside his academic pursuits, Raphael has been involved in a
series of medical software startups as a programmer, designer, and
information architect. Over the past several years, he shifted into a project
and strategic management role, before making the decision in the summer
of 2011 to dedicate his time fully to Hedgehog Energy.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Roderick Groenewoud, Co-founder Hedgehog Energy
I have multi-disciplinary background with a focus on energy markets,
economics, energy infrastructure, and environmental policy analysis. I
completed my BA at University College Utrecht, with a major in Economics,
and a minor in Environmental Science. After completing a pre-master’s in
Thermodynamics and Energy analysis, I entered the Sustainable
Development MSc program at Utrecht University, and now I specialize in
renewable energy technology, management and policy. I have also attended
J ohn’s Hopkins University as an exchange student, where I followed courses
on energy markets modeling, environmental engineering and risk
management, and University of New Hampshire, Durham, with courses in
environmental & ecological economics. Last summer I have participated and
won together with my teammates the Climate KIC CLJ Business plan
competition. With our project called ‘Hedgehog Energy’, we tried to devise a
business plan that would make energy storage profitable. After the CLJ we
received a stipend from Climate KIC to continue working on the project as
well as outside recognition from the Swiss based incubator Venture KICK.
Currently, I am dedicating the majority of my time to Hedgehog Energy,
while also finishing my Master thesis on European energy markets and grid
stabilization technologies.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Steve
J obs because he’s a
pragmatic
perfectionist.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be
an
architect.
When I was
younger I wanted
to be a marine
engineer or an
archaeologist.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Steve
J obs because of
constant reinvention
and pushing
boundaries.
When I was younger I wanted to be
an Indian Administrative Service
(IAS) Officer, as I believed an IAS
officer has the ability to bring about
a positive fundamental change in
the lives of millions. My motivation
is still the same just that my
approach is slightly different now.
My ultimate dream is to see an
India with 100% rural
electrification.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Swati PANDEY, Climate-KIC Master student, Masters in
Sustainable Energy Futures Candidate, Imperial College London
I spent the past 4 years in active research on Sustainable Technologies and Models
for Rural Electrification in Developing Countries like India and have independently
authored 3 International Papers on the same. My initial work focused on finding
solutions to the biggest problems facing renewables based distributed electricity
generation viz. the unreliable and intermittent nature of the power generated and
high cost. I am passionate about India’s development and my broad research
interests lie at the intersection of Alternative Energy Technologies, Policy and
Entrepreneurship.
I am currently a Commonwealth scholar in the UK pursuing my Masters in
Sustainable Energy Futures at Imperial College London. A little earlier, I obtained a
first class degree in Mechanical Engineering from Indian School of Mines Dhanbad,
India and was selected as a Social Innovation Fellow at StartingBloc, New York.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Willem J onker, CEO EIT ICT Labs
Prof. Willem J onker (1962) has a broad background in ICT, both in industry
as well as in academia. He studied mathematics and computer science at
Groningen University, worked at Delft University of Technology, received his
PhD from the University of Utrecht, and is a part-time full professor in
computer science at Twente University.
Willem J onker's industrial experience covers telecommunications (KPN), I T
(European Computer industry Research Centre, Munich) and consumer
electronics (Philips). He held several positions as researcher, international
project leader, department head, sector head, and account manager. In
2006 he was appointed Vice President Philips Research. Prof. Dr. J onker has
served European ICT research in various ways amongst others as project
leader, reviewer, and advisor.
My entrepreneurial role model is the
team at Husk Power Systems
because they have positively
impacted the lives of 150,000
villagers across 250 villages in India
through 60 mini power plants which
utilize discarded rice husk for
producing electricity.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Khalid LATI F, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Turku, Finland
Khalid Latif is currently working towards his Ph.D. degree at the University
of Turku, Finland funded by Turku Centre for Computer Science (TUCS) and
Academy of Finland. He is also pursuing MBA for PhD program in Business
and Innovation Development at Turku School of Economics, University of
TURKU, Finland. He has a M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering with major
in System-on-Chip design from Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden
and B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering with major in Electronics and
Communication from the University of Engineering and Technology (UET),
Lahore, Pakistan.
His research interests include On-Chip I nterconnection platforms, Computer
Architecture and FPGA based design. He has published over 25 research
articles. He has received a number of prestigious research excellence awards
such as from Nokia Foundation and Finnish Foundation for Technology
Promotion.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Diego Pavia, CEO KIC InnoEnergy
After graduating as electrical engineer, I created my own
company, which I sold 3 years afterwards. It was a 24 hours
dedication, 7 days a week, of total freedom to create an
impact.
Some time afterwards, as CEO of a 450M€ business for 8
years, I experienced the same, with less freedom but with
much more impact.
Now in KIC InnoEnergy, my goal is just the same, and one
of the impacts is help people to fulfill the same dreams that I
had the chance to fulfill.
When I was
young I wanted
to be a bird,
flying freely,
unconstrained.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be an
Engineer.
My entrepreneurial role
models are all those that
are trying hard, believing
in their ideas: the risk
takers.
My entrepreneurial role
model is late Steve J obs
because of his simple but
innovative ideas.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Pep Salas, Entrepreneur InnoEnergy and Founder ENERBYTE
I was born in Molins de Rei (Barcelona, 1976). I studied Agricultural
Engineering, specialized in rural development. Since 1999 I’ve been
working in the energy sector (distributed systems), during the first years
as a solar engineer. In 2005 I founded my first company, called WATTPIC
Intelligent Energy (www.wattpic.com), where I developed the role of a
CEO until 2009. During this period, I invented different kind of machinery
for renewable energy and I granted two International Patents (PCT) as a
main inventor. We installed more than 200 units of solar tracker
“Centaurus”. The turnover was over 7 M€ and we reached two financial
rounds (first 100K€ from a Business Angel and then 700k€ more with the
same investor). I was in charge of several R&D projects (>2M€) including
FP7 (microgrids, poligeneration, demand response systems, among
others). After this CEO role, I turned into CTO and went back to the PhD
(which I started some years ago) in the field of “Technology &
Humanism”. In 2010 I left the company for focusing on the research about
Smart Grid technology & Human acceptance. Because of that, a new
business idea appears and in 2011, together with a partner, we are
starting up this project. Besides, I've also been a social entrepreneur. In
2006 I co-founded Spanish PV cluster and nowadays (today, we are
almost 300 companies), and the website www.smartgrid.cat for
divulgation of Smart Grids technologies in my area. It gives me also the
chance to be a speaker in several conferences, write some articles in the
press and collaborate in some books about these topics.
Session: Have you got it?
Giovanni Colombo, EIT Governing Board and Executive
Committee
Dr. Colombo graduated in Electrical Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino.
Following a long management experience in the Telecommunications sector,
he was appointed Head of Research of Telecom Italia Labs (2001-2003),
Chief Technology Officer of Telecom Italia Labs (2003-2005) and finally
Head of long-term research at Telecom Italia (2005-2006). For the European
Commission, he was Chairman of two European R&D projects ("Rainbow"
and Wineglass") between 1995-1999; Chairman of the Mobile Domain,
clustering European R&D projects on mobile and wireless communication
technologies and services (1997-1999) and a Member of I STAG (I ST
Advisory Group), defining the European R&D policy in the ICT sector as a
support to the Commission's 7th Framework-Programme (2006-2007).
Dr. Colombo is currently a Member of the European Commission's Strategic
Advisory Board on Competitiveness and I nnovation, a Steering Committee
Member of the CVIS integrated Project, Member of the Scientific Board of
the Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya and adjunct
Professor at the Politecnico di Torino.
Giovanni Colombo has recently been appointed Vice-President of Istituto
Superiore Mario Boella, a Research Centre operating in the ICT sector.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Adriano Olivetti
because he has been able to
bridge the gap between
business impact and social
values.
When I was
younger I wanted
to be a railway
man.
When I was
younger I just
wanted to be
myself.
My entrepreneurial role
model is “visionary” because
I try to analyze what will
happen in energy market in
the long run.
Session: Have you got it?
Rajeeb Dey, Co-Founder of StartUp Britain & CEO of
Enternships.com
Rajeeb Dey is CEO of Enternships.com – a jobs
portal connecting talented students and graduates
to ‘entrepreneurial work placements’ in start-ups
and small businesses worldwide. Rajeeb graduated
in 2008 with First Class Honours in Economics &
Management from the University of Oxford where he was the longest serving
President of Oxford Entrepreneurs. His entrepreneurial endeavours started at the age
of 17 when he Founded the English Secondary Students' Association (ESSA) – the
first national organisation working to give school students aged 11-19 a voice in their
education – and for which he has received numerous accolades including the
Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Award & Fellowship of the Royal Society of the Arts
(FRSA). He was awarded the “02 X Young Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2009 for
Enternships and has been recognised as one of the 'rising stars' of the Business
World by Spectator Business Magazine. Rajeeb was profiled in The Observer as 'One
to Watch in 2010' from "Courvoisier The Future 500 Network" – a prestigious
network of emerging leaders in the UK. Since launching Enternships in May 2009,
Rajeeb has secured global media coverage including CNN, BBC World News, The
Daily Telegraph, ABC News, The Sunday Times, Wall Street J ournal to name a few.
He was referred to by the Financial Times as “among the most high profile” young
entrepreneurs in the UK. Most recently he was one of the Co-Founders of the StartUp
Britain campaign – an initiative supported by HM Government which aims to
celebrate, inspire and accelerate entrepreneurship in the UK. StartUp Britain was
launched in March 2011 by the Prime Minister David Cameron, Chancellor George
Osborne and Secretary of State Vince Cable. Rajeeb is also a Trustee of UnLtd – the
Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, a Channel 4 Education Advisory Board Member
and on the UK India Business Council Next Generation Advisory Board.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Prof. Dr. Mark Harris, CEO InnoVaVentures
Prof. Dr. Mark Harris is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in the
high-tech industry and in entrepreneurship. He recently retired from Intel to follow
his passion in entrepreneurship and in new venture creation.
While at Intel, his most recent role was as Director of Intel® Higher Education for
Europe, responsible for advancing innovation in key areas of Intel, collaborating with
top universities in Europe to expand university curricula, engage in focused research,
and encourage students to pursue a range of opportunities for technical study,
research and Entrepreneurship.
During the last 10 years, Prof. Harris built Intel’s global Technology Entrepreneurship
program together with UC Berkeley California’s Lester Center for Entrepreneurship.
During this period he experienced first hand the difficulties, especially in Europe, of
building entrepreneurial Eco-Systems.
Prof. Harris holds Masters Degrees in Computer Science and Economics from the
Technical University in Munich as well as Professorships for Technology
Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the University Politehnica of Bucharest and at the
University St. Kliment Ohridski of Sofia. He is also expert for the Executive MBA
Program at the Technical University of Munich and is Senior Fellow of the
International Entrepreneurship Academy as well as Executive board member of
Informatics Europe. Prof. Harris received a Doctor honoris causa and the “Blue
Ribbon” of Sofia the highest award for academic achievement from the St. Kliment
Ohridski University of Sofia and he also received a Doctor honoris causa from the
University Politehnica of Bucharest.
When I was
younger I wanted
to be a doctor.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Sir Richard
Branson - I admire the way
he has created such a
prolific brand and his own
'personal' brand.
When I was
younger I first
wanted to be a
bio-chemist,
then an airline
pilot, then what
I am now….
My entrepreneurial role
models are Gordon Moore
and Robert Noyce (founders
of Intel).
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Prof. Torsten Fransson, Education Director, KIC InnoEnergy
Prof Fransson is Chair of the Division of Heat and
Power Technology at the Royal Institute of
Technology, Stockholm (KTH). He is also the
Educational Director of KIC InnoEnergy.
He is recognized as an expert in the topic
Aeroelasticity in Turbomachines. Since 1990 Prof
Fransson has participated in the evaluation
committees of 15 Ph D (and “Docent”) defences
outside KTH. He has been invited as a Guest
Professor at EPFL and as a Guest Researcher at GE
Aircraft Engines, USA. Prof Fransson is regularly
member, and Session Chair, of International Scientific Committees for
conferences. He is also member of the Board of Directors of the Swedish
Gas Turbine Center, and the KTH representative in the Management Group
of the “European Consortium of Advanced Training in Aeronautics” as well
as in the T.I.M.E. (Top I nternational Managers in Europe) consortium of top
European universities.
Prof Fransson was a member of the Board of Directors of the International
Gas Turbine Institute during 1994-2002. He also served as the Chair of
“Structures & Dynamics Committee” of the I GTI/ASME.
Prof Fransson is a Fellow of the ASME, and a Senior Member of the AIAA.
In 2002 Prof Fransson obtained the “Chevalier de L’Ordre National du
Mérite” from the French President for his devotion to the increased scientific
and student collaboration between France and Sweden. In 2003 Prof
Fransson received the "ASME Dedicated Service Award". Prof Fransson is the
author/co-author of more than 150 scientific papers. Two of these have
received a "Best Paper of the Year" award. He has supervised 14 PhD and
25 Lic of Eng theses at KTH.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Priyamvadha SURESH, KIC InnoEnergy MSc student –
Environomical Pathways for Sustainable Energy Systems
(SELECT)
My name is Priyamvadha Suresh. I come from I ndia. I came to Europe to
pursue my Master’s education in the field of Sustainable Energy. Currently I
am pursing Europe’s most prestigious Erasmus Mundus & EIT KIC
InnoEnergy programme - Environomical Pathways for Sustainable Energy
Systems (SELECT) with complete scholarship. I completed my First Master’s
course in Sustainable Engineering at KTH – Royal Institute of Technology,
Sweden. Currently, I am pursuing my second Master’s course in Solar
Energy Engineering at Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain.
Prior to my Master’s education, I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in
Mechanical Engineering. With regards to my background in Innovation and
Entrepreneurship, I have undergone an intense summer course on Business
Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at one of Europe’s leading
Business schools - ESADE School of Business, which involved practical
training sessions on building entrepreneurial skills and presenting new ideas
to start our own business ventures.
When I was younger I
wanted to be an engineer
and start my own
business consultancy in
the field of energy.
My entrepreneurial role model is J ohn
Osher, Founder of Dr. J ohn’s
Products, Ltd. because he is a street
smart business man who built a very
successful business enterprise and
created products that were loved by
people.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Eleanor Saunders, Educational Programmes Lead, Climate-
KIC
Eleanor oversees the development of Climate-KIC’s Master
and Doctoral programmes and the formation of an alumni
association. Her background in education ranges from
teaching to programme design with a strong focus on
science and innovation. She has experience setting up two
enterprises and is a leadership development coach for
exceptional teachers who want to transition into business.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Stephen Caleb Opuni, Team member DeCo! and Climate-KIC
alumnus
Stephen Caleb Opuni is a member of DeCo!; the UNEP/SEED-Initiative
awarding winning social business start-up. He is in charge of Marketing,
Research and Development.
Currently he is a PhD candidate at the University of Helsinki, Finland and a
recent graduate from the same university with an MSc in Forest Economics.
Besides this, he holds an MSc in Food security and Natural Resources
management from the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
Alongside his education, he has had the opportunity to work in the
international development consultancy with RambollFinnconsult, in Espoo
Finland. He also worked with the UN Office of the High Representative for
the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small
Island Developing States (OHRLLS) in New York, USA. His professional
passion relates to issues on international development; pertaining to Natural
Resources Management, Poverty Reduction and Climate Change. Stephen is
a Ghanaian.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Wangari
Maathai as she
founded the Green
Belt Movement and
inspired millions.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
photographer in
the rainforest.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
medical doctor.
My entrepreneurial role model is
Mohammed Yunnus, because he
has actively contributed to the
development of the concept of
cause-driven business i.e.
covering cost, making profit, at
the same time achieving social
objectives.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Christop Mazur, Climate-KIC PhD student, Imperial College
London, Energy Futures Lab
Christoph is from Germany, born in Poland. In August 2011 he received a
Dipl. Wirt.-Ing. degree in Mechanical Engineering and Business
Administration of RWTH Aachen University. In 2009 he obtained a Master in
'Innovation, Conception, Ingénierie' at Ecole Centrale Paris. J ust now he has
started on a 3-year PhD program in Technology Diffusion Research in the
domain of Electric Mobility at Energy Futures Lab and Grantham Institute for
Climate Change of Imperial College London. His is interested in topics
concerning Electric Mobility, Energy Economics and Policy as well as
Sustainable Futures.
He participated in the CLJ 2011 (Zurich-Berlin-London). During this time his
team recognized that a significant amount of energy and money is wasted
within the private housing sector; although already highly profitable
efficiency measures exist. Additionally, inspired by regulatory changes in the
UK, they created a business idea called myGreenDeal which aims at
modernizing highly inefficient private houses for free and to use the savings
to pay back these measures as well as generate profits for myGreenDeal.
Currently they continue this project within the framework of Greenhouse UK.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Prof. Hannu Tenhunen, Education Director, EIT ICT Labs
Professor Dr.h.c Prof.h.c. Hannu Tenhunen is professor at the Royal
Institute of Technology. He has been visiting or invited professor at
Cornell University/Ithaca, INPG/ Grenoble, and Fudan
University/Shanghai, University of Turku. He was one of the
originators of the interconnect centric design, globally asynchronous
locally synchronous, and network-on-chip (NoC) paradigms. He has
published over 700 reviewed publications. Prof. Tenhunen has
actively contributed in all major conferences in his area from TPC
member to general chairman. During the last 20 years he has been
actively involved in high technology policies, technology impact
studies, innovations and changing the educational system.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be an
astronaut.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Warren Buffet
because of his business
philosophy as well as his
social commitment & ethics.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Miles
Davis.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be an
engineer.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Satu J ÄÄSKELÄINEN, EIT ICT Labs PhD student , MBA
student at Business an Innovation Development BID, University
of Turku
My academic background is in Computer Science and
Bioinformatics (MSc). I have studied at the Åbo Akademi
University and at the University of Turku, currently I am
working at Aalto University in Helsinki as Research
Coordinator. I am a PhD student at the University of Turku
(TUCS) and conducting MBA studies in the pilot programme
“Innovation and Growth – MBA for PhD students” at Business
and Innovation Development BID, University of Turku.
My entrepreneurial role
model
is Larisa Lisitsyn, as with
her company she made
2,7 million € in 2004.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be an
author.
Workshop 1: Developing your creative Ideas
Awet Yemane Weldezion, EIT ICT Labs PhD Student @ KTH
– Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Awet Yemane Weldezion is a PhD student in Electronics System Design at
the Royal Institute of Technology - KTH, Stockholm, Sweden. He is also
following MBA for PhD program in Innovation and Growth at Turku School of
Economics - TSE, Turku, Finland, supported by EIT ICT Labs.
He received his B.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Addis
Ababa University in 2000 and M.Sc. in System-on-Chip design from KTH in
2006. From 2000 - 2004, he worked as Applications Research Engineer for
start-up companies focusing on micro-controller-based product design,
programming and implementation.
Since 2008, he is pursuing PhD studies and has published several papers in
areas of 3D integration technology and Network-on-Chip architecture.
Workshop 1: Developing your creative Ideas
Philippe VAN CAENEGEM, Founder & Managing partner,
ThinkingArch
Philippe is founder and managing partner of ThinkingArch, the consulting boutique
specialized in front end innovation and pragmatic creativity. He has 15 years of
experience in innovation consulting, and management of innovation and operational
units. As Partner at Altran Group and Director at Synectics (Altran Group) Philippe
specialized in costumer insight and “the creative organisation”, successfully
accompanying organizations such as AXA, Coca-Cola, Dim, Eads Innovationworks,
Gemalto, Philip Morris, Sodexo, Volvo, Areva, Vodafone. Prior to Synectics he
initiated and managed the systematic innovation consulting services of De Valck
Consultants (Altran Group), working with major clients ranging from banking to
pharmaceutical. Inspired by “autonomous systems” while studying applied computer
science at the University of Brussels Philippe co-founded and managed Realactor®:
an innovative avatar technology start-up serving prestigious clients such as Microsoft,
Philips and the major studios. At the architects and engineers office of Samyn and
Partners, Philippe gained experience in project management of complex and
innovative projects.
Philippe holds a diploma MSc. in Architecture (St Lucas ’95); he is an alumnus of the
Harvard “‘innovation in science” program, served as a member of the French MEDEF
Innovation Committee from 2004-2007, teaches innovation and creativity in several
universities (HEC, Supelec, SupOptique) and is a cofounder of the ‘Banking -Finance
–Insurance Innovation Directors Club’. In his spare time, Philippe enjoys jazz, Paris,
opera, and travelling with his quadri-lingual children.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be a painter.
My
entrepreneurial
role model is
Steve J obs, R.I.P.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Richard Branson:
competitive spirit,
resilience & zeal!
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be an
architect
Workshop 1: Developing your creative Ideas!
J avier Garcia Martinez, Co- Founder, Director, RIVE
TECHNOLOGY
J avier is co-founder of Rive Technology I nc (Boston, MA), a clean energy
company, commercializing advanced catalyst technology that has raised $47
million in venture capital funding from leading investors. The proprietary
technology, invented by J avier during his post-doc MIT, makes traditional
zeolite catalysts more accessible to large hydrocarbon molecules. J avier is
faculty member and director of the Nanotechnology Molecular Laboratory at
the University of Alicante, Spain. He has published extensively in the areas
of nanotechnology and energy and is inventor of twenty patents. His latest
books are "Nanotechnology for the Energy Challenge" and “The Chemical
Element: Chemistry´s Contribution to our Global Future”
J avier is vice-chair of the World Economic Forum General Assembly Council
on Emerging Technologies. He has been recognized as a leader in
nanotechnology and materials science. In 2005, J avier was awarded the
Europa Medal, awarded annually to the outstanding European chemist under
the age of 35, and he received the Silver Medal of the European Young
Chemist Award in 2006. I n 2007, J avier received the TR 35 Award from
MIT’s Technology Review magazine, and in 2009 J avier was selected as a
Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Workshop 1: Developing your creative Ideas!
Codrin KRUIJNE, Entrepreneurship educator, Utrecht
University and Climate-KIC summer school 2010 coach
Codrin studied I nformation Science and wrote his thesis on Knowledge
Management for Business I ncubation. During his studies he had a company
in web development, but decided he did not want to be a coding computer
nerd for the rest of his life. After graduating he worked with a strategy
consulting firm, mainly for clients in media and entertainment industry. Still,
not the lifestyle that would make him happy. When he got the opportunity
he joined an innovative start-up company in the USA in real estate
development, which led to some valuable learning experiences. Codrin has
been developing courses and teaching entrepreneurship at the Utrecht
University Centre for Entrepreneurship for a number of years and particularly
enjoyed honours classes like Corporate Entrepreneurship, Sustainable
Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship, coaching summer schools like
the Climate KIC Contextual Learning J ourney and recently Leadership &
Ethics. He is preparing a start-up in sustainable tourism in Romania, first
planned construction in the spring of 2012. Academic interests are in
entrepreneurship education in general and social entrepreneurship in
particular. Next to his entrepreneurial and academic activities he enjoys Ki-
Aikido and re-learning the piano, resonates with the teachings of
Krishnamurti and goes out into the woods to learn the art of bushcraft.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be
a doctor, to
help people.
My entrepreneurial role
model is J eff Skoll because
after making a success of
eBay he is employing his
entrepreneurial talent for
social good.
When I was
younger
I wanted to be
older, now I wish I
was younger ….
Do not wait; the
time will never be
right, J UST DO IT!
My entrepreneurial role
model is Steve J obs because
doing things better is no
longer enough. This is the
time to do things differently!
Workshop 2: Nurturing environments: How to
transform your idea into business
Charlotte van de Water, Climate-KIC Alumna
After completing a master in Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences at
the Technical University of Delft and a research master in Human Geography
and Planning at Utrecht University, I am now working as a trainee at the
DCMR Environmental Protection Agency in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond region
in the Netherlands.
During my studies I expanded my knowledge on environmental and climate-
related topics by participating in the EI T Climate-KI C summer school on
entrepreneurship, innovation and climate change in Paris, London and Zürich
and the I nternational Summer School in Applied, Environmental and
Regulatory Economics 2010 in Turin, Italy. Previous international
experiences include one year of highschool in the USA, a 3-week French
language course in Geneva and an international workshop in Lugu Lake,
China. Next to my work as a trainee, I enjoy working on many different
projects. Current examples include a second job as a student assistant at
the department of Human Geography & Urban & Regional Planning of
Utrecht University, a course in Chinese (Mandarine) at the Volksuniversiteit
Delft and I am co-organizing alumni activities related to the EIT Climate-KIC
and fundraising activities for projects in Lugu Lake.
Workshop 2: Nurturing environments: How to
transform your idea into business
Antti Toropainen, Aalto Venture Garage
Member of the core team at Aalto Venture Garage / Aaltoes Europe’s leading
and most active entrepreneurship community. Antti founded his first
company in 2004 at the age of 17, and is currently studying finance at the
Aalto University School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland.
Aalto Venture Garage is an open coworking space for Baltic & Nordic
entrepreneurs. It also houses start-ups and communities such as Aaltoes.
Aaltoes is an independent, privately funded student and post-graduate led
community initiative. We encourage high-tech, high-growth, scalable
entrepreneurship, providing a tight start-up community in Northern Europe.
Founded in 2009, Aaltoes believes in grassroots action, self-initiative and
lean practices. I n short, we want to make an impact and change the culture
around us to be bolder, more active and more helping & sharing.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be
an architect.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be a
surgeon.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Kristian
Segerstråle from Playfish.
I like it when entrepreneurship is
used to initiate alternatives, out-
of–the-box approaches that
benefit society, such as the
personal attention to employees
and participation in the Climate
Savers Computing Initiative of
Google Inc.
During the inauguration of the
academic year I tell my students
that I would give anything to be
in their place (with the exception
of my wife, daughter and
grandson) because they live in
interesting times. There are
many interesting areas, but most
interesting is the intellectual
enterprise that is creating
something from nothing, because
it generates the most value.
Workshop 2: Nurturing environments: How to
transform your idea into business
J AN De Merlier, Business Unit Manager Systematic Innovation,
Altran
After finishing his degree in Physics, he obtained a PhD degree in
optoelectronics at Ghent University (Belgium) on the development of optical
chips for high bit rate data signal processing for use in optical fiber
communication networks. Right after finishing his PhD he started working at
the System Devices Laboratories of NEC in J apan on the development of
semiconductor based tuneable lasers and obtained several patents related to
the subject. He authored or co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed papers in
the most renowned journals in the field and presented his work on many
conferences.
In 2006 he joined Altran as an innovation consultant working on innovation
projects and extending the systematic approach for product and process
innovation. Main methodologies that are integrated in a global approach are
TRIZ, Value Analysis and Theory of Constraints. He got trained in TRIZ
through a 2-year course with Y. Salamatov and obtained Level 3 TRIZ
certification. He has assisted over 40 companies throughout their innovation
challenges in a broad variety of sectors: chemistry, energy, pharmaceutical,
automotive, construction… etc. Some examples of companies are: Corus,
Prayon, Philips, Pfizer, Bekaert, Merck Serono.
He has taught at the Universities of Ghent and Antwerp and has trained and
coached innovation teams of several large companies. Since 2009, he has
been manager of the Systematic Innovation Group in Altran.
Workshop 2: Nurturing environments: How to
transform your idea into business
Prof. Krzysztof Paw?owski, Rector, Nowy S?cz School of
Bussines – National-Louis University
Alumnus of the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry of the
J agiellonian University, he received his Ph.D. in physics from Akademia Górniczo-
Hutnicza in Cracow and an honorary doctorate from National-Louis University
(Chicago, USA). He was the founder and, in the years from 1992 to 2007, served as
Rector of Nowy S?cz School of Business - National-Louis University in Nowy S?cz,
and since 1996, a founder and Rector of Nowy S?cz School of Business in Tarnów.
Since J anuary 14, 2008, he has been a founder and President of Wy?sza Szko?a
Biznesu - National Louis University with a registered office in Nowy S?cz. Since
December 1, 2010 he is Rector of Nowy S?cz School of Business – National-Louis
University.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be a pilot.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Eric De Smaele as
CEO Xtenso, Belgian
market leader on Hospital
Information Systems
(ZIS).
My entrepreneurial role model is Adam Góral (CEO
Asecco Poland S.A.) because for the fact that he not only
created a company from scratch but he has the ambition
to build a global company. My entrepreneurial role model
is Ryszard Florek (CEO Fakro S.A.) this year’s winner of
Ernst&Young because more than 20 years built a
company from scratch and not content with mere
success but competes with the largest VELUX. In order to
compete he did what most companies do - creating a
powerful center for innovation and development. The
company develops super-modern technology in
traditional industry.
Workshop 3: ¥ - € - $
Eduardo M. Appleyard, MSc Student, KIC Innoenergy
Scholar, Erasmus Mundus SELECT
Eduardo M. Appleyard is currently studying at the Universitat Politècnica de
Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, in the context of a two year European joint
Masters in Renewable Energy (RE): Erasmus Mundus SELECT.
He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University, Canada,
and has work experience in both technical and business oriented roles.
His commitment to the mitigation of climate change has recently driven him
towards the renewable energy sector. He has notably worked as a
development engineer for a small scale wind turbine manufacturer and is
currently coordinating a project to build a demonstration emergency energy
unit for disaster relief.
Eduardo was a finalist in the 2011 CleanTech Challenge, an
entrepreneurship competition jointly hosted by the London Business School
& University College London.
Upon the completion of his studies, he hopes to continue growing within the
RE industry and to explore potential new business ideas related to the field.
Workshop 3: ¥ - € - $
Ruben Bach, Venture Capitalist
Ruben has ten years experience with regard to venture capital, small cap
private equity and m&a at board level. He has extensive entrepreneurial and
investment experience in renewable energies and software. Ruben has
undertaken successful investments and exits with up to triple digit returns to
NASDAQ noted buyers. He has ample supervisory board, NXD and
shareholder representative experience and undertaken more than 30
transactions with a total transaction volume well above 100 million Euro.
Ruben has an MA in Philosophy and History and has studied at the
Universities in Constance, Oxford and Bologna. He also served for many
years as member of several business plan competition committees in
Germany.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be an
astronaut.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be an
architect.
My entrepreneurial role
model is my mother
because she managed to
raise four children by
herself and start several
successful ventures!
My entrepreneurial role
model is Warren
Branson.
Workshop 3: ¥ - € - $
Simon Stockley, Principal Teaching Fellow in
Entrepreneurship at Imperial College, London
Simon Stockley is a Principal Teaching Fellow in Entrepreneurship at
Imperial College, London. He is also a Professor of Innovation and
Entrepreneurship at the International School of Management in Paris. His
MBA and MSc courses at I mperial are both currently ranked 4
th
in the world
(and 1
st
in Europe) by the financial times.
Prior to becoming an academic, Simon had successful careers in oil
exploration, banking and consultancy. He is married to a serial entrepreneur
with whom he has started, grown and sold three ventures. In 2006 he co-
founded HERA, a social enterprise that provides entrepreneurship training
and mentoring to formerly trafficked women.
In his spare time Simon enjoys scuba diving, staying fit and building rockets,
an endeavour that saw him set a world record in 2005.
Workshop 3: ¥ - € - $
Piotr Wilam, CEO and founder of Innovation Nest
• Entrepreneur, co-founder of Pascal Publisher, co-founder and first
chairman of Onet.pl
• Business angel, supporting, among others, Merlin.pl
• Currently with Marek Kapturkiewicz in Innovation Nest - a platform
supporting growth of high tech companies:
• strategic and operational mentoring
• seed and venture fund
• Entrepreneurial school S.P.I .N.
• Graduated in philosophy at K.U.L., in mathematics at Oxford
University and in business at LBS.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be
an astronaut.
My entrepreneurial role
model is my wife
because she makes
things happen!
When I was a kid I
wanted to be a wise guy
- a scientist probably.
Later, a more practical
attitude started: I
planned to be an
astronaut and then a
pilot. I became an
entrepreneur and now I
support digital
entrepreneurs.
I never had an
entrepreneurial role model.
I did not even plan to be an
entrepreneur.
My friend and I saw an
opportunity and we went
for it!
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
J ean-Francois Dehem, Secretary General, EIT Foundation
J ean-Francois is a mechanical engineer with management
background and a large industrial/ international experience gained in
various positions (Production, Engineering, Logistics, Process
improvement, Project management, Procurement, Key account and
Innovation, Corporate Social Responsibility) and in several
companies: Solvay SA, Extraction Desmet SA, Suez.
J ean-Francois is Secretary General of the European Institute of
Innovation and Technology Foundation as of August 2011.
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
Name Nowakowska, Managing Director, Polish Private Equity
Association (PSIK)
The Polish Private Equity Association was established in 2002. Its
mission is to promote and develop the private equity/venture capital
industry in Poland and to represent the interests of the Polish private
equity community in Poland and abroad. Prior to joining PPEA in
2003, Barbara Nowakowska served as a board member of an
independent Polish telecom operator El-Net S.A and a restructuring
director in an industrial conglomerate, Elektrim S.A. Her professional
background includes five years with the largest Polish private equity
fund manager Enterprise Investors and two years with the Ministry of
Privatisation. Barbara Nowakowska holds an MA degree in Economics.
My entrepreneurial
motto is:
"Be persistent and
passionate".
When I was
younger I
wanted to
explore
technology.
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
Anna K. CZEKAJ , Business Angel, S&E Impact Investment, Go
Beyond Ltd
Anna K. Czekaj is a business angel and a member of Go Beyond’s Social and
Environmental Impact Group in Geneva, Switzerland. Originally from Poland,
she leads initiatives promoting cross-border cooperation. Prior to joining the
entrepreneurial world, she gained an extensive experience in a multinational
corporate environment. She is an expert in international business
development, marketing and sales operations. She has an MA in Economics
and Management and an MBA in International Business Relations. Anna is
particularly focusing on projects driven by People-Planet-Profit values.
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
J an Mühlfeit, Chairman of Microsoft Europe Corporation
ICT industry veteran almost 18 years in MS. Led CEE region from 2000 -
2005. Vice President of Microsoft’s Public Sector team in Europe, Middle East
and Africa (EMEA) in 2005, Vice President, EMEA Corporate & Government
Strategy in 2006 and later Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation, Mr.
Muehlfeit is a Vice-Chair of the Academy of Business in Society (ABiS), board
member of J A, Co-Chairman of the European e-Skills Association and a
member of the Board of AI ESEC and Ovum advisory body.
J an Muehlfeit has been serving in different advisory boards of several
European governments in the field of ICT, national competitiveness and
education. He also represents Microsoft on the TABD, the Transatlantic
Business Dialogue and is involved as advisor in different projects of
European Policy Center (EPC). He is chairman of European roundtable GEI of
the World Economic Forum. He is also a board member of the Czech
National Museum.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Leonardo Da
Vinci because of his
"unquenchable curiosity
and feverishly inventive
imagination".
When I was
younger I
wanted to travel
the world,
explore new
places and other
cultures.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
become a
professional
tennis player.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Bill
Gates.
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
Bruno Claude, Member of the Board of Directors, Invitel
Bruno Claude has been a member of the
Board of Directors of Invitel, a fixed line
operator in Hungary, since 2010. He acts
as a divisor to international buy out
groups such as Apollo and Hellman &
Friedman. Mr. Claude served as President
and CEO of Cablecom, the largest
alternative telecommunications provider in
Switzerland from 2001 to 2006 when the
company was successfully sold to Liberty
Global. During his tenure, he was
responsible for the turn around and
strategic re-direction of the company,
building a dynamic and successful "triple
play" provider out of a candidate for
bankruptcy.
From October 2000 to J uly 2003 Bruno was Senior Vice President and COO
of NTL's continental European operations. While with NTL, Bruno was also
appointed CEO of Iesy, a large German Cable operator which he led through
a successful financial and operational restructuring. Prior to joining NTL, he
was managing director of CEA Capital Advisor where he was responsible for
the turn around and successful exit of a number of businesses in the media
and communications industries. Prior to this, he held various positions with
Prime Cable, which he joined in 1985, most recently as deputy to the
President. Prime Cable was a highly successful private equity backed
company focusing on the turnaround of underperforming cable television
systems across the United States. During his career, Mr. Claude raised in
excess of €20.0B for ventures ranging from early stage start-ups to large
leverage buy outs. Mr. Claude graduated from the University of Louvain with
a Masters degree in Engineering in 1983 and from Cornell University with an
MBA in 1985.
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
Moritz Meenen, Climate-KIC Alumnus
Moritz Meenen is a researcher at Autonomous Systems Lab of ETH Zurich
and is currently also in the process of creating a Spin-Off Company "Umosys
- Urban Mobility Systems".
Moritz did various internships in industry and research institutes in Germany,
Spain, Mexico and the USA. He has developed "UniSolar" - student financed
solar panels for university roofs, is the co-founder of the student
entrepreneurship club "PionierGarage" at Karlsruhe I nstitute of Technology
and has organized the Karlsruhe Delegation of the World Model United
Nations Conference. He is an active member of “The Hub Zurich
Association”.
Moritz was born in 1983 in Hamburg. He earned his Diplom-Wi-Ing. in
Business & Engineering from Karlsruhe I nstitute of Technology (formerly
University of Karlsruhe) and wrote his diploma thesis at MI T-Fraunhofer
Center for Sustainable Energy Systems in Cambridge, Massachusetts on
market entry of solar water heating systems.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
become a pilot
and inventor.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Nolan
Browne, Managing
Director of R&D Spin-
Off "Fraunhofer CSE"
and former boss.
Panel: The EIT as an engine of an
entrepreneurial Europe
Richard L. HUDSON, CEO, Science|Business
Rich has been a leading science and technology journalist in Europe for 25
years. Since 2005 he has been CEO and Editor of London- and Brussels-
based Science Business Publishing Ltd., a media and communications
company focused on research and innovation in Europe; its purposes it to
connect academic researchers, industry investors and policy makers. Before
that, he was with the Wall Street J ournal for 25 years, as reporter,
technology editor and, from 1997 to 2003, managing editor of the European
edition. He is also co-author of a book, now in 11 languages, on “fractal”
analysis of financial markets with famed Yale/IBM mathematician Benoit
Mandelbrot: The (mis)Behavior of Markets: A fractal view of risk, ruin &
reward. He is a graduate of Harvard College, a former Knight Fellow at MIT,
and lives in Brussels.
Panel: The EIT as an engine of an
entrepreneurial Europe
Nevena Vuksanovic, Executive Committee Member, European
Students Union
Nevena Vuksanovi? is a student of Belgrade University, department for
Landscape Architecture. Before being elected to the Executive Committee
(EC) of the European Students’ Union, she was an EC member of the
Students’ Union of Serbia, responsible for international affairs. I n the
European Students’ Union, Nevena is responsible for the Bologna Process,
including topics of Student Centred Learning, Qualification Frameworks,
Governance and student participation, Employability, Research. Nevena
coordinates the project SAGE (Students’ Advancement of Graduates
Employability), hence the “Bologna With Students’ Eyes” 2012 publication, a
unique stocktaking report on the implementation of Bologna Process from
the students point of view. In the field of Students’ Rights, Nevena is
coordinating a Belarus Working Group of ESU which is mandated for creation
and implementation of the Strategy for bilateral cooperation between
European and Belorussian students.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
mathematician
or composer.
My entrepreneurial
role model is
Thomas Edison
because he invented
the modern
innovation model…..
When I was
younger I wanted
to be a language
teacher
establishing a chain
of private language
schools.
My entrepreneurial role model
is J ames Clark because he
managed to be a successful
entrepreneur while attaining
his university degree, hence
PhD, and working as a
professor at Stanford
University further on.
Panel: The EIT as an engine of an
entrepreneurial Europe
Folker FRANZ, Industrial Affairs Director, BUSINESSEUROPE
Folker Franz is I ndustrial Affairs Director at BUSI NESSEUROPE, the
confederation of European industry, which represents 40 employers and
industrial federations across 34 European countries on all business issues
dealt with by the European Union. The Industrial Affairs Department mainly
follows EU policies in the areas of environment and resources, research and
technology, as well as climate and energy.
Folker represented in particular the views of European industry in the
political discussions leading up to the adoption of the landmark EU Climate
and Energy Package in December 2008, including the Directive reviewing
the EU Emission Trading Scheme. He is the author of BUSINESSEUROPE
publications “Energy Efficiency – Reconciling Growth and Climate Protection”
(2007) and “Combating Climate Change – Four Key Principles for a
Successful I nternational Agreement” (2008).
Folker is a trained economist and holds a Master in International Economics
from the Université Paris-Dauphine. Prior to BUSI NESSEUROPE, he worked
as a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Berlin. Folker is of German
nationality.
Panel: The EIT as an engine of an
entrepreneurial Europe
Christian Weinberger, Policy Advisor, SMEs and
Entrepreneurship, DG Enterprise and Industry, European Commission
Christian Weinberger joined the Commission Services in 1999 to work on technical
harmonisation in the Common Market, using the New Approach with CE-marking and
harmonized EN Standards. In 2003 he was appointed Head of Unit dealing with
Entrepreneurship policy, in particular the Entrepreneurship Action Plan and the
European Charter for Small Businesses, by elaborating recommendations and
identifying and disseminating good practices. Since 2008 he is Entrepreneurship and
SME Policy Advisor in DG Enterprise and Industry.
Before joining the European Commission, Christian worked for 10 years with a large
multinational corporation in Marketing, Sales, Finance and Special Business
Operations in various countries and at European HQ and then co-founded an
international SME in Information Technology and was its CEO for 9 years.
Being a native Austrian, Christian holds a Master of Physics in Engineering, an MBA
and a Ph.D. in Economics.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be
Captain Future.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Madonna, because
she has been staying close
to her consumers for
decades, responding to their
needs.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
become a
scientist.
My entrepreneurial role model is
J ohannes Gutmann, founder and
general manager of Sonnentor, a
manufacturer and distributer of
ecologic food products, as he
pushed the company all the way
from scratch to a worldwide
player in its market.
Panel: The EIT as an engine of an
entrepreneurial Europe
Aleksandra Kariima, EIT ICT Labs PhD student, TUCS/Turku
University and Product Manager, Teleste Corp.
Aleksandra has been working and studying in various fields of video systems
and networks in several years. Currently she is working in Teleste Video
Networks where she is responsible for product management of video
surveillance systems.
She is a PhD student in TUCS (Turke Centre for Computer Science) and
Turku University. Her research interest is focused on efficiency and
intelligence of distributed video systems. Aleksandra is an author of several
publications (including book) from field of video content management, multi-
sensor environments, data distribution, security and new technologies in
distributed video systems and most recently business aspects of product
management for software-based products.
She has graduated with an MBA (Innovation and Growth) from the MBA
program from Business and Innovation. The program is run by TSE (Turku
School of Economics) and TUCS and it is addressed to innovative and
business oriented PhD students.
Aleksandra Karimaa is a graduate of Silesian University of Technology (MSC
in Electronics and Telecommunication, 2004), Turku Polytechnic
(Information Technology, 2006) and Turku School of Economics (MBA in
Innovation and Growth from Business and Innovation, 2011). She lives in
Turku Finland with two daughters, Finnish husband and hunting beagle.
Closing:
Prof. Anders Flodström, Vice Chairman, EIT Governing Board
Prof. Flodström started his career in Palo Alto, USA, as member of research
staff in Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. Since 1985 he is professor in
physics at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden.
Prof. Flodström has been the Secretary General of the Swedish Research
Council for Engineering Sciences and President at Linköping University (LiU),
Sweden. He was President of the Royal I nstitute of Technology (KTH),
Stockholm until J uly 2007 when he was appointed University Chancellor for
Swedish universities. He is member of the Swedish Academy for the
Engineering Sciences (IVA). He is also honorary doctor at Riga Technical
University in Latvia, honorary doctor of Helsinki Technical University (TKK)
and honorary professor in Dalian University of Technology in China. He is a
member of the advisory board of Karlsruhe Technical Institute (KIT) and a
former Chairman of CLUSTER and Baltech a network of technical universities
around the Baltic Sea. He has also been guest researcher at HASYLAB/DESY
in Hamburg, Germany as well as in National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in
Gaithersburg, USA.
Prof. Flodström was University Chancellor at the Swedish National Agency
for Higher Education from 1 August 2007 to 30 J une 2010.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
NHL ice-
hockey player.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Håkan Lantz
because of his courage,
intelligence and
integrity.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
doctor.
My entrepreneurial role model is
Trip Hawkins because he is a
good example of a successful
business innovator in innovative
industries of computer games.
doc_623542584.pdf
Eit Conference Youth And Entrepreneurship – Drivers Of Innovation
EIT CONFERENCE
YOUTH AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP – DRI VERS OF I NNOVATION
SPEAKERS’
BIOGRAPHIES
WHO’S WHO?
When I was younger I
wanted to set up further
innovative companies
based on fresh, valuable
and novel scientific
concepts.
Session: Dzie? dobry!
Alexander von Gabain, Chairman of the EIT Governing Board
Alexander von Gabain obtained his Ph.D. in Genetics at the University of
Heidelberg and held a post-doctorate position at the Stanford University.
During the 1980s and 1990s, he was professor at the University of Umeå
and at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, as well as an advisor
to pharmaceutical and biotech companies. From 1992 to 1998, he was Chair
of Microbiology of the University of Vienna at the Campus Vienna Biocenter,
Austria and helped building the public private partnership of the Vienna
Biocenter/IMP. In 1998 he co-founded Intercell AG and led the company as
CEO until it was successfully floated on the Vienna Stock Exchange in 2005.
From 2005 to 2009, he was Member of the Executive Management Board
and CSO of the company. His research interest is in the field of biomedical
research and documented by a large number of publications, book chapters
and patents. He is professor of Microbiology at the Max Perutz Laboratories
of the University of Vienna, and foreign adjunct professor at the Karolinska
Institute, Stockholm, and serves on the boards of biotech enterprises,
including TVM Capital, Munich. In 2008, he was appointed to the Governing
Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and
since 15 September 2011, he is now Chairman of the EIT Governing Board.
Session: Dzie? dobry!
J osé Manuel Leceta-Garcia, EIT Director
J osé Manuel started his professional career working in space industry in
Finland already in 1987, France, Spain and J apan, prior to joining Spain´s
Innovation Agency (CDTI) in 1992 as part of the Spanish Delegation to the
European Space Agency (ESA).
Initially responsible to foster Spain´s contribution and leadership in the
practical applications of space, he became Head of Department for
Technologies and Space Programmes at CDTI in 1996 and was nominated
Chairman of ESA´s Ariane Launchers Programmes Board and Vice-Chairman
of ESA´s Telecommunication Programme Board from 2000 to 2002 until he
was promoted to the post of CDTI International Director in 2004. As
Director, his responsibilities included the promotion and management of the
Spanish participation in the EU R&D Framework Programmes and other
international close-to-market technology cooperation initiatives in Europe
and Latin America. In that capacity, he represented Spain in European fora
like CREST, Eureka and TAFTIE – the European Association / Network of
Innovation Agencies for which he served as Executive Secretary in 2010. He
joined the EIT in J uly2011 as its Director.
My entrepreneurial role model is Bill
Rutters, founder of Chiron, for starting his
company, after having become a
renowned senior scientist, but then
growing into an outstanding entrepreneur
with a strong smell for markets and
commercial opportunities, but also for
hiring excellent industrial competence into
his team that have complemented his
competence. When I was
younger I
wanted to be
an inventor.
My entrepreneurial
role model is my
father Lazaro Luis
Leceta Cerrato.
Session: Entrepreneur – Why and When?
Daria Tataj, Member of the EIT Governing Board and
Executive Committee
Dr. Tataj obtained her PhD at the Polish Academy of Sciences, followed by
an MBA at the Warsaw University of Technology Business School. She
worked as a consultant in an investment banking firm specialising in
mergers and acquisitions in media and telecoms before becoming a Director
at Copernicus Capital Management, a venture capital fund. Later, within her
consulting firm, she led projects under the EU/EBRD SME Finance Facility in
the banking sector. I n 2004, she co-founded the DIADEM Foundation - an
incubator for the Polish Professional Women's Network and the Vital Voices
Poland Chapter. In 2006 she was a fellow under the US Department of
State/FORTUNE Mentorship Program for Emerging Global Women Business
Leaders.
Dr. Tataj is currently a Managing Partner at EMF (Enterprise Management &
Finance) and Assistant Professor of management and block coordinator at
the Warsaw University of Technology Business School, teaching
Organisational Behaviour, Leadership and Change Management.
Session: Entrepreneur – Why and When?
Kristo Ovaska, Founder of Startup Sauna
Startup Sauna, founded in 2010, is a non-profit seed accelerator that
is designed to kick start the region by coaching the selected start-ups
from Northern Europe and Russia. We want to increase the quality
and volume of deal flow to attract investors and talent into
the region. Currently, we do not take equity stakes from the
companies that get selected to the program.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
millionaire. ?
My entrepreneurial
role model is Steve
J obs. I just love him
for who he was and
what he created.
When I was
younger I
wanted to have
an impact
making the
world a better
place.
My entrepreneurial
role model is
Mårten Mickos, ex
CEO of MySql.
Session: Entrepreneur – Why and When?
Amir Nissen, Founder of “Agents of Change Programme” and
CEO of “Student Entrepreneurs”.
I founded Student Entrepreneurs in 2008, initially as a student society at the
University of Melbourne. In that first year we ran an 'Entrepreneurs Week' and a
pitch competition that succeeded beyond expectation. From this early success
„Student Entrepreneurs Inc” was born, as a not-for-profit association dedicated to
raising awareness and supporting entrepreneurship amongst tertiary students around
Australia.
Throughout the year we run a number of events, from „Hackathons”
(startuphack.org) to Pitch competitions (ideapitch.org.au), and an annual
Entrepreneurs Week (eweek.org.au). These events are primarily aimed at raising
awareness of entrepreneurship amongst tertiary students, and we've inspired and
educated thousands of students in entrepreneurship through this process. On top of
the events, we also run an entrepreneurship development program -
agentsofchange.org.au - based on the seed accelerator model championed by
Ycombinator. This program (initially open only to students, but by demand now open
to any aspiring entrepreneur) focuses on taking students from idea to start-up in the
space of 8 weeks, and includes legally establishing a company, prototyping business
models, attracting followers, and building an mvp. There is no cash/equity exchange,
and unlike most seed accelerators we accept applications from profits or not-for-
profits, tech and non-tech ideas alike.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Mary Ritter, CEO Climate-KIC
Mary was appointed Pro-Rector for Postgraduate Affairs at
Imperial College London in October 2004, and added the
International portfolio in October 2005. She has been Pro Rector
for International Affairs since 2007. She was Head of the
Department of Immunology from 2004-2006, and from 1999 to
February 2006 was Director of the Graduate School of Life
Sciences and Medicine (GSLSM) at I mperial. In December 2010
she was asked to act as InterimCEO of Climate-KIC, and in April
2011 she accepted the invitation to take on the full substantive
CEO role.
After a BA in Zoology and DPhil in Immunology from the
University of Oxford, and Research Fellowships at the University of
Connecticut, USA and Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London, UK, she took up an academic post at the
Royal Postgraduate Medical School – now the Hammersmith Campus of Imperial College London, following
the 1997 merger. Her research centres on the development of the immune system, and she has published
more than 100 peer-reviewed articles on her research and taken out several patents. She has supervised
more than 20 PhD students, all of whomhave successfully gained their degree.
She was the founding Director of the first Graduate School (the Graduate School of Life Sciences and
Medicine; GSLSM) at Imperial College, steering it through frominception in 1999 to its current overarching
role providing interdisciplinary research activities, an extensive skills training portfolio and quality assurance
for all the postgraduate students in Life Sciences and Medicine. She subsequently helped to establish
Imperial’s second Graduate School, of Engineering and Physical Sciences, launched in 2002. She initiated
and oversaw the strategy, design and delivery of Imperial College’s postgraduate and postdoctoral
transferable skills training programme, which was awarded the THES prize in both 2006 and 2008. In
addition, she has established new academic taught courses at both bachelor’s and master’s level and has
regularly taught undergraduate and postgraduate students in her specialist area of immunology as well as
running workshops in transferable skills. She developed and chaired Imperial’s ‘Bologna Task Force’, ensuring
that the College’s education programmes are compatible with the Bologna Process and EHEA.
She has established a portfolio of Collaborative and J oint International PhD programmes with research
Institutes and Universities in Asia, and international transferable skills Summer Schools with several
universities - Tsnghua, NTU, NUS, HKU, Shanghai J iao Tong. She also played a key role in the establishment
of a joint medial school with the Nanyang technological University in Singapore (The Lee Kong Chian School
of Medicine).
Mary sits on a number of national and international committees including the UK Medical Research Council’s
Non-Clinical Careers Training and Development Panel, the UK Prime Minister’s Initiative (PMI) 2 for Higher
Education, The UK Academy of Medical Sciences’ Academic Careers Committee (non-clinical), the European
Universities Association (EUA) Institutional Evaluation Programme Panel of Experts, the German Excellence
Initiative (Institutional Strategies) Evaluation Group, and the Programme Review Committee for the
Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI). She chairs the UK Research Councils’ ‘Vitae’ (previously ‘UK GRAD’ and ‘UK
HERD’) National Advisory Board and was Chair of the UK-I ndia Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI)
Evaluation Panel, is Vice Chair of the EUA Council on Doctoral Education. She is a member of the
International Advisory Panel of the A*STAR Graduate Academy of Singapore, the International Panel of
Advisors of the Singapore Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), and the Council of AgroParisTech, is Vice Chair
of the Governing Board of the EIT Climate-KIC.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Paul
Graham.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
Chess
Grandmaster.
When I was younger I wanted to
be an international scientist whose
work could be applied, have
impact and make a real difference.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Raphael Stargrove, Co-founder, Hedgehog Energy
Raphael has experience in design, architecture, IT development, project
management and entrepreneurship. He completed his Bachelors of
Architecture at California College of the Arts (San Francisco), before
enrolling at Utrecht University in the Human Geography MSc program. Here
he focused on evolutionary and innovation economics and the theory of the
firm, completing a thesis examining the role of imitation in firm learning and
capabilities development in the Chinese wind turbine manufacturing
industry. Alongside his academic pursuits, Raphael has been involved in a
series of medical software startups as a programmer, designer, and
information architect. Over the past several years, he shifted into a project
and strategic management role, before making the decision in the summer
of 2011 to dedicate his time fully to Hedgehog Energy.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Roderick Groenewoud, Co-founder Hedgehog Energy
I have multi-disciplinary background with a focus on energy markets,
economics, energy infrastructure, and environmental policy analysis. I
completed my BA at University College Utrecht, with a major in Economics,
and a minor in Environmental Science. After completing a pre-master’s in
Thermodynamics and Energy analysis, I entered the Sustainable
Development MSc program at Utrecht University, and now I specialize in
renewable energy technology, management and policy. I have also attended
J ohn’s Hopkins University as an exchange student, where I followed courses
on energy markets modeling, environmental engineering and risk
management, and University of New Hampshire, Durham, with courses in
environmental & ecological economics. Last summer I have participated and
won together with my teammates the Climate KIC CLJ Business plan
competition. With our project called ‘Hedgehog Energy’, we tried to devise a
business plan that would make energy storage profitable. After the CLJ we
received a stipend from Climate KIC to continue working on the project as
well as outside recognition from the Swiss based incubator Venture KICK.
Currently, I am dedicating the majority of my time to Hedgehog Energy,
while also finishing my Master thesis on European energy markets and grid
stabilization technologies.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Steve
J obs because he’s a
pragmatic
perfectionist.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be
an
architect.
When I was
younger I wanted
to be a marine
engineer or an
archaeologist.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Steve
J obs because of
constant reinvention
and pushing
boundaries.
When I was younger I wanted to be
an Indian Administrative Service
(IAS) Officer, as I believed an IAS
officer has the ability to bring about
a positive fundamental change in
the lives of millions. My motivation
is still the same just that my
approach is slightly different now.
My ultimate dream is to see an
India with 100% rural
electrification.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Swati PANDEY, Climate-KIC Master student, Masters in
Sustainable Energy Futures Candidate, Imperial College London
I spent the past 4 years in active research on Sustainable Technologies and Models
for Rural Electrification in Developing Countries like India and have independently
authored 3 International Papers on the same. My initial work focused on finding
solutions to the biggest problems facing renewables based distributed electricity
generation viz. the unreliable and intermittent nature of the power generated and
high cost. I am passionate about India’s development and my broad research
interests lie at the intersection of Alternative Energy Technologies, Policy and
Entrepreneurship.
I am currently a Commonwealth scholar in the UK pursuing my Masters in
Sustainable Energy Futures at Imperial College London. A little earlier, I obtained a
first class degree in Mechanical Engineering from Indian School of Mines Dhanbad,
India and was selected as a Social Innovation Fellow at StartingBloc, New York.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Willem J onker, CEO EIT ICT Labs
Prof. Willem J onker (1962) has a broad background in ICT, both in industry
as well as in academia. He studied mathematics and computer science at
Groningen University, worked at Delft University of Technology, received his
PhD from the University of Utrecht, and is a part-time full professor in
computer science at Twente University.
Willem J onker's industrial experience covers telecommunications (KPN), I T
(European Computer industry Research Centre, Munich) and consumer
electronics (Philips). He held several positions as researcher, international
project leader, department head, sector head, and account manager. In
2006 he was appointed Vice President Philips Research. Prof. Dr. J onker has
served European ICT research in various ways amongst others as project
leader, reviewer, and advisor.
My entrepreneurial role model is the
team at Husk Power Systems
because they have positively
impacted the lives of 150,000
villagers across 250 villages in India
through 60 mini power plants which
utilize discarded rice husk for
producing electricity.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Khalid LATI F, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Turku, Finland
Khalid Latif is currently working towards his Ph.D. degree at the University
of Turku, Finland funded by Turku Centre for Computer Science (TUCS) and
Academy of Finland. He is also pursuing MBA for PhD program in Business
and Innovation Development at Turku School of Economics, University of
TURKU, Finland. He has a M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering with major
in System-on-Chip design from Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden
and B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering with major in Electronics and
Communication from the University of Engineering and Technology (UET),
Lahore, Pakistan.
His research interests include On-Chip I nterconnection platforms, Computer
Architecture and FPGA based design. He has published over 25 research
articles. He has received a number of prestigious research excellence awards
such as from Nokia Foundation and Finnish Foundation for Technology
Promotion.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Diego Pavia, CEO KIC InnoEnergy
After graduating as electrical engineer, I created my own
company, which I sold 3 years afterwards. It was a 24 hours
dedication, 7 days a week, of total freedom to create an
impact.
Some time afterwards, as CEO of a 450M€ business for 8
years, I experienced the same, with less freedom but with
much more impact.
Now in KIC InnoEnergy, my goal is just the same, and one
of the impacts is help people to fulfill the same dreams that I
had the chance to fulfill.
When I was
young I wanted
to be a bird,
flying freely,
unconstrained.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be an
Engineer.
My entrepreneurial role
models are all those that
are trying hard, believing
in their ideas: the risk
takers.
My entrepreneurial role
model is late Steve J obs
because of his simple but
innovative ideas.
Session: KI Ckin’in: Ingredients for
entrepreneurial success
Pep Salas, Entrepreneur InnoEnergy and Founder ENERBYTE
I was born in Molins de Rei (Barcelona, 1976). I studied Agricultural
Engineering, specialized in rural development. Since 1999 I’ve been
working in the energy sector (distributed systems), during the first years
as a solar engineer. In 2005 I founded my first company, called WATTPIC
Intelligent Energy (www.wattpic.com), where I developed the role of a
CEO until 2009. During this period, I invented different kind of machinery
for renewable energy and I granted two International Patents (PCT) as a
main inventor. We installed more than 200 units of solar tracker
“Centaurus”. The turnover was over 7 M€ and we reached two financial
rounds (first 100K€ from a Business Angel and then 700k€ more with the
same investor). I was in charge of several R&D projects (>2M€) including
FP7 (microgrids, poligeneration, demand response systems, among
others). After this CEO role, I turned into CTO and went back to the PhD
(which I started some years ago) in the field of “Technology &
Humanism”. In 2010 I left the company for focusing on the research about
Smart Grid technology & Human acceptance. Because of that, a new
business idea appears and in 2011, together with a partner, we are
starting up this project. Besides, I've also been a social entrepreneur. In
2006 I co-founded Spanish PV cluster and nowadays (today, we are
almost 300 companies), and the website www.smartgrid.cat for
divulgation of Smart Grids technologies in my area. It gives me also the
chance to be a speaker in several conferences, write some articles in the
press and collaborate in some books about these topics.
Session: Have you got it?
Giovanni Colombo, EIT Governing Board and Executive
Committee
Dr. Colombo graduated in Electrical Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino.
Following a long management experience in the Telecommunications sector,
he was appointed Head of Research of Telecom Italia Labs (2001-2003),
Chief Technology Officer of Telecom Italia Labs (2003-2005) and finally
Head of long-term research at Telecom Italia (2005-2006). For the European
Commission, he was Chairman of two European R&D projects ("Rainbow"
and Wineglass") between 1995-1999; Chairman of the Mobile Domain,
clustering European R&D projects on mobile and wireless communication
technologies and services (1997-1999) and a Member of I STAG (I ST
Advisory Group), defining the European R&D policy in the ICT sector as a
support to the Commission's 7th Framework-Programme (2006-2007).
Dr. Colombo is currently a Member of the European Commission's Strategic
Advisory Board on Competitiveness and I nnovation, a Steering Committee
Member of the CVIS integrated Project, Member of the Scientific Board of
the Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya and adjunct
Professor at the Politecnico di Torino.
Giovanni Colombo has recently been appointed Vice-President of Istituto
Superiore Mario Boella, a Research Centre operating in the ICT sector.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Adriano Olivetti
because he has been able to
bridge the gap between
business impact and social
values.
When I was
younger I wanted
to be a railway
man.
When I was
younger I just
wanted to be
myself.
My entrepreneurial role
model is “visionary” because
I try to analyze what will
happen in energy market in
the long run.
Session: Have you got it?
Rajeeb Dey, Co-Founder of StartUp Britain & CEO of
Enternships.com
Rajeeb Dey is CEO of Enternships.com – a jobs
portal connecting talented students and graduates
to ‘entrepreneurial work placements’ in start-ups
and small businesses worldwide. Rajeeb graduated
in 2008 with First Class Honours in Economics &
Management from the University of Oxford where he was the longest serving
President of Oxford Entrepreneurs. His entrepreneurial endeavours started at the age
of 17 when he Founded the English Secondary Students' Association (ESSA) – the
first national organisation working to give school students aged 11-19 a voice in their
education – and for which he has received numerous accolades including the
Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Award & Fellowship of the Royal Society of the Arts
(FRSA). He was awarded the “02 X Young Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2009 for
Enternships and has been recognised as one of the 'rising stars' of the Business
World by Spectator Business Magazine. Rajeeb was profiled in The Observer as 'One
to Watch in 2010' from "Courvoisier The Future 500 Network" – a prestigious
network of emerging leaders in the UK. Since launching Enternships in May 2009,
Rajeeb has secured global media coverage including CNN, BBC World News, The
Daily Telegraph, ABC News, The Sunday Times, Wall Street J ournal to name a few.
He was referred to by the Financial Times as “among the most high profile” young
entrepreneurs in the UK. Most recently he was one of the Co-Founders of the StartUp
Britain campaign – an initiative supported by HM Government which aims to
celebrate, inspire and accelerate entrepreneurship in the UK. StartUp Britain was
launched in March 2011 by the Prime Minister David Cameron, Chancellor George
Osborne and Secretary of State Vince Cable. Rajeeb is also a Trustee of UnLtd – the
Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, a Channel 4 Education Advisory Board Member
and on the UK India Business Council Next Generation Advisory Board.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Prof. Dr. Mark Harris, CEO InnoVaVentures
Prof. Dr. Mark Harris is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in the
high-tech industry and in entrepreneurship. He recently retired from Intel to follow
his passion in entrepreneurship and in new venture creation.
While at Intel, his most recent role was as Director of Intel® Higher Education for
Europe, responsible for advancing innovation in key areas of Intel, collaborating with
top universities in Europe to expand university curricula, engage in focused research,
and encourage students to pursue a range of opportunities for technical study,
research and Entrepreneurship.
During the last 10 years, Prof. Harris built Intel’s global Technology Entrepreneurship
program together with UC Berkeley California’s Lester Center for Entrepreneurship.
During this period he experienced first hand the difficulties, especially in Europe, of
building entrepreneurial Eco-Systems.
Prof. Harris holds Masters Degrees in Computer Science and Economics from the
Technical University in Munich as well as Professorships for Technology
Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the University Politehnica of Bucharest and at the
University St. Kliment Ohridski of Sofia. He is also expert for the Executive MBA
Program at the Technical University of Munich and is Senior Fellow of the
International Entrepreneurship Academy as well as Executive board member of
Informatics Europe. Prof. Harris received a Doctor honoris causa and the “Blue
Ribbon” of Sofia the highest award for academic achievement from the St. Kliment
Ohridski University of Sofia and he also received a Doctor honoris causa from the
University Politehnica of Bucharest.
When I was
younger I wanted
to be a doctor.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Sir Richard
Branson - I admire the way
he has created such a
prolific brand and his own
'personal' brand.
When I was
younger I first
wanted to be a
bio-chemist,
then an airline
pilot, then what
I am now….
My entrepreneurial role
models are Gordon Moore
and Robert Noyce (founders
of Intel).
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Prof. Torsten Fransson, Education Director, KIC InnoEnergy
Prof Fransson is Chair of the Division of Heat and
Power Technology at the Royal Institute of
Technology, Stockholm (KTH). He is also the
Educational Director of KIC InnoEnergy.
He is recognized as an expert in the topic
Aeroelasticity in Turbomachines. Since 1990 Prof
Fransson has participated in the evaluation
committees of 15 Ph D (and “Docent”) defences
outside KTH. He has been invited as a Guest
Professor at EPFL and as a Guest Researcher at GE
Aircraft Engines, USA. Prof Fransson is regularly
member, and Session Chair, of International Scientific Committees for
conferences. He is also member of the Board of Directors of the Swedish
Gas Turbine Center, and the KTH representative in the Management Group
of the “European Consortium of Advanced Training in Aeronautics” as well
as in the T.I.M.E. (Top I nternational Managers in Europe) consortium of top
European universities.
Prof Fransson was a member of the Board of Directors of the International
Gas Turbine Institute during 1994-2002. He also served as the Chair of
“Structures & Dynamics Committee” of the I GTI/ASME.
Prof Fransson is a Fellow of the ASME, and a Senior Member of the AIAA.
In 2002 Prof Fransson obtained the “Chevalier de L’Ordre National du
Mérite” from the French President for his devotion to the increased scientific
and student collaboration between France and Sweden. In 2003 Prof
Fransson received the "ASME Dedicated Service Award". Prof Fransson is the
author/co-author of more than 150 scientific papers. Two of these have
received a "Best Paper of the Year" award. He has supervised 14 PhD and
25 Lic of Eng theses at KTH.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Priyamvadha SURESH, KIC InnoEnergy MSc student –
Environomical Pathways for Sustainable Energy Systems
(SELECT)
My name is Priyamvadha Suresh. I come from I ndia. I came to Europe to
pursue my Master’s education in the field of Sustainable Energy. Currently I
am pursing Europe’s most prestigious Erasmus Mundus & EIT KIC
InnoEnergy programme - Environomical Pathways for Sustainable Energy
Systems (SELECT) with complete scholarship. I completed my First Master’s
course in Sustainable Engineering at KTH – Royal Institute of Technology,
Sweden. Currently, I am pursuing my second Master’s course in Solar
Energy Engineering at Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain.
Prior to my Master’s education, I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in
Mechanical Engineering. With regards to my background in Innovation and
Entrepreneurship, I have undergone an intense summer course on Business
Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at one of Europe’s leading
Business schools - ESADE School of Business, which involved practical
training sessions on building entrepreneurial skills and presenting new ideas
to start our own business ventures.
When I was younger I
wanted to be an engineer
and start my own
business consultancy in
the field of energy.
My entrepreneurial role model is J ohn
Osher, Founder of Dr. J ohn’s
Products, Ltd. because he is a street
smart business man who built a very
successful business enterprise and
created products that were loved by
people.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Eleanor Saunders, Educational Programmes Lead, Climate-
KIC
Eleanor oversees the development of Climate-KIC’s Master
and Doctoral programmes and the formation of an alumni
association. Her background in education ranges from
teaching to programme design with a strong focus on
science and innovation. She has experience setting up two
enterprises and is a leadership development coach for
exceptional teachers who want to transition into business.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Stephen Caleb Opuni, Team member DeCo! and Climate-KIC
alumnus
Stephen Caleb Opuni is a member of DeCo!; the UNEP/SEED-Initiative
awarding winning social business start-up. He is in charge of Marketing,
Research and Development.
Currently he is a PhD candidate at the University of Helsinki, Finland and a
recent graduate from the same university with an MSc in Forest Economics.
Besides this, he holds an MSc in Food security and Natural Resources
management from the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
Alongside his education, he has had the opportunity to work in the
international development consultancy with RambollFinnconsult, in Espoo
Finland. He also worked with the UN Office of the High Representative for
the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small
Island Developing States (OHRLLS) in New York, USA. His professional
passion relates to issues on international development; pertaining to Natural
Resources Management, Poverty Reduction and Climate Change. Stephen is
a Ghanaian.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Wangari
Maathai as she
founded the Green
Belt Movement and
inspired millions.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
photographer in
the rainforest.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
medical doctor.
My entrepreneurial role model is
Mohammed Yunnus, because he
has actively contributed to the
development of the concept of
cause-driven business i.e.
covering cost, making profit, at
the same time achieving social
objectives.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Christop Mazur, Climate-KIC PhD student, Imperial College
London, Energy Futures Lab
Christoph is from Germany, born in Poland. In August 2011 he received a
Dipl. Wirt.-Ing. degree in Mechanical Engineering and Business
Administration of RWTH Aachen University. In 2009 he obtained a Master in
'Innovation, Conception, Ingénierie' at Ecole Centrale Paris. J ust now he has
started on a 3-year PhD program in Technology Diffusion Research in the
domain of Electric Mobility at Energy Futures Lab and Grantham Institute for
Climate Change of Imperial College London. His is interested in topics
concerning Electric Mobility, Energy Economics and Policy as well as
Sustainable Futures.
He participated in the CLJ 2011 (Zurich-Berlin-London). During this time his
team recognized that a significant amount of energy and money is wasted
within the private housing sector; although already highly profitable
efficiency measures exist. Additionally, inspired by regulatory changes in the
UK, they created a business idea called myGreenDeal which aims at
modernizing highly inefficient private houses for free and to use the savings
to pay back these measures as well as generate profits for myGreenDeal.
Currently they continue this project within the framework of Greenhouse UK.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Prof. Hannu Tenhunen, Education Director, EIT ICT Labs
Professor Dr.h.c Prof.h.c. Hannu Tenhunen is professor at the Royal
Institute of Technology. He has been visiting or invited professor at
Cornell University/Ithaca, INPG/ Grenoble, and Fudan
University/Shanghai, University of Turku. He was one of the
originators of the interconnect centric design, globally asynchronous
locally synchronous, and network-on-chip (NoC) paradigms. He has
published over 700 reviewed publications. Prof. Tenhunen has
actively contributed in all major conferences in his area from TPC
member to general chairman. During the last 20 years he has been
actively involved in high technology policies, technology impact
studies, innovations and changing the educational system.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be an
astronaut.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Warren Buffet
because of his business
philosophy as well as his
social commitment & ethics.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Miles
Davis.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be an
engineer.
Session: Unleashing entrepreneurial talent
through KI C education
Satu J ÄÄSKELÄINEN, EIT ICT Labs PhD student , MBA
student at Business an Innovation Development BID, University
of Turku
My academic background is in Computer Science and
Bioinformatics (MSc). I have studied at the Åbo Akademi
University and at the University of Turku, currently I am
working at Aalto University in Helsinki as Research
Coordinator. I am a PhD student at the University of Turku
(TUCS) and conducting MBA studies in the pilot programme
“Innovation and Growth – MBA for PhD students” at Business
and Innovation Development BID, University of Turku.
My entrepreneurial role
model
is Larisa Lisitsyn, as with
her company she made
2,7 million € in 2004.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be an
author.
Workshop 1: Developing your creative Ideas
Awet Yemane Weldezion, EIT ICT Labs PhD Student @ KTH
– Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Awet Yemane Weldezion is a PhD student in Electronics System Design at
the Royal Institute of Technology - KTH, Stockholm, Sweden. He is also
following MBA for PhD program in Innovation and Growth at Turku School of
Economics - TSE, Turku, Finland, supported by EIT ICT Labs.
He received his B.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Addis
Ababa University in 2000 and M.Sc. in System-on-Chip design from KTH in
2006. From 2000 - 2004, he worked as Applications Research Engineer for
start-up companies focusing on micro-controller-based product design,
programming and implementation.
Since 2008, he is pursuing PhD studies and has published several papers in
areas of 3D integration technology and Network-on-Chip architecture.
Workshop 1: Developing your creative Ideas
Philippe VAN CAENEGEM, Founder & Managing partner,
ThinkingArch
Philippe is founder and managing partner of ThinkingArch, the consulting boutique
specialized in front end innovation and pragmatic creativity. He has 15 years of
experience in innovation consulting, and management of innovation and operational
units. As Partner at Altran Group and Director at Synectics (Altran Group) Philippe
specialized in costumer insight and “the creative organisation”, successfully
accompanying organizations such as AXA, Coca-Cola, Dim, Eads Innovationworks,
Gemalto, Philip Morris, Sodexo, Volvo, Areva, Vodafone. Prior to Synectics he
initiated and managed the systematic innovation consulting services of De Valck
Consultants (Altran Group), working with major clients ranging from banking to
pharmaceutical. Inspired by “autonomous systems” while studying applied computer
science at the University of Brussels Philippe co-founded and managed Realactor®:
an innovative avatar technology start-up serving prestigious clients such as Microsoft,
Philips and the major studios. At the architects and engineers office of Samyn and
Partners, Philippe gained experience in project management of complex and
innovative projects.
Philippe holds a diploma MSc. in Architecture (St Lucas ’95); he is an alumnus of the
Harvard “‘innovation in science” program, served as a member of the French MEDEF
Innovation Committee from 2004-2007, teaches innovation and creativity in several
universities (HEC, Supelec, SupOptique) and is a cofounder of the ‘Banking -Finance
–Insurance Innovation Directors Club’. In his spare time, Philippe enjoys jazz, Paris,
opera, and travelling with his quadri-lingual children.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be a painter.
My
entrepreneurial
role model is
Steve J obs, R.I.P.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Richard Branson:
competitive spirit,
resilience & zeal!
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be an
architect
Workshop 1: Developing your creative Ideas!
J avier Garcia Martinez, Co- Founder, Director, RIVE
TECHNOLOGY
J avier is co-founder of Rive Technology I nc (Boston, MA), a clean energy
company, commercializing advanced catalyst technology that has raised $47
million in venture capital funding from leading investors. The proprietary
technology, invented by J avier during his post-doc MIT, makes traditional
zeolite catalysts more accessible to large hydrocarbon molecules. J avier is
faculty member and director of the Nanotechnology Molecular Laboratory at
the University of Alicante, Spain. He has published extensively in the areas
of nanotechnology and energy and is inventor of twenty patents. His latest
books are "Nanotechnology for the Energy Challenge" and “The Chemical
Element: Chemistry´s Contribution to our Global Future”
J avier is vice-chair of the World Economic Forum General Assembly Council
on Emerging Technologies. He has been recognized as a leader in
nanotechnology and materials science. In 2005, J avier was awarded the
Europa Medal, awarded annually to the outstanding European chemist under
the age of 35, and he received the Silver Medal of the European Young
Chemist Award in 2006. I n 2007, J avier received the TR 35 Award from
MIT’s Technology Review magazine, and in 2009 J avier was selected as a
Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Workshop 1: Developing your creative Ideas!
Codrin KRUIJNE, Entrepreneurship educator, Utrecht
University and Climate-KIC summer school 2010 coach
Codrin studied I nformation Science and wrote his thesis on Knowledge
Management for Business I ncubation. During his studies he had a company
in web development, but decided he did not want to be a coding computer
nerd for the rest of his life. After graduating he worked with a strategy
consulting firm, mainly for clients in media and entertainment industry. Still,
not the lifestyle that would make him happy. When he got the opportunity
he joined an innovative start-up company in the USA in real estate
development, which led to some valuable learning experiences. Codrin has
been developing courses and teaching entrepreneurship at the Utrecht
University Centre for Entrepreneurship for a number of years and particularly
enjoyed honours classes like Corporate Entrepreneurship, Sustainable
Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship, coaching summer schools like
the Climate KIC Contextual Learning J ourney and recently Leadership &
Ethics. He is preparing a start-up in sustainable tourism in Romania, first
planned construction in the spring of 2012. Academic interests are in
entrepreneurship education in general and social entrepreneurship in
particular. Next to his entrepreneurial and academic activities he enjoys Ki-
Aikido and re-learning the piano, resonates with the teachings of
Krishnamurti and goes out into the woods to learn the art of bushcraft.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be
a doctor, to
help people.
My entrepreneurial role
model is J eff Skoll because
after making a success of
eBay he is employing his
entrepreneurial talent for
social good.
When I was
younger
I wanted to be
older, now I wish I
was younger ….
Do not wait; the
time will never be
right, J UST DO IT!
My entrepreneurial role
model is Steve J obs because
doing things better is no
longer enough. This is the
time to do things differently!
Workshop 2: Nurturing environments: How to
transform your idea into business
Charlotte van de Water, Climate-KIC Alumna
After completing a master in Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences at
the Technical University of Delft and a research master in Human Geography
and Planning at Utrecht University, I am now working as a trainee at the
DCMR Environmental Protection Agency in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond region
in the Netherlands.
During my studies I expanded my knowledge on environmental and climate-
related topics by participating in the EI T Climate-KI C summer school on
entrepreneurship, innovation and climate change in Paris, London and Zürich
and the I nternational Summer School in Applied, Environmental and
Regulatory Economics 2010 in Turin, Italy. Previous international
experiences include one year of highschool in the USA, a 3-week French
language course in Geneva and an international workshop in Lugu Lake,
China. Next to my work as a trainee, I enjoy working on many different
projects. Current examples include a second job as a student assistant at
the department of Human Geography & Urban & Regional Planning of
Utrecht University, a course in Chinese (Mandarine) at the Volksuniversiteit
Delft and I am co-organizing alumni activities related to the EIT Climate-KIC
and fundraising activities for projects in Lugu Lake.
Workshop 2: Nurturing environments: How to
transform your idea into business
Antti Toropainen, Aalto Venture Garage
Member of the core team at Aalto Venture Garage / Aaltoes Europe’s leading
and most active entrepreneurship community. Antti founded his first
company in 2004 at the age of 17, and is currently studying finance at the
Aalto University School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland.
Aalto Venture Garage is an open coworking space for Baltic & Nordic
entrepreneurs. It also houses start-ups and communities such as Aaltoes.
Aaltoes is an independent, privately funded student and post-graduate led
community initiative. We encourage high-tech, high-growth, scalable
entrepreneurship, providing a tight start-up community in Northern Europe.
Founded in 2009, Aaltoes believes in grassroots action, self-initiative and
lean practices. I n short, we want to make an impact and change the culture
around us to be bolder, more active and more helping & sharing.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be
an architect.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be a
surgeon.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Kristian
Segerstråle from Playfish.
I like it when entrepreneurship is
used to initiate alternatives, out-
of–the-box approaches that
benefit society, such as the
personal attention to employees
and participation in the Climate
Savers Computing Initiative of
Google Inc.
During the inauguration of the
academic year I tell my students
that I would give anything to be
in their place (with the exception
of my wife, daughter and
grandson) because they live in
interesting times. There are
many interesting areas, but most
interesting is the intellectual
enterprise that is creating
something from nothing, because
it generates the most value.
Workshop 2: Nurturing environments: How to
transform your idea into business
J AN De Merlier, Business Unit Manager Systematic Innovation,
Altran
After finishing his degree in Physics, he obtained a PhD degree in
optoelectronics at Ghent University (Belgium) on the development of optical
chips for high bit rate data signal processing for use in optical fiber
communication networks. Right after finishing his PhD he started working at
the System Devices Laboratories of NEC in J apan on the development of
semiconductor based tuneable lasers and obtained several patents related to
the subject. He authored or co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed papers in
the most renowned journals in the field and presented his work on many
conferences.
In 2006 he joined Altran as an innovation consultant working on innovation
projects and extending the systematic approach for product and process
innovation. Main methodologies that are integrated in a global approach are
TRIZ, Value Analysis and Theory of Constraints. He got trained in TRIZ
through a 2-year course with Y. Salamatov and obtained Level 3 TRIZ
certification. He has assisted over 40 companies throughout their innovation
challenges in a broad variety of sectors: chemistry, energy, pharmaceutical,
automotive, construction… etc. Some examples of companies are: Corus,
Prayon, Philips, Pfizer, Bekaert, Merck Serono.
He has taught at the Universities of Ghent and Antwerp and has trained and
coached innovation teams of several large companies. Since 2009, he has
been manager of the Systematic Innovation Group in Altran.
Workshop 2: Nurturing environments: How to
transform your idea into business
Prof. Krzysztof Paw?owski, Rector, Nowy S?cz School of
Bussines – National-Louis University
Alumnus of the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry of the
J agiellonian University, he received his Ph.D. in physics from Akademia Górniczo-
Hutnicza in Cracow and an honorary doctorate from National-Louis University
(Chicago, USA). He was the founder and, in the years from 1992 to 2007, served as
Rector of Nowy S?cz School of Business - National-Louis University in Nowy S?cz,
and since 1996, a founder and Rector of Nowy S?cz School of Business in Tarnów.
Since J anuary 14, 2008, he has been a founder and President of Wy?sza Szko?a
Biznesu - National Louis University with a registered office in Nowy S?cz. Since
December 1, 2010 he is Rector of Nowy S?cz School of Business – National-Louis
University.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be a pilot.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Eric De Smaele as
CEO Xtenso, Belgian
market leader on Hospital
Information Systems
(ZIS).
My entrepreneurial role model is Adam Góral (CEO
Asecco Poland S.A.) because for the fact that he not only
created a company from scratch but he has the ambition
to build a global company. My entrepreneurial role model
is Ryszard Florek (CEO Fakro S.A.) this year’s winner of
Ernst&Young because more than 20 years built a
company from scratch and not content with mere
success but competes with the largest VELUX. In order to
compete he did what most companies do - creating a
powerful center for innovation and development. The
company develops super-modern technology in
traditional industry.
Workshop 3: ¥ - € - $
Eduardo M. Appleyard, MSc Student, KIC Innoenergy
Scholar, Erasmus Mundus SELECT
Eduardo M. Appleyard is currently studying at the Universitat Politècnica de
Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, in the context of a two year European joint
Masters in Renewable Energy (RE): Erasmus Mundus SELECT.
He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University, Canada,
and has work experience in both technical and business oriented roles.
His commitment to the mitigation of climate change has recently driven him
towards the renewable energy sector. He has notably worked as a
development engineer for a small scale wind turbine manufacturer and is
currently coordinating a project to build a demonstration emergency energy
unit for disaster relief.
Eduardo was a finalist in the 2011 CleanTech Challenge, an
entrepreneurship competition jointly hosted by the London Business School
& University College London.
Upon the completion of his studies, he hopes to continue growing within the
RE industry and to explore potential new business ideas related to the field.
Workshop 3: ¥ - € - $
Ruben Bach, Venture Capitalist
Ruben has ten years experience with regard to venture capital, small cap
private equity and m&a at board level. He has extensive entrepreneurial and
investment experience in renewable energies and software. Ruben has
undertaken successful investments and exits with up to triple digit returns to
NASDAQ noted buyers. He has ample supervisory board, NXD and
shareholder representative experience and undertaken more than 30
transactions with a total transaction volume well above 100 million Euro.
Ruben has an MA in Philosophy and History and has studied at the
Universities in Constance, Oxford and Bologna. He also served for many
years as member of several business plan competition committees in
Germany.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be an
astronaut.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
be an
architect.
My entrepreneurial role
model is my mother
because she managed to
raise four children by
herself and start several
successful ventures!
My entrepreneurial role
model is Warren
Branson.
Workshop 3: ¥ - € - $
Simon Stockley, Principal Teaching Fellow in
Entrepreneurship at Imperial College, London
Simon Stockley is a Principal Teaching Fellow in Entrepreneurship at
Imperial College, London. He is also a Professor of Innovation and
Entrepreneurship at the International School of Management in Paris. His
MBA and MSc courses at I mperial are both currently ranked 4
th
in the world
(and 1
st
in Europe) by the financial times.
Prior to becoming an academic, Simon had successful careers in oil
exploration, banking and consultancy. He is married to a serial entrepreneur
with whom he has started, grown and sold three ventures. In 2006 he co-
founded HERA, a social enterprise that provides entrepreneurship training
and mentoring to formerly trafficked women.
In his spare time Simon enjoys scuba diving, staying fit and building rockets,
an endeavour that saw him set a world record in 2005.
Workshop 3: ¥ - € - $
Piotr Wilam, CEO and founder of Innovation Nest
• Entrepreneur, co-founder of Pascal Publisher, co-founder and first
chairman of Onet.pl
• Business angel, supporting, among others, Merlin.pl
• Currently with Marek Kapturkiewicz in Innovation Nest - a platform
supporting growth of high tech companies:
• strategic and operational mentoring
• seed and venture fund
• Entrepreneurial school S.P.I .N.
• Graduated in philosophy at K.U.L., in mathematics at Oxford
University and in business at LBS.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be
an astronaut.
My entrepreneurial role
model is my wife
because she makes
things happen!
When I was a kid I
wanted to be a wise guy
- a scientist probably.
Later, a more practical
attitude started: I
planned to be an
astronaut and then a
pilot. I became an
entrepreneur and now I
support digital
entrepreneurs.
I never had an
entrepreneurial role model.
I did not even plan to be an
entrepreneur.
My friend and I saw an
opportunity and we went
for it!
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
J ean-Francois Dehem, Secretary General, EIT Foundation
J ean-Francois is a mechanical engineer with management
background and a large industrial/ international experience gained in
various positions (Production, Engineering, Logistics, Process
improvement, Project management, Procurement, Key account and
Innovation, Corporate Social Responsibility) and in several
companies: Solvay SA, Extraction Desmet SA, Suez.
J ean-Francois is Secretary General of the European Institute of
Innovation and Technology Foundation as of August 2011.
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
Name Nowakowska, Managing Director, Polish Private Equity
Association (PSIK)
The Polish Private Equity Association was established in 2002. Its
mission is to promote and develop the private equity/venture capital
industry in Poland and to represent the interests of the Polish private
equity community in Poland and abroad. Prior to joining PPEA in
2003, Barbara Nowakowska served as a board member of an
independent Polish telecom operator El-Net S.A and a restructuring
director in an industrial conglomerate, Elektrim S.A. Her professional
background includes five years with the largest Polish private equity
fund manager Enterprise Investors and two years with the Ministry of
Privatisation. Barbara Nowakowska holds an MA degree in Economics.
My entrepreneurial
motto is:
"Be persistent and
passionate".
When I was
younger I
wanted to
explore
technology.
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
Anna K. CZEKAJ , Business Angel, S&E Impact Investment, Go
Beyond Ltd
Anna K. Czekaj is a business angel and a member of Go Beyond’s Social and
Environmental Impact Group in Geneva, Switzerland. Originally from Poland,
she leads initiatives promoting cross-border cooperation. Prior to joining the
entrepreneurial world, she gained an extensive experience in a multinational
corporate environment. She is an expert in international business
development, marketing and sales operations. She has an MA in Economics
and Management and an MBA in International Business Relations. Anna is
particularly focusing on projects driven by People-Planet-Profit values.
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
J an Mühlfeit, Chairman of Microsoft Europe Corporation
ICT industry veteran almost 18 years in MS. Led CEE region from 2000 -
2005. Vice President of Microsoft’s Public Sector team in Europe, Middle East
and Africa (EMEA) in 2005, Vice President, EMEA Corporate & Government
Strategy in 2006 and later Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation, Mr.
Muehlfeit is a Vice-Chair of the Academy of Business in Society (ABiS), board
member of J A, Co-Chairman of the European e-Skills Association and a
member of the Board of AI ESEC and Ovum advisory body.
J an Muehlfeit has been serving in different advisory boards of several
European governments in the field of ICT, national competitiveness and
education. He also represents Microsoft on the TABD, the Transatlantic
Business Dialogue and is involved as advisor in different projects of
European Policy Center (EPC). He is chairman of European roundtable GEI of
the World Economic Forum. He is also a board member of the Czech
National Museum.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Leonardo Da
Vinci because of his
"unquenchable curiosity
and feverishly inventive
imagination".
When I was
younger I
wanted to travel
the world,
explore new
places and other
cultures.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
become a
professional
tennis player.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Bill
Gates.
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
Bruno Claude, Member of the Board of Directors, Invitel
Bruno Claude has been a member of the
Board of Directors of Invitel, a fixed line
operator in Hungary, since 2010. He acts
as a divisor to international buy out
groups such as Apollo and Hellman &
Friedman. Mr. Claude served as President
and CEO of Cablecom, the largest
alternative telecommunications provider in
Switzerland from 2001 to 2006 when the
company was successfully sold to Liberty
Global. During his tenure, he was
responsible for the turn around and
strategic re-direction of the company,
building a dynamic and successful "triple
play" provider out of a candidate for
bankruptcy.
From October 2000 to J uly 2003 Bruno was Senior Vice President and COO
of NTL's continental European operations. While with NTL, Bruno was also
appointed CEO of Iesy, a large German Cable operator which he led through
a successful financial and operational restructuring. Prior to joining NTL, he
was managing director of CEA Capital Advisor where he was responsible for
the turn around and successful exit of a number of businesses in the media
and communications industries. Prior to this, he held various positions with
Prime Cable, which he joined in 1985, most recently as deputy to the
President. Prime Cable was a highly successful private equity backed
company focusing on the turnaround of underperforming cable television
systems across the United States. During his career, Mr. Claude raised in
excess of €20.0B for ventures ranging from early stage start-ups to large
leverage buy outs. Mr. Claude graduated from the University of Louvain with
a Masters degree in Engineering in 1983 and from Cornell University with an
MBA in 1985.
Panel: Fit for (ad)venture?
Moritz Meenen, Climate-KIC Alumnus
Moritz Meenen is a researcher at Autonomous Systems Lab of ETH Zurich
and is currently also in the process of creating a Spin-Off Company "Umosys
- Urban Mobility Systems".
Moritz did various internships in industry and research institutes in Germany,
Spain, Mexico and the USA. He has developed "UniSolar" - student financed
solar panels for university roofs, is the co-founder of the student
entrepreneurship club "PionierGarage" at Karlsruhe I nstitute of Technology
and has organized the Karlsruhe Delegation of the World Model United
Nations Conference. He is an active member of “The Hub Zurich
Association”.
Moritz was born in 1983 in Hamburg. He earned his Diplom-Wi-Ing. in
Business & Engineering from Karlsruhe I nstitute of Technology (formerly
University of Karlsruhe) and wrote his diploma thesis at MI T-Fraunhofer
Center for Sustainable Energy Systems in Cambridge, Massachusetts on
market entry of solar water heating systems.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
become a pilot
and inventor.
My entrepreneurial
role model is Nolan
Browne, Managing
Director of R&D Spin-
Off "Fraunhofer CSE"
and former boss.
Panel: The EIT as an engine of an
entrepreneurial Europe
Richard L. HUDSON, CEO, Science|Business
Rich has been a leading science and technology journalist in Europe for 25
years. Since 2005 he has been CEO and Editor of London- and Brussels-
based Science Business Publishing Ltd., a media and communications
company focused on research and innovation in Europe; its purposes it to
connect academic researchers, industry investors and policy makers. Before
that, he was with the Wall Street J ournal for 25 years, as reporter,
technology editor and, from 1997 to 2003, managing editor of the European
edition. He is also co-author of a book, now in 11 languages, on “fractal”
analysis of financial markets with famed Yale/IBM mathematician Benoit
Mandelbrot: The (mis)Behavior of Markets: A fractal view of risk, ruin &
reward. He is a graduate of Harvard College, a former Knight Fellow at MIT,
and lives in Brussels.
Panel: The EIT as an engine of an
entrepreneurial Europe
Nevena Vuksanovic, Executive Committee Member, European
Students Union
Nevena Vuksanovi? is a student of Belgrade University, department for
Landscape Architecture. Before being elected to the Executive Committee
(EC) of the European Students’ Union, she was an EC member of the
Students’ Union of Serbia, responsible for international affairs. I n the
European Students’ Union, Nevena is responsible for the Bologna Process,
including topics of Student Centred Learning, Qualification Frameworks,
Governance and student participation, Employability, Research. Nevena
coordinates the project SAGE (Students’ Advancement of Graduates
Employability), hence the “Bologna With Students’ Eyes” 2012 publication, a
unique stocktaking report on the implementation of Bologna Process from
the students point of view. In the field of Students’ Rights, Nevena is
coordinating a Belarus Working Group of ESU which is mandated for creation
and implementation of the Strategy for bilateral cooperation between
European and Belorussian students.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
mathematician
or composer.
My entrepreneurial
role model is
Thomas Edison
because he invented
the modern
innovation model…..
When I was
younger I wanted
to be a language
teacher
establishing a chain
of private language
schools.
My entrepreneurial role model
is J ames Clark because he
managed to be a successful
entrepreneur while attaining
his university degree, hence
PhD, and working as a
professor at Stanford
University further on.
Panel: The EIT as an engine of an
entrepreneurial Europe
Folker FRANZ, Industrial Affairs Director, BUSINESSEUROPE
Folker Franz is I ndustrial Affairs Director at BUSI NESSEUROPE, the
confederation of European industry, which represents 40 employers and
industrial federations across 34 European countries on all business issues
dealt with by the European Union. The Industrial Affairs Department mainly
follows EU policies in the areas of environment and resources, research and
technology, as well as climate and energy.
Folker represented in particular the views of European industry in the
political discussions leading up to the adoption of the landmark EU Climate
and Energy Package in December 2008, including the Directive reviewing
the EU Emission Trading Scheme. He is the author of BUSINESSEUROPE
publications “Energy Efficiency – Reconciling Growth and Climate Protection”
(2007) and “Combating Climate Change – Four Key Principles for a
Successful I nternational Agreement” (2008).
Folker is a trained economist and holds a Master in International Economics
from the Université Paris-Dauphine. Prior to BUSI NESSEUROPE, he worked
as a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Berlin. Folker is of German
nationality.
Panel: The EIT as an engine of an
entrepreneurial Europe
Christian Weinberger, Policy Advisor, SMEs and
Entrepreneurship, DG Enterprise and Industry, European Commission
Christian Weinberger joined the Commission Services in 1999 to work on technical
harmonisation in the Common Market, using the New Approach with CE-marking and
harmonized EN Standards. In 2003 he was appointed Head of Unit dealing with
Entrepreneurship policy, in particular the Entrepreneurship Action Plan and the
European Charter for Small Businesses, by elaborating recommendations and
identifying and disseminating good practices. Since 2008 he is Entrepreneurship and
SME Policy Advisor in DG Enterprise and Industry.
Before joining the European Commission, Christian worked for 10 years with a large
multinational corporation in Marketing, Sales, Finance and Special Business
Operations in various countries and at European HQ and then co-founded an
international SME in Information Technology and was its CEO for 9 years.
Being a native Austrian, Christian holds a Master of Physics in Engineering, an MBA
and a Ph.D. in Economics.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be
Captain Future.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Madonna, because
she has been staying close
to her consumers for
decades, responding to their
needs.
When I was
younger I
wanted to
become a
scientist.
My entrepreneurial role model is
J ohannes Gutmann, founder and
general manager of Sonnentor, a
manufacturer and distributer of
ecologic food products, as he
pushed the company all the way
from scratch to a worldwide
player in its market.
Panel: The EIT as an engine of an
entrepreneurial Europe
Aleksandra Kariima, EIT ICT Labs PhD student, TUCS/Turku
University and Product Manager, Teleste Corp.
Aleksandra has been working and studying in various fields of video systems
and networks in several years. Currently she is working in Teleste Video
Networks where she is responsible for product management of video
surveillance systems.
She is a PhD student in TUCS (Turke Centre for Computer Science) and
Turku University. Her research interest is focused on efficiency and
intelligence of distributed video systems. Aleksandra is an author of several
publications (including book) from field of video content management, multi-
sensor environments, data distribution, security and new technologies in
distributed video systems and most recently business aspects of product
management for software-based products.
She has graduated with an MBA (Innovation and Growth) from the MBA
program from Business and Innovation. The program is run by TSE (Turku
School of Economics) and TUCS and it is addressed to innovative and
business oriented PhD students.
Aleksandra Karimaa is a graduate of Silesian University of Technology (MSC
in Electronics and Telecommunication, 2004), Turku Polytechnic
(Information Technology, 2006) and Turku School of Economics (MBA in
Innovation and Growth from Business and Innovation, 2011). She lives in
Turku Finland with two daughters, Finnish husband and hunting beagle.
Closing:
Prof. Anders Flodström, Vice Chairman, EIT Governing Board
Prof. Flodström started his career in Palo Alto, USA, as member of research
staff in Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. Since 1985 he is professor in
physics at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden.
Prof. Flodström has been the Secretary General of the Swedish Research
Council for Engineering Sciences and President at Linköping University (LiU),
Sweden. He was President of the Royal I nstitute of Technology (KTH),
Stockholm until J uly 2007 when he was appointed University Chancellor for
Swedish universities. He is member of the Swedish Academy for the
Engineering Sciences (IVA). He is also honorary doctor at Riga Technical
University in Latvia, honorary doctor of Helsinki Technical University (TKK)
and honorary professor in Dalian University of Technology in China. He is a
member of the advisory board of Karlsruhe Technical Institute (KIT) and a
former Chairman of CLUSTER and Baltech a network of technical universities
around the Baltic Sea. He has also been guest researcher at HASYLAB/DESY
in Hamburg, Germany as well as in National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in
Gaithersburg, USA.
Prof. Flodström was University Chancellor at the Swedish National Agency
for Higher Education from 1 August 2007 to 30 J une 2010.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
NHL ice-
hockey player.
My entrepreneurial role
model is Håkan Lantz
because of his courage,
intelligence and
integrity.
When I was
younger I
wanted to be a
doctor.
My entrepreneurial role model is
Trip Hawkins because he is a
good example of a successful
business innovator in innovative
industries of computer games.
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