Cooperation – Innovation – Development

Andrzej Szeptycki, PhD, Professor

Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, political scientist, professor of social sciences, professor at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Warsaw, expert at the Institute for Strategies 2050.

Hubert Cichocki, PhD

President of the Łukasiewicz Research Network, assistant professor at the Institute of Management at the Warsaw School of Economics. Involved in scientific and teaching activities at the College of Management and Finance at the Warsaw School of Economics. Graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics and Kozminski University.

Jerzy Małachowski, PhD, Professor

Director of the National Centre for Research and Development, graduate of the Military University of Technology in Warsaw. He has managed numerous projects and participated as a contractor in over 30 such projects focused on scientific, development and implementation work financed by, among others, the National Science Centre, the National Centre for Research and Development, and the EU. Member of scientific committees of over 40 national and international conferences.

Krzysztof Pyrć, PhD, Professor

President of the Board of the Foundation for Polish Science, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor of Biological Sciences, Head of the Virology Laboratory at the Małopolska Centre of Biotechnology of the Jagiellonian University and the Virogenetics research group. He organised a research team and new laboratories in Krakow from scratch, initially in BSL2 class, and then – the first BSL3+ research laboratory in Poland.

Adam Piotrowski, PhD eng.

President of the Management Board of VIGO Photonics S.A., graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology, doctor of Technical Sciences at the Military University of Technology. Professionally associated with VIGO Photonics since 2002.

Aleksandra Sawicka – Green

Senior Marketing Coordinator at FundingBox. Her main area of expertise is communication in the field of Industry 4.0, including projects funded by the European Commission and initiatives supporting digital innovation centres.

Krzysztof Samp

Vice-President of ITTI LTd., with over 25 years of experience in the IT and telecommunications industry. Participant in numerous international projects, including the 5th, 6th and 7th EC Framework Programmes, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, and the PADR, EDIDP, EDF programmes.

Dariusz Garbiec, PhD habil, eng.

Deputy Director for Research, Łukasiewicz Research Network – Poznań Institute of Technology. He heads the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Research Group at Łukasiewicz – PIT. He specialises in materials engineering, with particular emphasis on advanced powder consolidation techniques.

Tomasz Kolanowski, PhD habil, doctor of medical sciences and health sciences, prof. IGC

Scientific Director and Member of the Management Board of FamiCordTx S.A. Head of the research group for Advanced Tissue Models at the Institute of Human Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, dealing with topics related to tissue engineering and stem cell biology.

Leszek Roszkowski, PhD DSc Habil, Prof.

Theoretical physicist, coordinator of the ‘Astrocent Plus – Centre for Science and Technology of Particle Astrophysics’ project as part of the European Commission’s ‘Teaming for Excellence’ programme for widening countries. Founder of the Particle Theory Group at the National Centre for Nuclear Research in Świerk near Warsaw.

Artur Paprocki

CEO of Veles Productions, Polish producer and visionary in the field of immersive video technology. He is the creator and curator of Polish Digital Graphics — a pioneering initiative promoting digital art in Poland. Lecturer at the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology.

Michael Barngrover

Managing Director of XR4Europe, actively involved in DG CNECT activities and related research initiatives. He works to increase the availability of EU funding for XR entities in regions underrepresented in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes.

Atilla Arda Besen

Founder and CEO of VolareVers, leader of the XR Polska community, active member of XR Türkiye. Advocate of responsible and accessible technologies that combine academic knowledge with entrepreneurial vision, shaping the future of human-technology interaction.

Dr Agnieszka Gierej

Doctor of Engineering Sciences at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, innovation consultant at Zabala Innovation. She manages large EU research and development projects, creates multidisciplinary consortia and conducts expert reviews of research proposals, offering scientific and strategic support.

Cristiana Costa

Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Coimbra. She manages and coordinates projects funded by European programmes (H2020, EIT Health, DEP, ANI), supporting strategic collaboration between start-ups, healthcare institutions, researchers and regulatory bodies.

Prof. Krzysztof Walczak

Head of the Department of Information Technology, and Director of the Institute of Informatics and Quantitative Economics at the Poznań University of Economics and Business. His research focuses on virtual and augmented reality (VR/XR), multimedia systems, and artificial intelligence. Expert for the European Commission and Polish agencies supporting research and innovation.

Artur Rudnik

Business Development Manager in Honeywell Aerospace, a leader with 20 years of experience in oil, gas and aviation engineering sector. Graduated from the Faculty of Production Engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology, he holds the title of Master of Business Administration as well.

Mariusz Walkowiak, PhD eng.

Director of the Centre for Chemical Power Sources at Łukasiewicz – Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals, expert on standardisation issues in the field of chemical power sources, author of over 40 scientific publications.

Żaneta Żegleń

Assistant professor at the Jagiellonian University Museum, coordinator of the IMPULSE project funded by the Horizon Europe programme, which focuses on prototyping new forms of European cultural heritage presence in virtual worlds. She specialises in implementing technological innovations in public institutions. Expert at the National Contact Point of the National Centre for Research and Development for Clusters 2 and 4.

Artur Osiecki

Journalist in the economics section of Rzeczpospolita, specialising in EU funds and exports, as well as innovation and local government. Author of several hundred articles on EU funds, exports, innovation and local government. Graduate of the Faculty of Journalism and Political Science at the University of Warsaw and postgraduate studies in marketing at the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Warsaw.

Paweł Kurant

Deputy Director, Chief Operating and Financial Officer at Łukasiewicz – PORT, responsible, among other things, for supervising the Virtual Research Institute – a mechanism for financing research with high potential for subsequent commercialisation. He specialises in international projects, building institutional partnerships and implementing modern research management and financing models.

Małgorzata Szołucha

An expert with over 20 years of experience in international research cooperation between Polish entities within EU framework programmes. Since 2002, she has been working at the National Contact Point for EU Research Programmes (NCBR). Expert in the Cluster 4 Committee: Digitalisation, Industry and Space under the Horizon Europe programme.

Prof. Rafał Łukasik

Director of the Research, Innovation and Commercialisation Department at the Łukasiewicz Centre, President’s Representative for International Relations. Member of the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisers and the EARTO Executive Board. He is active in the Main Council for Science and Higher Education and advises the Ministry of Science on the internationalisation of science, the development of research infrastructure and the updating of the State’s Science Policy.

Piotr Świerczyński, PhD

Director of the National Contact Point at the National Centre for Research and Development. For over two decades, he has been actively involved in the implementation of European Union framework programmes for scientific research and technological development. Expert in the European Commission’s Programme Committees. He specialises in innovation and cooperation between science and business.

Magdalena Gronowska

Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Warsaw University of Technology. Her main expertise lies in structural design of composite aircraft components and mechanical control systems. From 2024 she is also involved in preparation of technical proposals and project management. Currently a Research Manager for EXAELIA (Horizon Europe).

Przemysław Starzyński, PhD

Head of the Innovative Initiatives Office at ENEA Operator. Responsible for innovation policy and the implementation of research and development projects. Winner of the 2025 Minister of Science and Higher Education Award. Implements modern technologies, including VR and drone technology integrated with AI and big data, supporting the digital transformation of the energy sector.

Przemysław Zawodny, PhD eng.

In his over 20-year career, he has completed the entire development path from the R&D department, the product certification unit, to the research institute. He has developed new products, researching, certifying, labelling and introducing them to the market. An enthusiast of new technologies, always open to cooperation. He builds long-term relationships with partners, supporting them with his analytical thinking.

Patrick Ney

Award-winning conference host who has hosted multiple prestigious business and marketing events. His focus is on ensuring events are inspiring, entertaining and informative. Well known film and documentary maker with over 200,000 followers online, currently he is finishing a book about Poland. Born in the UK, he speaks fluent Polish.

Maria Śmietanka, PhD

Deputy Director of the National Contact Point operating within the structures of the National Centre for Research and Development. She has been involved in the research and innovation ecosystem for many years. For nearly 10 years, she has been working at the National Contact Point, supporting Poland’s participation in successive European Union research and innovation programmes – Horizon 2020 and, currently, Horizon Europe.

Witold Witowski, PhD eng

For many years associated with the precision and medical industries. Since 1989, he has been involved in technology transfer and cooperation between the scientific sector and businesses, participating in international programmes and projects. Since 2009, he has been professionally associated with research institutes, dealing with non-standard QFD applications.