Amaia Esquisabel
Director of Research, Dept. of Science,. Universities and Innovation, Basque Government
BIO
She is currently the Director of Research of the Department of Science, Universities and Innovation of the Basque Government since 2015. Among its functions are those of promoting and coordinating theoretical and applied research programs, designing the necessary instruments for the correct execution of research plans, and promoting programs for the selection and training of human resources and the generation of infrastructure.
She holds a PhD in Pharmacy, Degree in Pharmacy and also Associate Professor of the University of the Basque Country (currently on leave). She carried our several research stays at different universities in the UK, Norway and Canada, and has published around 30 scientific papers on indexed journals, and participated in more than 30 research projects, at regional, national and European levels, and has two patents already licenced to pharmaceutical companies and participated in 16 contracts with the industry, one of them as PI.
Awarded two recognitions as excellent professor from the university. Has participated in degree and master courses and supervised two PhD students. Fully involved in the adaptation of the university teaching-learning system to the European Higher Education Area.
Also having been involved in management for several years at the university, as the Coordinator of the Teaching Innovation Service at the University of the Basque Country.
Maria José Tomás
Technician of the Department of Institutional Promotion and Territorial Cooperation, CDTI
BIO
María José Tomás works at CDTI, Spanish Innovation Agency answering to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities which fosters the technological development and innovation of Spanish entities. She has deep knowledge of all the aspects of R&I programmes and initiatives at national and international level managed by CDTI and currently she is responsible in CDTI for, amongst others: institutional promotion and agreements and cooperation with some regional R&I agencies.
In 2007, she joined CDTI being linked to different international programmes that CDTI is managing, such as Eureka, Iberoeka, Eurostars, Eranet Cofund, PRIMA, FP7, etc . In 2015 she moved to other department having different responsibilities directly related to the portfolio of CDTI programmes. University degree in Chemistry
Amaya Igartua
Coordinator of Materials Iniciatives in Tekniker. Co-secretary of European Materials Platform (EUMAT) and the Alliance for Materials (A4M)
BIO
She is the Coordinator of Materials initiatives in the Research Institution TEKNIKER and co-secretary of the European Platform of Materials EUMAT . She is member of the core team of AMI2030 initiative, and IAM4EU Partnership/IAMI. She has been for 10 years the Head of the Tribology Unit in TEKNIKER and she is Vicepresident for Spain of International Tribology Council. She has been participating in more than 50 EU Projects coordinating 4 of them, and she is author of 3 patents, more than 200 publications in peer review papers, congress, or book chapters. She is collaborating in the EU Project IRISS aiming to establish an EU led international community on sustainable-by-design materials to support embedding sustainability criteria over the life cycle of products and processes.
Alaitz Landaluce
General Coordinator of Innovation Policies, Innobasque
BIO
Alaitz Landaluze has a degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and is an expert in science, technology and innovation policies. In 2008 she joined the Basque Innovation Agency Innobasque. She currently heads the Science, Technology and Innovation Policies Unit. This unit collaborates with the Basque Government in the design and execution of the Science, Technology and Innovation Plan 2030 managed by Government’s Presidency, as well as in the design and management of various R&D and innovation programs of different Departments. In addition, she also works in the area of STEAM Education, supporting the Department of Education in the development of the STEAM Euskadi strategy and in projects such as the STEAM Euskadi Awards, STEAM Sare or First Lego League Euskadi.
During her 8 years as a manager at Accenture, she worked mainly for large companies in the energy industry such as Iberdrola or Repsol. She has completed various master’s and executive programmes with entities such as ESADE, the Instituto de Empresa where he completed the AMP in 2021, the MOC or the Master in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Deusto in 2008.
She also teaches in the field of innovation, either in courses organised by the Basque Innovation Agency, or also in other entities such as the University of Deusto (Master’s Programme in Information Security) or the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (Postgraduate Programme in Transport Systems).
Nagore Tellado
Director of Technology Transfer, UPV/EHU
BIO
Nagore Tellado holds a degree in Physics from the University of Zaragoza and an MBA from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Her entire professional career has been linked to research and technology transfer, first as an expert researcher in energy efficiency and then as Technology Manager at the TECNALIA Research and Innovation Centre, where she has directed the implementation of innovation management programs in technical teams and technology exploitation strategies together with market management. Currently Chief manager of Innovation and Tech-transfer office at the University of the Basque Country, she is a member of numerous advisory boards of companies and business organizations in the Basque Country.
Amaia Martínez Muro
Head of Technology Department, SPRI
BIO
Industrial Engineer and MBA from the UPV/EHU, currently Head of the Technology Department of SPRI, the Basque Business Development Agency, from where different programmes and initiatives are managed to support business R&D and Strategic Research carried out by the agents integrated in the BSTIN with a total budget of more than €220 M/year.
Previously in SPRI she has participated in the definition, implementation and evaluation of technological and business development strategies, especially in the RIS3 Smart Specialisation Strategy of the Basque Country, and in the coordination of initiatives for its deployment based on public-private governance and its international deployment.
Susana Barasoain
Cluster Manager, 3 NEO / Functional Print Cluster
BIO
Graduate in Law from the University of Navarra and Master in European Business from the EAP – ESCP Business School (Paris – Madrid). He has extensive experience in Coordination, Business Management and Project Management.
More than 7 years managing strategy plans and commercial promotion of fashion brands in the United Kingdom and later moved to project management at Modacc, the Fashion Cluster of Catalonia, for more than 8 years.
From 2020, she is managing Functional Print Cluster and 3NEO Technology Platform, Innovative and transversal ecosystem and key instrument to perform a correct transfer of innovation from advanced printing technologies to the industry.
Rikardo Bueno
CEO at BRTA – Basque Research and Technology Alliance
BIO
Rikardo Bueno is the CEO at BRTA – Basque Research and Technology Alliance, a public-private alliance between 16 RTOs and the Basque Administration, created in 2019. The alliance brings together around 3500 researchewrs and technologists, generating around 100 patents every year and having around 40% of its income from private companies through contract research.
Before leading BRTA, Dr Bueno worked at Tecnalia, the largest private RTO in the country, developing and coordinating diverse functions: International Business Development, director of the Advanced Manufacturing Area, business development and research programmes… the diverse positions covered responsabilities in both manufacturing research, with the main objective of transferring new technologies to the industrial fabric, and internationalisation, with the objective of cooperating with leading European organisations in the development of technological assets.
Rikardo has been committed to relevant European manufacturing innovation activities and initiatives. Member of Manufuture, Co-chairman of the ad-hoc industrial advisory group (AIAG) of the Factories of the Future Public – Private partnership (PPP) for 10 years, and strongly involved in the preparation of the finally winning proposal for EIT manufacturing. This long lasting activity has allowed Rikardo to have a strong network of partners (and friends!) in the field of industrial R&D. The idea behind the participation at these initiatives has always been to “enlarge the field” for manufacturing R&D, so the European industry can be more innnovative and thus, globally competitive.
Rikardo studied Industrial Engineering at the Engineering School of Donostia/San Sebastian and his PhD thesis addressed machine-tool design. Now at BRTA, the main goal is to further coordinate and strengthen the activity of 16 RTOs in the Basque Country, with the final goal of reinforcing industry.
Raquel Ubarrechena
Business Development Manager, Basque Country Technology Park
BIO
Graduate in Business Administration and with a Master in Foreign Trade from the Basque Country University, she has more than 25 years of experience in the development of the Basque Country Technology Park, performing different roles and responsibilities, from the economic and financial management and general management of San Sebastian Technology Park to the current Business Development and Marketing Management of the Basque Country Technology Park.
Beatriz Alonso
R&D Manager, Graphenea
BIO
Dr Beatriz Alonso obtained her PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of the Basque Country (Spain) in 2011. During her PhD, she focused on the research of the asymmetric synthesis of organic molecules, and she did a shot stay at the University of Oxford. After completing her PhD, she joined GRAPHENEA in September 2011 as Research Scientist where she combined her work as a researcher with the production control of the graphene-based derivatives. In 2018 she started leading the R&D department of the team focus on the graphene oxide materials being responsible of the founded projects, both European and national, and private projects with companies from different sectors. She is expert in graphene oxide materials and its adaptation to different applications.
Juan Pablo Esquivel
Co-founder and Scientific Advisor, Fuelium
BIO
Juan Pablo Esquivel is an Ikerbasque Research Associate at BCMaterials, Basque center for materials, applications & nanostructures. He is also co-founder and Scientific Advisor of the spin-off companies Fuelium & Sweanty. He has been Tenured Scientist at the National Microelectronics Center in Barcelona, Spain. He has a PhD in Electronics Engineering from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and was a Senior Fellow at the Bioengineering Department of the University of Washington, under a Marie Curie Fellowship from the European Community Framework Programme.
His work is focused on the ecodesign of power sources and systems, combining engineering, electrochemistry and material science with sustainability principles and a strong product oriented approach. He has received several international prizes and distinctions for his work, such as the Catalonia Ecodesign Prize and the TR35 award from MIT Technology Review, as one of the top 10 mexican young innovators. He has authored more than 100 scientific contributions published in international journals and conference proceedings and is inventor in 13 patents.
Larraitz Añorga
CEO, Biolan
BIO
Dr. Larraitz Añorga received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences by the University of Navarra in 2010. During her Ph.D, at the Microelectronics & Microsystems Unit at CEIT, she developed a strong interest for the development of electrochemical biosensors based on thin-film technologies. In 2010, she became the Head of the R&D Unit at BIOLAN MICROBIOSENSORES, an SME focused on the development and commercialization of biosensors for Agri-Food Industry. In 2011, she joined CIDETEC and in 2014 she became the Head of the Sensors Unit at CIDETEC, where she acquired a broad knowledge on the development of disposable biosensors based on inkjet and screen-printing technologies. Now, she is the CEO of BIOLAN HEALTH, an SME focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of new solutions for In Vitro Diagnostic.
Óscar Castillo
Inorganic Chemistry Professor / Entrepreneur, UPV/EHU
BIO
I fell in love with chemistry many years ago during my university studies and had the opportunity to obtain my PhD in chemistry in 2001. Since then I have worked as a university lecturer and researcher, leading many research projects. Today, I am a full professor and author of more than 180 publications (h = 42) in the field of inorganic chemistry and materials science. My interests include the preparation of porous organometallic materials from different approaches such as coordination bond based MOFs, supramolecular assembly of discrete polynuclear organometallic entities and organometallic aerogels. They are used in applications such as drug carriers, photocatalysts, CO2 capture and valorisation, wastewater remediation and more recently as sensors. During this time I became aware of the limitations of adsorption characterisation, particularly in liquid media, and started to develop new scientific tools to fill this gap.
Sergio Curiel
Aerospace Engineer, Lanzo Batteries
BIO
My name is Sergio, and I am a mechanical engineer graduated from the University of Valladolid. During my studies, I completed my final project in the field of combustion engine simulation within the Department of Fluid Mechanics Engineering. After finishing my degree, I began my professional career at Renault, where I worked as an energy engineer.
Later, I decided to specialize in the aerospace field and enrolled in the Master’s program in Space Science and Technology offered by the University of the Basque Country (EHU). There, I had the opportunity to collaborate on a project focused on testing space batteries at LANZO (CIDETEC Space), a pivotal experience that deepened my expertise in this area.
Currently, I work at LANZO as a thermal and structural design engineer, where I contribute to the development and optimization of advanced solutions for space applications.