Dr. Philip Papadopoulos

Dr. Philip Papadopoulos holds a PhD from London School of Economics and is currently the Director of the Strategic Project Management Office of the American Farm School (AFS). In this capacity he is responsible for the Agrifood Entrepreneurship Centres run by AFS in the cities of Thessaloniki and Kalamata, and oversees training and consultancy projects in over thirty locations throughout Greece. Building and managing multi-actor alliances between research institutes, civil society institutions and the real economy is one of his core activities.

His fields of interest include Consumer Behavior related to the Mediterranean Diet, Alternative Tourism, Food Anthropology, Entrepreneurship, E-commerce, Organizational Culture & Climate, Leadership and Management, including motivation and performance management.

Dr. Panagiotis Zoumpoulakis

Ass. Professor, Head of Food Science and Technology department, University of West Attica

Panagiotis Zoumpoulakis is an Associate Professor and Head of the department of Food Science and Technology of the University of West Attica. He holds a degree and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Patras (GR) and an MBA from the Athens University of Economics and Business (GR). 

From 2008 to 2020, he held a position as a Researcher and Principle Investigator at the Institute of Chemical Biology of the National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF) and from 2015 is a visiting professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the University of Thessaly. His scientific fields of interest are focusing on the design and analysis of bioactive compounds. He has a scientific track record of 130 peer review scientific publications and 26 national and European grants, 10 of which as a coordinator and/or Principal Investigator. He has working experience in marketing innovation, technology transfer and entrepreneurship, focusing on the start-up ecosystem.

Dr. Angeliki Kavga

Angeliki Kavga is Associate Professor in the Dept. of Agricultural Science, of University of Patras (UPat), on «Greenhouse Construction and Operation» field. She has ΜSc in Environmental Studies from University of Patras (Dept. of Biology) and PhD in Agricultural Engineering from University of Patras (Dept. of Mechanical Engineering & Aeronautics) on “Energy Optimization of Greenhouse Using a Heating System with Infrared Radiation (IR). Her research interests focus on Greenhouse Constructions, Renewable energy sources in agricultural sector, Precision Agriculture, Smart Farming and Environmental Physics. 

She has presented remarkable research work in her scientific field with 32 published scientific papers in international journals, one book chapter and more than 35 entries in International and Greek Scientific Conferences. She is Project Manager (PM) in one research program (Erasmus +k2), Scientific Manager in 3 competitive research programs on Smart and Sustainable Greenhouse Modules and member of the research team in 2 research programs (Interreg, RIS3).

Dr. Thomas Bartzanas

Thomas Bartzanas is Associate Professor at the Agricultural University of Athens and Director of the Lab of Farm Structures. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Thessaly, with a PhD in agricultural constructions at the University of Thessaly and the Bioclimatology station of INRA in France and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Aarhus in Denmark (Department of Engineering). His research interests focus on the development, evaluation and application of new techniques and technologies in controlled environment production systems (greenhouses, vertical farming systems, hydroponic systems, livestock buildings), the rational management of natural resources in the agrofood sector and the assessment of the environmental impact (environmental footprint) throughout the agricultural production chain using the life cycle analysis. 

 

He has participated as a Coordinator and / or Researcher in 50 national and European research programs and has more than 350 publications in international journals and conference proceedings (h-index 27 / 3830 citations). He is a reviewer of international journals, European programs and a member of related scientific associations. For five years (2015-2020) he was the coordinator of the Agri-food innovation platform of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) and is vice-president and representative of the academic / research bodies of the Food for Life platform of the Federation of Greek Food Industries (SEVT). He is the Chair in the European networking action COST LivAge for greenhouse gas emissions in the livestock sector, vice-chair in the Structures & Environment Committee of CIGR, member of the Scientific Council of the European Union, in the Directorate for Research and Innovation for open access to research results in the field of “Agricultural Sciences” and was a member as an expert of the European Innovation Focus Groups (EIP Focus Group) a) for circural bioeconomy in the agricultural sector and b) for greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector. He is the President of the Hellenic Union of Agricultural Engineers of Greece (EGME) and since December 2021 CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Competence Center in the application of smart technologies in the agri-food sector Smart Agro Hub A.E.

Dr. Dimitris Skuras

Dimitris Skuras is the Vice Rector of Economics and Planning at the University of Patras and Professor at the Department of Economics. He studied at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Universities of Aberdeen and Essex in the United Kingdom.

His research is in natural resources and environmental economics, particularly analysing the impact of agricultural and rural development policies on GHG emissions, on the use and quality of water and soil resources, and on biodiversity and ecosystem services. His work has appeared in over 100 articles, studies and books. In 2008 his work was awarded the Academy of Athens award in the “Class of Ethical and Political Sciences”. He has developed programs and studies for the European Union, the OECD, the United Nations (FAO) and many government agencies in Europe, Latin America and Africa.