Robert Zubrin is an aerospace engineer with four decades of technical experience. Formerly a Senior Engineer at Lockheed Martin, since 1996 he has been President of Pioneer Astronautics, an aerospace research and development company. In that capacity, he has led over 70 highly successful technology development projects for NASA, the US military, the Department of Energy, and private clients. He holds Master of Science degrees in Nuclear Engineering and Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering, all from the University of Washington. He is the author of 14 books, and is the inventor of over 20 US patents. In 1998, he founded the non-profit Mars Society, and personally led it in building a simulated human Mars exploration station in the Canadian Arctic.

Mariia Pavlovska is a biodiversity research expert of the UNDP project EU4EMBLAS. Master of Science from Uppsala University (Sweden), participant in the seasonal expedition to the Akademik Vernadsky station, SCAR Fellowship in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Bremen, Germany).

Omar has been at NASA for 24 years in different roles and has published over 33 international journal articles in Engineering. Author of Between Brains, a book that explores the impact of Artificial Intelligence and technology on the future of jobs, ethics, technologies, and economies.

Polina Lishko, cellular and developmental biologist. Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Ex-Associate Professor in the Molecular and Cell Biology Department at the University of California, Berkeley. Polina Lishko is a 2020 MacArthur Fellow and received 625 thousand US dollars to finance her research.

Work at Skeleton which produces both its energy storage devices and its own raw material – its patented “curved graphene” - the biggest technological advancement in the industry in the past 20 years. Formerly worked as Head of Public Relations for the Republic of Estonia’s e-Residency programme and as a Communication Officer for the French President François Hollande. Arnaud also co-manages the Adopt a drone initiative, supplying drones to the Ukrainian army, and is senior fellow in a French think tank named Open Diplomacy.

Sofia Chaikovska is a cardiac surgeon at the Department of Surgical Treatment of Myocardial Pathology and Transplantation of Organs and Tissues of the Heart Institute of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. She has participated in more than 30 heart transplantations. Fall 2022: three-month training at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Professional interests: heart and lung transplantations, implantation of mechanical circulatory support devices, minimally invasive interventions on heart valves. She is a graduate of Bukovinian State Medical University, winner of numerous student competitions and conferences, prize-winner of the Young Scientists Contest, and has completed internships at leading hospitals in Europe and America.

Linda has a background in building global deep tech teams from working at Sheffield Haworth's Technology team in London. She started her career as a creative editor at Ekspressmeedia. Her experience spans satellite and rocket companies to high-performance computing as well as healthtech to ERP, and currently focuses on everything ESG related - HR, sustainability, efficiency improvement, agtech, healthcare and other.

Experience: international project management in healthcare, screening and assessment of investment opportunities in the life sciences, technology transfer, clinical development of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, healthcare program management, evaluation of European R&D projects (Horizon 2020, IMI, Eureka), piloting of innovative solutions in e-Health, uptake and procurement of innovation in the healthcare sector, social impact investment.

Quantum physicist, co-founder and CEO at IQM, the European leader in building quantum computers. Jan is serving in the Boards of European Innovation Council and European Quantum Industry Consortium, and he is a Founding Member of the Scale-Up Europe Initiative.

A neuroscientist with 20 years of scientific experience, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Beehiveor research center, co-founder of Anima startup

In 2021, she received the ESHRE European certification as a clinical embryologist. She works with the pronuclear transfer method (Netflix filmed episode 4 of the show “Unnatural selection” about the use of this method). She researched breast cancer, developed a diagnostic panel, and worked with tumor antigens.

Senior researcher at the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Co-author of the book “The Terrible, the Beautiful and the Ugly in Chornobyl. From Disaster to Laboratory”.

Co-Founder & Executive Chairman at FundingBox. Innovation Funding Entrepreneur since 1991. +500 startups accelerated and +1300 innovators funded on behalf of governments. More than 100 M€ equity free funding & 7 M€ seed investment under management. 50.000 registered users across 100 tech communities. Decentralising funding with digital wallets. Co-led the “Seeds of Bravery” consortium to support 200 Ukrainian startups proposed for funding by the EC and in partnership with USF, cyber/nnov8 and 20 Ukrainian and EU member states organisations.

Liisi Org is an experienced community builder. Her startup journey started in NY where she worked with edtech companies at NYU Edtech Accelerator, also organized the biggest Edtech Festival, managing over 300 speakers. It continued in Startup Estonia, where she led a startup community and built a database that has over 1400 Estonians startups. She is the CEO of Latitude59, the flagship startup and tech conference of the world’s first digital society, welcoming 3000+ people in Tallinn every year. Liisi is part of The Better Fund - the only fund in CEE that focuses on investing in female-led teams.

In 2019-2020, Anna Novosad held the position of Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine. Prior to becoming a minister, she held various positions in the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. In 2021/2022, Anna completed the Hubert Humphrey Scholarship Program at Vanderbilt University, USA. Currently, Anna is one of the leaders of the international charity fund savED, which restores access to education in communities affected by the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine. Anna received a master's degree from Maastricht University, the Netherlands, and a bachelor's degree from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

CEO of UA Dynamics, the Ukrainian company which developed the Punisher, a reusable airstrike and reconnaissance drone with the lowest mission cost in the world. Maksym Muzyka is a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war. He graduated from the Ihor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.

Chief Operational Officer Brave1 defense-tech Cluster

Co-founder and CEO of Promin Aerospace. Member of the nect WORLD board of directors. 1st place in the Space & Satellite Professionals International All-Canadian team competition to create a communication system between Mars and Earth. Designed an airlock for a proposed Martian colony as part of the Mars Colony Undergraduate Design Team at UBC. 30 to 30 according to Kyiv Post. Member of the Competition Commission to select startups for the Innovation Development Fund and Brave1.

After receiving his Ms.D. in Immunology from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (research was primary focused on development of methodology and bioinformatic tools for low-resolution mass-spectrometry-based mAB epitope profiling), Oleksandr has joined Yuria-Pharm to establish full cycle biotechnology R&D platform and pipeline from the ground up. Oleksandr has more than 8 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and development. The R&D division, led by Oleksandr, performs development of several recombinant protein biosimilar candidates based on proprietary eukaryotic CHO-derived expression platform, conducts studies on characterization of immunogenicity determinants of next-generation mRNA and DNA-based vector systems and development of mRNA and non-immunogenic non-viral DNA-based gene therapy vectors and expression systems for in situ protein replacement therapeutics.

Head of the Expert Group on Innovation Development at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, National Coordinator at COST in Ukraine.

Innovation expert and entrepreneur with a rich background in startups, science, engineering, and entrepreneurship. His journey began more than a decade ago when he contributed to Sunrise Tech Park and became involved as a partner and investor in various companies. After completing his studies in Denmark and the United Kingdom, Andrius ventured into consulting and investment in Vilnius, focusing on science and engineering projects for manufacturing industries. He later co-founded a company specializing in innovative bioproducts and established a successful manufacturing facility for a cleantech company in the recycling sector. With over a decade of experience as an innovation expert at Sunrise Tech Park, Andrius has built an extensive professional network and actively participated in EU-funded projects. His contributions have been recognized internationally, as he has attended numerous conferences, events, exhibitions, and business meetings worldwide.

очільниця Українського національного офісу інтелектуальної власності та інновацій, докторка юридичних наук, професорка кафедри інтелектуальної власності та інформаційного права КНУ імені Тараса Шевченка.

Reseach associate of Institute of Economic and Forecasting NAS of Ukraine, BI technical lead, KSE AI Lab Participant

Research engineer in the field of aerospace technologies, software developer, member of the expert commission of the Ukrainian Startup Fund, founder of SplineCloud.

Понад 15 років в IT та комунікаціях, 8 років у продуктовій компанії, 5 років викладач методологій запуску та розвитку технологічних проєктів.

Partner at SMRK VC Fund

Ph.D. in Biology, researcher at the National Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Author of popular science books on botany “Planet of Mushrooms. How Mushrooms Feed, Heal, and Kill Us”, “Alien Plants. How hogweed and ragweed are taking over the Earth” and “Fruits vs. Vegetables. Why watermelon is not a berry, and tomato is a fruit”.

Ornithologist and birdwatching promoter. National coordinator of BirdID Ukraine (bird identification courses).

Junior researcher at the Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, member of the NGO “Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group”