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Massimiliano Giansanti President of Confagricoltura First Vice President of COPA |
The President elected of Confagricoltura, Massimiliano Giansanti, is Roman, married, and 50 years old. He was elected President of Confagricoltura in 2017 and reconfirmed in 2020 and 2024. In September 2020 he was elected Vice President of COPA (Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisation), the EU umbrella organisation representing over 22 million European farmers and their family members. In 2022 he was confirmed as First Vice President of COPA. Mr. Giansanti is also an agricultural entrepreneur and President of Agricola Giansanti SRL and manager of Gruppo Aziende Agricole Di Muzio with farming enterprises in the Rome, Viterbo and Parma provinces. The companies are specialized in the production of grains, milk and livestock products and agro-energy. In Parma they are specialised in the production of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and in Rome high quality milk for the Centrale del Latte. He has been a member of Confagricoltura national board since 2011 as Vice-president, President of Confagricoltura Rome and Vice-President of Confagricoltura Lazio.
Presentation title: Land management and water resilience, European farmers point of view |
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Radu Claudiu Fierascu |
Graduated from the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Chemistry, Radiochemistry section in 2005, Radu Claudiu Fierăscu has been active since 2006 within the National Institute for Research & Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry - ICECHIM Bucharest. He is currently senior researcher and Technical Director of ICECHIM. Since 2023 he serves as President of the Scientific Council of ICECHIM for a four years mandate. Since 2019 he is also PhD supervisor within the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Chemical Engineering field. He led, as project manager/partner responsible several research-development-innovation projects, with a total value over 9 million euros. He is the main author/co-author of more than 170 ISI papers (Hirsch Index SCOPUS – 26), having more than 2000 citations, author/co-author of more than 20 books/book chapters and more than 30 granted patents/invention patent applications. He is special editor of several special issues, member of the Editorial Board of national journals, as well as reviewer for multiple prestigious journals, member of several professional associations (Society of Chemistry in Romania, Romanian Association of Pteridology, Associate Member of the Association of Conservators and Restorers in Romania, EuChemS – European Chemical Society, American Chemical Society), having over 100 awards at the Invention and Innovation Salons. His scientific research activity was carried out in the field of development of new materials and technologies with applications in the field of increasing the quality of life (including environmental protection, preservation of cultural heritage and biomedical applications). At national level, he developed the field of phytosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles (the use of natural extracts for the synthesis of nanomaterials), establishing in 2018 in ICECHIM the research group Emerging Nanotechnologies.
Presentation title: Phytonanotechnology – a multidisciplinary research area |
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Neven Voća University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture Svetošimunska 25, Zagreb, Croatia |
Dr. Neven Voća is a full professor at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb. He has more than 20 years of experience in teaching, consulting and research in the broad field of biomass and biofuel production, energy production and waste management in agriculture. He has been involved in many national and international R&D projects as a responsible leading partner. Prof. Voća has published more than 200 scientific and technical articles in various national and international journals. He was a member of the organising committee for several a few international conferences and symposium. In addition, Prof. Voća was the Director of the Croatian Environmental Agency and Croatia's representative on the Management Board of the European Environmental Agency from 2012 to 2015. Main research interests:
Presentation title: Environmental benefits: investigating the effects of sewage sludge on the productivity and energy quality of miscanthus |
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Sven-Erik Jacobsen |
Sven-Erik Jacobsen (SEJ) is managing director and founder of the company Quinoa Quality ApS for the promotion of quinoa and other high value, alternative crops for enhancing biodiversity, soil fertility and food security in Europe and globally. SEJ has a MSc in Agronomy in 1982 from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, and a Phd in Crop Science, 1993, at University of Copenhagen. SEJ has 25 years of employment at the University of Copenhagen, where he was leading the Research group on Tropical Crops, covering subjects as stress physiology, agroecology and agrobiodiversity, focusing on developing countries, in teaching and research. SEJ has participated with Quinoa Quality in several projects:
SEJ position 2002-2018 was as Assoc. Prof. at University of Copenhagen, running a range of projects, such as Coordinator of “Development of high quality food protein through sustainable production and processing” (PROTEIN2FOOD). EU Horizon2020. (from 2015). The project had 19 partners - www.protein2food.eu Selected publications:
Presentation title: Introduction of new climate proof crops for Romania |
Section 3 - Animal Science
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Irina Chirițoiu |
Ms. Irina CHIRIȚOIU is Director of European Consumer Centre Romania (ECC Romania) hosted by National Authority for Consumer Protection in Romania, under the direct coordination of Consumers, Health and Food Executive Agency. The work experience consists in coordination of the project, coordination of administrative and financial activities, policy-making in ADR-matters, responsibility for the elaboration and execution of the work-program, develops comprehensive plans, strategies and approaches for use in promoting the image of ECC Romania, conduction of surveys and analyses according to European law. Licenses and certificates: Tourism Brevet in Hotel Management; Marketing and Sales Media; Managerial Development and Leadership,X-treme Training Company.
Presentation title: European Consumer Centres Network promotes good practices in support of a green economy |
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Cătălin Dragomir |
PhD. Eng. Cătălin DRAGOMIR is animal science engineer at the National Institute for Research & Development in Animal Biology and Nutrition From Balotesti, Romania, where he is currently General Manager. The main activities and responsabilities are research management, technological transfer, policy support. He has good knowledge of statistics and laboratory techniques, experience in acquiring / adapting new methods & procedures in research-development, experience in conducting / elaborating studies, analyses, strategies. The main specialisations are specialisation at I.N.R.A., France (S.R.N.H. Clermont Ferrand - Theix) for the preparation of the doctoral thesis on nutritive value, protein metabolism, ingestibility; Post-doctoral specialisation at Animal Production Department of Ghent University, Belgium, on manipulation of ruminal fermentations; role of plant secondary metabolites in reducing ruminal methanogenesis; efficiency of nitrogen utilization by ruminants; Post-doctoral specialisation at I.N.R.A., France (U.R.H. Clermont Ferrand - Theix) on integrative research (databases, meta-analysis), in the frame of an interdepartmental project involving three INRA laboratories (URH-Theix, INA-Paris Grignon, UMRPL-Rennes), focused on ruminal acidosis. Currently, he is country responsible for two projects, namely „CLIMATE SMART ADVISORS”, 2023-2030: Connecting and mobilizing the EU agricultural advisory community to support the transition to Climate Smart Farming and „CLIMATE FARM DEMO”, 2022-2029: A european-wide network of pilot farmers implementing and demonstrating climate smart solutions for a carbon neutral Europe.
Presentation title: Climate Smart Farming in Romania - the livestock sector |
Section 4 - Veterinary Medicine
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Jakab Szilard Veterinary surgeon, horse surgery specialist |
A specialist who followed his passion for horses, which he acquired since childhood. A man of unquestionable professional value, tenacious, committed and dedicated to Veterinary Medicine at international quality standards. A specialist who works towards the goals he sets himself and who openly and generously supports the training of other specialists in the field of equine pathology (students of our faculty). He graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Cluj-Napoca, class of 2009 and is currently a PhD student in the field of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest. During his studies, he completed internships in general or specialized veterinary practices, especially abroad. After graduation, he opened his own general veterinary practice in his home town, Zetea, specializing in surgery, and currently manages the Zetelospital equine hospital, a state-of-the-art equine medical center meeting 21st-century requirement. He has attended numerous conferences and completed numerous specialized courses in horse medicine, particularly focused on equine surgery. As an extension of the impact of his professionalism on an even wider scale, Dr. Jakab Szilard shows his generosity by choosing to be actively involved in the training of young veterinarians. Currently, he collaborates with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Bucharest, serving as a tutor alongside the faculty members for the equine pathology module, thus transitioning from the role of practitioner to the noble profession of educator in the field of equine surgery.
Presentation title: A Veterinarian’s Tale – from Practitioner to Educator |
Section 5 - Land Reclamation, Earth Observation & Surveying, Environmental Engineering
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Alina-Cerasela Aluculesei (Avram) |
Alina-Cerasela Aluculesei (Avram), PhD is Senior Researcher IWE (Institute for World Economy of the Romanian Academy) and the head of Project Writing Center Department. Alina is a Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies graduate (class of 2008-2013), with a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree from The Faculty of Commerce. She also has a Master’s degree from the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in “Research and Operational Interventions in Social, Medical and Public Health Services Management”. Alina also has a PhD in the field of business management, with the thesis “Innovative Methods in Romanian Spa Natural Resource Exploitation through Tourist Services”. Between July 2014 and November 2015, she had a POSDRU research scholarship in the MINERVA cooperation project for elite PhD and post-PhD research careers. While enrolled in the MINERVA project, she benefitted from a student mobility research program, between January and April 2015, at the Lleida University in Lleida, Spain. Between 2018 and 2020, Alina was a postdoctoral fellow at Bucharest University of Economics Studies, and she was enrolled in INOVANT project funded by European Social Fund through the Human Capital Operational Program 2014-2020. The research theme she studies is „New ways to value tourism resources from rural environment”. During the postdoctoral studies, Alina benefitted from a student mobility research program in February 2020 at the Bari University, Italy. Alina is editor-in –chief and founder of the Junior Scientific Researcher online research journal. The publication was founded in 2015 after she won the Start-Up Smart funding project for young entrepreneurs. Another such initiative of Alina is the Catalog Med Tour platform for medical tourism, founded in 2012. She also has a vast eperience in organising academic conferences, being part of the organizing team of „Romanian Conference for Education and Research”, an annual international event organized by Enformation company. Alina has experience in publishing, being the author of several articles that are included in journals with Impact Factor. Moreover, she is the guest editor of several BDI publications, one of them with Impact Factor and the editor in chief of two academic journals (Research and Education and Junior Scientific Researcher).
Presentation title: Research trends in using water resources in Central and Eastern Europe. A Corpus-Based Analysis |
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Octavian Laurențiu Balotă |
Graduated from the Technical University of Construction Bucharest, Faculty of Geodesy section in 1981, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics section in 1988, Paul Sabatier University of Toulouse, Remote Sensing Image Processing section in 1992, Octavian Laurențiu Balotă has been active between 1984 - 1995 within the National Institute for Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography, Research Laboratory in Photogrammetry and Remote sensing. He is currently senior researcher and General Manager of TEHNOGIS GRUP SRL, a well-known Romanian company dealing with GIS, mapping, photogrammetry, 3D modelling and research. Since 2010, with his PhD in 3D modelling using Photogrammetric technics, he serves as Teacher in Geodesy and more recently also in Photogrammetry at USAMV Bucharest. In 1994-1995 he led the Romanian World Bank team to design and implement the pilot project for the Cadastral Land Book system in all Romania, project that was the base for the development of the Cadastral Law no.7/1996 and Public Notary Law no. 36/1995. He was also representing Romania in 2001 and 2002 at UN/OOSA (United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs) as member in the international workgroup for promoting the use of GNSS technologies all over the world. His scientific research activity was carried out for the development of software to increase the productivity in the field of topography, geodesy and photogrammetry like 3DTools, LidarTools, GeoTools and GPSTools application. Today, he is expert member in the evaluation team of scientific proposals in the frame of the Horizon EU Research Program, member of the Romanian Geodetic Union and president of the Photogrammetry commission of the Romanian Society of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry, having over 40 scientific papers in different national and international Journals.
Presentation title: A view of the Future Education |
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Man Teodor Eugen |
Prof. Dr. Eng. Emeritus Man Teodor Eugen is a professor PhD coordinator at the Faculty of Civil Engineer, Politehnica University Timisoara., Correspondent Member of Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Doctor Honorius Causa of Oradea University. He has more than 52 years of experience in teaching, consulting and research in the field of irrigation, drainage and rural sustainable development. In addition to his academic and administrative roles. Prof. Man has made substantial contributions to research, publishing 23 books, more than 330 scientific and technical articles in various national and international journals and conferences, 3 inventions, 8 innovations, verified over 325 technical projects and prepared over 100 technical/judicial expertise for different companies or institutions and 116 research projects, of which 70 as project director. Following his graduation, he embarked on an academic career: teaching assistant from 1972 to full professor (1993 - present) of engineering in land improvement, irrigation, drainage and sustainable rural development. He supervised doctoral theses in the field of Civil Engineering and Facilities, guiding 21 doctoral students to completion while currently advising seven doctoral candidates. He has been actively involved in the university's governance, contributing to faculty councils and the university Senate. Throughout his tenure at Politehnica University, he held various administrative positions, including Deputy Rector, Dean, vice Dean and Director of the Hydraulic Engineering Department. Specializations carried out: Holland (Wageningen, 1974) – XIII international postgraduate "Drainage" course; - England (1994) – Tempus Program training in England (New Castle and Blackburn); China (Chendu,1997) - 17th international biogas technology course; Greece – sustainable rural and urban development training Thessaloniki (1997), etc. Prof. Man's expertise extends beyond academia, as he also served in leadership roles in professional associations and governmental bodies related to civil engineering and rural development. He has been a member of prestigious professional associations both domestically and internationally, contributing to the advancement of his field. He was associate professor for over 10 years at the University of Oradea and visiting professor at the University of Artois, IUT Bethune France. Throughout his career, Prof. Man has received numerous awards and honors for his outstanding contributions to academia, research, and community service. He has been awarded by academic institutions (the Romanian Academy, the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Politehnica University of Timisoara, West University of Timisoara, Technical University Iasi, USAMV Bucharest, UTC Bucharest, Technical University Cluj-Napoca, University of Oradea and Constanta, Stuttgart Universities – Germany and Gratz – Austria, CNSV Beius), professional organizations (HUCID – Hungary, ECO – EUROPA, ISPIF Bucharest, ANAR – ABA Banat, Association of Installation Engineers Romania, ICPA Bucharest, ICITID Băneasa Giurgiu etc.) and governmental bodies (Beius City Hall), for his dedication and excellence in teaching, research, and leadership. With a career spanning over five decades, he has held various prestigious positions within academia and industry, contributing significantly to both sectors. His contributions have been recognized through awards and honors for his outstanding dedication to teaching, research, and professional practice. His leadership, expertise, and commitment continue to inspire future generations in the field.
Presentation title: IRRIGATION - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. Case study: Numerical modeling MIKE+ RIVERS (MIKE 11) program for calculating the volume of water available from drainage for irrigation. |
Section 6 - Biotechnology
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Oscar Vicente |
Dr Oscar Vicente is a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Professor at the Department of Biotechnology and research group leader at the Institute of Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), Spain. Dr Vicente obtained his PhD in Sciences in 1983 from the Autonomous University of Madrid. After a three-year postdoctoral period at the Friedrich-Miescher Institut in Basel (Switzerland), Oscar Vicente moved in 1988 to the Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, University of Vienna (Austria), where he established and led a research group working on different aspects of plant reproductive biology and its biotechnological applications, and on the molecular characterisation of pollen allergens and plant MAP kinases. Oscar Vicente returned to Spain in 1996 to join the UPV faculty, where he currently teaches different subjects in the molecular biology and biotechnology areas to Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering students. In Vienna and Valencia, he has supervised the work of many undergraduate, master and PhD students, exchange students and visiting scientists. Dr Vicente's research interest focuses on studying plant responses to abiotic stress and stress tolerance mechanisms in the context of climate change, using as experimental material different crops, crop relatives, and wild species naturally tolerant to stress (e.g., halophytes), and combining field and laboratory/greenhouse work, and physiological, biochemical and molecular approaches. Oscar Vicente has published over 180 indexed scientific papers, most in the Plant Sciences category (Web of Science; h-index: 39). He is vice president and coordinator for Spain of the European Biotechnology Thematic Network Association (EBTNA), and is included in the ‘Top-100’ Spanish scientists in Plant Science and Agronomy (Research.com). In 2017, Dr Vicente was awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa degree by the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca (Romania).
Presentation title: Halophytes: tools for reclaiming salinised agricultural land |
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Gabriela N. Tenea Assoc. Prof. Dr. |
She is Associate Professor and Research Scientist at the Universidad Tecnica del Norte (UTN), Faculty of Engineering in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Ibarra, Ecuador. She is Director of the Biofood and Nutraceutics Research and Development Group and Responsible of the R&D Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory-BIOGEM, where she put the basis of several research projects exploring the microbiota associated to native fruits of Ecuadorian Amazon. She holds a Ph.D. in Biology/ Genetics from the University of Bucharest, Department of Genetics (2005). Her first postdoc in Transgenesis and Plant Molecular Biology was done at the Department of Biology at Purdue University (Fulbright Scholarship) in the USA (2008). Her second postdoc in Transcriptomics was at the Food Safety Department of the Joint Research Centre-European Commission in Belgium (2012). Through the PROMETEO Project, funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology for Superior Education (SENESCYT)-Ecuador she joined the UTN in 2014. From 2022 she is affiliated at the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest as associate professor habilitated to conduct doctoral thesis in the field of Engineering and Management of Plant and Animal Resources –Biotechnology Field. Dr. Tenea has led several research projects (national and international) as director of around 400000 USD. Her scientific and technical publications (more than 60) cover a wide range of topics, including transgenics, antimicrobials for food security matters, and the development of new probiotics based on native lactic acid bacteria.
Presentation title: Blocking microbe colonization in avocado (Persea nubigena var. guatemalensis) exocarp through postbiotics treatment |
Section 7 - Management and Economics in Rural Areas
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Sorin Ionițescu |
Sorin Ionițescu is an IT Industry and project management aficionado, with more than 15 years of industry experience, driven to improve people wellbeing and quality of life through innovation, technology and education. Graduated from the University Politehnica of Bucharest, Faculty of Automatic Control and Computer Science, and the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) Bucharest, Faculty of Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development, Sorin Ionițescu has been active since 2009 in university teaching and research activities. He has significantly contributed to over 60 educational and research projects across Romania and the European Union in various managerial and technical roles. Sorin Ionițescu possesses over 15 years of experience spearheading cutting-edge projects, involving augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. As a project manager or responsible partner, he has led the design, development and successful implementation of more than 60 projects, leveraging his expertise in web development, programming, e-learning, economics, innovative teaching methods, cybersecurity and precision agriculture. He is currently conducting research at the Institute for World Economy at the Romanian Academy and the manager of the "Networking and Research Career Development Centre" project at UVT, funded under PNRR-III-C9-2022-I10. Sorin is the main author or co-author of numerous scientific articles published in internationally recognized journals, focusing on topics such as the optimization of agricultural production, digitalization in agriculture, economics and the application of VR technologies in education. His commitment to academic excellence and innovation has earned him recognition in various national and international conferences.
Presentation title: Cultivating a sustainable future: optimizing agricultural value chains across international, European and Romanian landscapes |
