The speakers
INPUTS
IDEAS
INSPIRATIONS
We are very much looking forward to the great variety of inputs from our speakers!
Stay tuned: The list of speakers is updated continuously!
Andreas Diensthuber
Co-Founder & Managing Director
DAPHOS GmbH
DAPHOS GmbH
Michael Katzianschütz
Head of the economic and logistical sector and head of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) at the LKH-Univ. Klinikum Graz
Dipl. KHBW Michael Kazianschütz, MBA, MSc is the head of the economic and logistical sector and head of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) at the LKH-Univ. Klinikum Graz and thus the contact person for economic and logistical matters at the hospital.
Thomas Lechner
Luminous Labs
Lorenz Neuhäuser
Business developer MedTech at Human.technology Styria.
Lorenz Neuhäuser is an enthusiastic networker. His endeavor is to connect clinicians, researchers and industry partners in the medical technology sector for something even bigger.
Silvia Russegger
Joanneum Research
Silvia Russegger is a mathematician and has been working at JOANNEUM RESEARCH for nearly 30 years in the field of information and media networking. Her work focuses on complex, interconnected application environments based on new software architectures and technologies. Since 2021, she has been leading the 16-member research group "Connected Computing" and has increasingly focused on "Digital Care."
Emma Somerville
Project manager Innovation SFG
Emma Somerville graduated from Dublin City University with a degree in Applied Languages. After graduation, she worked in multilingual positions in the software industry before moving into an account management role in the localisation sector managing large projects comprising remote and onsite teams. A few years after a geographical move to Graz, Austria also saw a move from the private sector to the semi-state Styrian Business Promotion Agency SFG. Here her focus is on innovation and she is also part of the team of the Enterprise Europe Network – the world’s largest support network for SMEs who wish to innovate and grow internationally.
Anton Fuchs
Head of Operations
Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH
Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH
Michael Kerschbaumer
Project manager Innovation SFG
Michael Kerschbaumer studied economics and adult education at the University of Graz, the National University of Ireland and the Universidad de Malaga. He started his professional career as a trainer and workshop facilitator in youth work and labour market projects, before he joined an IT Start-up. After that, he worked as innovation manager in Austria’s biggest private training provider. In 2005 he joined the Styrian Business Promotion Agency SFG, where in 2008 took over the innovation agendas with the main focus on building up the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) and the regional contact point for EU Framework program. Besides working for the EEN, co-chairing the Networks internal groups on European research and innovation as well as renewable energy, he acts as regional contact point for the EU Framework and is responsible for two regional innovation-funding programs.
Philipp Lindinger
CEO Austromed
Lucas Pflanzl-Knizacek
Med Uni Graz
Iene Rutten
Biosensors group – Lammertyn lab, Department of Biosystems – KU Leuven
Markus Gugatschka
Med Uni Graz
Manfred Knye
Ltr. Einführung Exoskelette, Digitalisierung, Automotive Health bei Volkswagen AG
Craig Matthews
Managing Director and Founder of myDigitalTwin & Senior Innovation Consultant at Science Park Graz
Craig Matthews is a high-energy entrepreneur, networker, and keynote speaker, who excels at building meaningful and inclusive relationships and scaling sophisticated tech-driven companies.
He is also the Managing Director and creator of myDigitalTwin, a digital health company that offers direct-to-consumer genetic testing to optimize individual health and aging. With over 15 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has founded and led several tech start-ups, managed cross-functional teams, built global channels, driven revenues, and managed investor relations.
Finally, Craig is also a Senior Innovation Consultant at Science Park Graz, where he consults, mentors, and supports high-tech start-ups in various domains. He has evaluated over 5000 start-up ideas and aimed to provide valuable recommendations that apply to their businesses.
Michael Ploder
JOANNEUM RESEARCH
Michael Ploder is an economist (University of Graz) and has been part of JOANNEUM RESEARCH since 2000. He has played a key role in establishing evaluation expertise at the institute has particularly strengthened the institute’s international focus in project acquisition, especially with the European Commission and clients in Germany. Since 2024, Michael Ploder has been the head of POLICIES, the Institute for Economic, Social and Innovation Research. Through analyses and evaluations, the institute provides the foundation for evidence-based decision-making, supports implementation, and stands for responsible research and innovation policy, Regional development, labor market and equality policy, as well as innovation initiatives.
Gerald Sendlhofer
Head of Quality and Risk Management
MED UNI Graz
MED UNI Graz
Lars Kamolz
Head of the Department of Plastic, Aesthetic & Reconstructive Surgery at the Medical University of Graz.
Director of COREMED & Head of the Research Unit for Safety in Health.
Prof. Dr. Lars-Peter Kamolz was born in 1972 and began his medical studies at the University of Vienna in 1990. He completed his specialist training at the Institute of Anatomy III before moving to the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Vienna General Hospital in 1999. There he also headed the Center for Severe Burn Injuries from 2007 to 2010. Accordingly, one of his main scientific interests is burn treatment and tissue engineering, the artificial production of skin and fatty tissue material for reconstructive procedures. Shortly afterwards, he was given responsibility for the field of plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery at Wiener Neustadt Regional Hospital and as a consultant for the regional hospitals in Baden, Mödling and Neunkirchen. So much for his extraordinarily impressive career. But that's not all, of course. Prof. Dr. Kamolz now heads the Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Medical University of Graz. He is also Director of COREMED (Cooperative Center for Regenerative Medicine) and Head of the Research Unit for Safety in Health.
Andrea Kurz
Rector of Med Uni Graz (from February 15, 2024)
Andrea Kurz was born in Vienna and completed her medical studies and training as a specialist in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine at the Medical University of Vienna, where she also qualified as a professor. Her professional career is characterized by numerous management functions in the university and clinical field. These included heading the Division for Clinical Research at Washington University and serving as a full professor of anesthesiology at Inselspital - University Hospital Bern. From 2014 to 2018, Andrea Kurz was the first Austrian to head the Department of General Anesthesiology at the renowned Cleveland Clinic in the USA. She is now Vice Director for Research at the Department of Anesthesiology there. Since 2020, she has also headed a research unit at the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the Medical University of Graz.
Andrea Kurz has been conducting clinical research at the highest level for around 25 years and has published more than 250 scientific articles, including in renowned journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet.
Martin Mössler
Managing Director SPG | ESA Space Solutions Austria General Manager
Martin Mössler studied mechanical engineering at University of Technology Graz, Political Science in Salzburg, International Relations in Oxford, and completed a Master´s degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Since June 2016, he has been Managing Director of Science Park Graz (SPG), which he successfully leads and further develops through leadership competence, his international biography and broad networking.
Lejla Pock
Managing Director of Human.technology Styria GmbH.
Since October 2022 Managing Director at Human.technology Styria, 11/2019 to 09/2022 Commercial Manager at Human.technology Styria, 2012-2019 Partner and Managing Director at Austin Immobilien- und BeteiligungsgmbH, 2004-2011 Shareholder and Procurator at Austin, Pock + Partners, 1999-2011 Shareholder, Senior Consultant and Project Manager at Austin, Pock + Partners, BSc in Theoretical and Applied Translation Studies.
Maria Anna Smolle
Med Uni Graz