High-Level Policy Introduction
Juan Cruz Cigudosa –Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Universities
A Doctor in Biological Sciences from the University of Navarra, he has focused his research career on Human Genetics and its relationship with cancer and rare diseases since 1987, with pre- and postdoctoral stays in Lund (Sweden), Manchester (Great Britain) and New York (USA). He has also been an adjunct physician by competitive examination in the Canary Islands Health Service (1997-2000).
He was director of the Molecular Cytogenetics Group at the National Cancer Research Centre between 2001 and 2017 and Scientific and Innovation Director and founder of NIMGenetics, a Genomic Biotechnology company, between 2017 and 2019.
He has also published more than 170 articles in international scientific journals and has participated in the direction of national and international research projects in competitive competition. He has also received the Best Young Researcher Award in Human Genetics (1999), the Plaque of Honor of the Spanish Association of Scientists (2000) and the Academic Talent Award from the newspaper Cinco Días (2013).
He has also held various positions in the Government of Navarra, such as Minister of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation; Minister of Economy and Finance; and, more recently, Minister of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation.
Juan Carlos Cortés – Director, Spanish Space Agency
He began his professional career in 1990, after working in the private sector in the aerospace field, he joined the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA) as a flight test engineer, working on the “Eurofighter” Program, in the development of remotely piloted aircraft (DRONES) and at the Logistics Center for Armament and Experimentation (CLAEX) of the Air Force.
He has been head of the Spanish Delegation at ESA and vice-president of the ESA, vice-president of the International Relations Committee, president of the Committee for the preparation of the 2019 Seville Space Ministerial Meeting and member of the Board of Trustees of FIDAMC (Foundation for Research and Development of Composite Materials).
He is currently a delegate on the Board of the European Space Agency (ESA) and a representative of Spain on the Horizontal Management Committee of the European Space Programme (EU 21-27). He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the company Hispasat SA.
Rodrigo da Costa – Executive Director, European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)
On 16 October 2020, Rodrigo da Costa took up his duties as Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), formerly the European GNSS Agency (GSA). Prior to this, he was the Galileo Services Programme Manager from March 2017. Before joining the GSA, Rodrigo da Costa held several senior project management, business development, and institutional key account management positions in the space industry, in the areas of human space flight, exploration, launchers and R&D. Rodrigo da Costa holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the “Instituto Superior Tecnico” in Lisbon, a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Delft, and an MBA from the EuroMBA consortium of Business Schools.
Josep Colomé Ferrer – Director of Area, Area for the Promotion of the Space Sector of Catalonia (APEC)
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Maria Galindo Garcia-Delgado – Secretary for Digital Policy, Government of Catalonia
Maria Galindo (Barcelona, 1982) has over 20 years experience in public policy and consulting, specifically in Digital Policy and International Affairs.
She has served in different positions in the public administration: in the Government of Catalonia, currently as Secretary for Digital Policy (since 2024), as Director-general for Digitalisation and Urban Agenda (2020-2022), and as project manager in ACCIÓ (2006-2011).
She also worked at the Barcelona City Council, implementing the city’s Smart City vision and managing the Barcelona Institute of Technology for the Habitat (BIT Habitat) (2011-2015).
She has also developed her professional career in consulting, leading the International and Smart City practices and directing projects in Latin America, Europe and Asia.
She has represented the different organisations in front of the European Commission, the Inter-American Development Bank and United Nations, and was a recognized member of the high level group of the European Commission on Smart Cities and Communities.
In September 2022 the European Commission appointed Maria as Board Member of the European Mission to deliver 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030.
She has published and co-authored a number of papers and articles, including the European Commission’s Rolling Agenda for Smart Cities, or the World Economic Forum’s Guidelines for Sustainable IoT Adoption.
She lectures at a number of universities (La Salle in Barcelona, University Externado Colombia, ISDE in Madrid, Bocconi in Milan) and participates in conferences worldwide. She’s also member of the Women in Tech global movement and is a Jury member of the Women in ICT Awards and the Smart City Expo Global Awards.
She studied Economics at the University of Barcelona and the London School of Economics (LSE) and holds an Executive Master in Public Administration (ESADE Business School), and a specialisation course on ESG and Climate Change at Wharton – University of Pennsylvania.
European Space Programme Capabilities for Disaster Risk Management
Announcement coming soon!
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Announcement coming soon!
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Announcement coming soon!
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Announcement coming soon!
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Space National assets supporting the Disaster Risk Management Cycle
Elena González Alonso – Head of Service, SG Monitoring, Alert, and Geophysical Studies at the National Geographic Institute (IGN)
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Fernando Belda Esplugues – Special Advisor, Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET)
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Announcement coming soon!
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Announcement coming soon!
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Current challenges and opportunities related to the uptake of satellite data
Caterina Peris Ferrús – Earth Observation applications at INDRA
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Announcement coming soon!
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Announcement coming soon!
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Announcement coming soon!
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