Connecting People,
Projects and Ecosystems

Hrvoje Meštrić is the Director of the Directorate for Science and Technology at the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth, serving his third term in this position. He is an expert in science and technology policy, with more than 20 years of experience in managing projects and teams in the research, development and innovation sector.

He holds a degree in Physics from the University of Zagreb and a PhD from the Technical University of Darmstadt. He currently represents Croatia at the European Space Agency, the European Research Area and Innovation Committee of the Council of the EU, the Strategic Programme Committee of Horizon Europe, and the CERN Council.

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Mihaela Stancu is a Project Manager at the Romanian Standards Association (ASRO) with extensive experience in managing and implementing European-funded projects, particularly under Horizon Europe and Erasmus+. She has expertise in project management, innovation management, EU funding, standardization, and stakeholder engagement, supported by a Master's degree in Administrative Sciences. Additionally, she is a PhD student at the Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Business Engineering and Management at the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest. Her doctoral research in civil engineering focuses on "managing standardization information for enhancing organizational performance."

Project Officer, European Citizen Science Association (ECSA), Berlin, Germany. François holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences from TU Dresden, Germany and brings over 14 years of research experience focused on climate change adaptation, urban and rural sustainability, and stakeholder engagement. He currently works as a project officer on EU-funded projects that promote innovative citizen science and engagement in climate adaptation and on climate and environmental research ethics.

Juan Pérez is Head of European Projects at CIT UPC, the Innovation Center of the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), where he supports researchers in the development of European R&I projects. He has more than 25 years of experience in European research and innovation funding, particularly in collaborative R&D projects involving universities, research organisations and industry. Alongside his role at UPC, he advises deep-tech startups on European funding and scale-up strategies, with a particular focus on the EIC Accelerator and EIC Transition programs. He also acts as an evaluator for European innovation programmes and as a business angel investing in highly innovative startups. Juan's work sits at the intersection of research, innovation, entrepreneurship and European funding, with a strong focus on helping promising technologies move from research to real-world application and market uptake.

Gabrijela Radić, mag. exp. biol., is a Research and Impact Manager and Managing Director at RISE with a background in experimental biology and experience in managing collaborative research and innovation initiatives. With a foundation in life sciences, she transitioned her career into research management and knowledge transfer roles at the University of Zagreb School of Medicine. She later continued her professional development at the University of Split, gaining experience in managing complex EU-funded contracts and grants within dynamic institutional environments. At RISE, she works on initiatives focused on knowledge valorisation, impact strategy, and strengthening innovation capacities across Europe. She is actively involved in capacity-building and co-creation initiatives, including the European IP Helpdesk, the Impact Licensing Initiative (ILI), and IAM4RE.

With prior experience in scientific research, Telmo has been working in the broad field of technology transfer and university-industry collaboration since 2014. He is currently Technology Transfer Coordinator at the CCG/ZGDV Institute. His professional journey includes roles as Technology Transfer Manager, IP Consultant, and Business Development Manager across both public and private organisations, combining experience in research, intellectual property, technology transfer, business development, and innovation management. With a background in Biochemistry, he holds an MSc in Innovation and Technological Entrepreneurship and a PhD in Management, with his research focusing on the dynamics of university-industry collaboration.

Bruna Pausic is a Senior Research and Impact Manager at RISE, working on knowledge valorisation within EU-funded research and innovation projects. She contributes to flagship initiatives and supports the implementation of European IP Helpdesk activities, including training, communication, and outreach. She also acts as a junior expert in the Horizon Results Booster, providing support to beneficiaries within the Intellectual Asset Management service. She has experience managing EU-funded projects across major programmes, from proposal development to implementation.

Domagoj Oreb was born in Zagreb in 1974. He graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Zagreb in 1999 and completed his MBA postgraduate studies in Bled (Slovenia) in 2004. His working experience lies in working with both large multinational corporations, and smaller companies in wide range of activities from investment, consulting, strategy, finance, controlling to commercial, marketing and sales. Domagoj worked in the consulting company Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Siemens Business Services. In 2007 he moved to Rudjer Innovations as the President of the Management Board. Since 2013, he has been working as an advisor to the World Bank and the EU on projects for innovation, commercialization of R&D and restructuring of public institutions. In mid-2015, Domagoj became a Partner in South Central Ventures (SCV), which manages the ENIF VC Fund. Since mid-2021, he is Managing Partner at Feelsgood Capital Partners, the first impact fund in the SEE region.

Ivana is a Senior Innovation Manager at RISE – Research and Innovation Services, specialising in knowledge valorisation, intellectual asset management and innovation capacity building. She coordinates European IP Helpdesk activities for Widening countries and supports the development of exploitation and intellectual assets strategies within collaborative R&I projects. In addition, she serves as RM Roadmap Ambassador for Croatia and as a Senior Expert in the Horizon Europe Booster Intellectual Assets Management service.

Prior to joining RISE, Ivana was Head of the Technology Transfer Office at the University of Split, where she led intellectual property, commercialisation and innovation support activities, working closely with researchers, startups, SMEs and public stakeholders. Over the past decade, she has been actively involved in numerous European and national projects, providing advisory services, developing innovation support programmes and policy frameworks, and delivering training on technology transfer, intellectual property and entrepreneurship.

Ivana holds a PhD in Neuroscience and a Master’s degree in Marine Biology and Ecology.

Manon Prado is a Research and Impact Manager and Strategic Advisor for Knowledge Valorisation at EURICE. She previously spent five years at the European Commission (DG GROW and DG RTD), contributing to EU research and innovation policy and to key initiatives shaping the European knowledge valorisation landscape, including the Codes of Practice on the Management of Intellectual Assets and on Industry-Academia Co-Creation. At EURICE, she builds on this experience by contributing to projects that translate knowledge valorisation policies into practical approaches, tools and services for the European R&I community. She is currently involved in initiatives including the European IP Helpdesk, Horizon Results Booster, IAM4RE, ALL4KV and KnowValTE, contributing to a more connected and effective knowledge valorisation landscape in Europe.

Senior Research and Innovation Manager and former Head of the Croatian branch of Eurice; RISE – Research and Innovation Services d.o.o. Since December 2024, she has continued in an advisory role, focusing on Intellectual Property (IP) management, knowledge transfer and research valorisation. She began her career in molecular biology at the University of Zagreb and conducted research at Wake Forest University, NIH and Mayo Clinic. She later trained in technology transfer at the NIH and Edinburgh BioQuarter. In 2009, she established the Technology Transfer Office at the University of Zagreb School of Medicine, leading EU-funded projects with a strong focus on impact and exploitation. She is an active member of ASTP.

As Strategic Communications Lead for the EURICE Group, Stephanie Weber drives the Group’s overarching communication strategy, positioning and corporate narrative. She brings more than 18 years of experience in developing and implementing communication approaches for multiple research and innovation initiatives, with a particular focus on collaborative R&I and innovation ecosystem building. Her profile also includes long-standing expertise in Intellectual Property (IP) and knowledge valorisation, particularly through her involvement in the European IP Helpdesk since 2011. Today, her role focuses particularly on providing strategic guidance for its outreach and works closely with the European Commission, EPO, EIC and other key actors in Europe’s research, IP and innovation landscape on a regular basis.