Thursday 14.05.2026. - Deep Tech Atelier

Deep Tech Stage

Deep Frontier Stage

Growth Stage

Side Events

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We’re still shaping the conference programme - stay tuned for more additions

Topics

10:00 - 10:05

Introduction

10:00 - 11:00

Deep Tech Atelier Opening session

Laura Štrovalde

Deputy Director of Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA)
LATVIA

10:40 - 11:00

Designing the Future: How Deep Tech Will Reshape Society, Markets and Human Collaboration

Anne Skare Nielsen

Chief Futurist at Universal Futurist
DENMARK

European Deep Tech Funding | The Landscape and Where It Is Heading

11:00 - 11:15

Speed is the strategy: why rapid adoption — not funding — defines Europe's defence tech future

Kadri Tammai

Regional Director, Europe & Head of Accelerator Operations at NATO DIANA
ESTONIA

11:15 - 11:30

Upcoming opportunities provided by the EIC and lessons learned so far

Stephane Ouaki

Acting director of EIC and EISMEA

11:30 - 11:45

European Defence Alliance: Building Europe’s Strategic Autonomy Through Innovation

11:45 - 12:00

TBC

Paul Walsh

12:00 - 13:00

Networking break

Ecosystem Blueprint | What Actually Builds a Working Deep Tech Hub

13:05 - 14:10

Polish–Baltic Corridor: Building a Knowledge Economy

Anton Adamovitch

MP at Commercialization Reactor, EIT Community Officer Latvia at EIT Community

Jurģis Miezainis

Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia

Robert Dwilinski

President of Polish Association of Centers for Technology Transfer Foundation
Poland

14:10 - 14:25

You're Building Europe's Future. Just Not for Everyone in It

Anthony Giannoumis

CEO at Inclusive Creation AS / Professor at Kristiania University College
NORWAY

14:25 - 14:40

What actually works: building deep tech ecosystems in Europe

14:40 - 14:55

Beyond the minimum viable product fallacy

Siim Kinnas

CEO, IP Strategy Consultant at Intellegra IP, TalTech
ESTONIA

15:25 - 15:40

AI for what and for whom?

Cecilia Rikap

Associate Professor in Economics and Head of Research at Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London
UK

15:40 - 16:10

From policy to results

Marija Plotniece

Laima Balčiūnė

CEO at Sunrise Tech Park
LITHUANIA

Lab -> Market | Why Most European Research Never Becomes a Company

16:10 - 16:25

The value of Business Awareness for academics

Gunther Schmidt

Formerly Co-led University of Sydney Nano Institute / YU - Training, Coaching & Consulting
AUSTRALIA

16:25 - 16:40

Patent Intelligence: European and Global Development Trends

16:40 - 16:50

No IP, No Deal: Why Intellectual Property Matters in Deep Tech

Agris Batalauskis

Director at the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia
LATVIA

16:50 - 17:00

Quantum Leap: From Lab Breakthrough to Market Reality

Michael Baczyk

Investor at Heartcore Capital
DENMARK

17:00 - 17:30

From Lab to Market: Intellectual Property and Effective Commercialization Strategic Development Models in Innovation Ecosystems

17:35 - 18:00

Reverse Pitches for Corporates | Demand on the Record

13:00 - 13:35

Introduction

13:05 - 13:20

TBC

13:20 - 13:35

Autonomous Systems and the New Architecture of European Defence: A Baltic Perspective

Dr. Artis Pabriks

CEO at MilTech Latvia
LATVIA

Autonomous Systems | Drone Superpower Ambitions and Remote Control

13:35 - 13:50

TBC

Paul Walsh

13:50 - 14:50

From Pilot to Real Operations: 5G, Drones and AI for Urban Public Safety

Kristaps Niedols

Urban Mobility Expert of Riga City Council
LATVIA

Lauris Labanovskis

Head of Radio Spectrum Monitoring Unit of Electronic Communications Office of Latvia
LATVIA

Gints Jakovels

Solutions Manager, Computer vision & Mobility of LMT
LATVIA

Viesturs Celmiņš

Managing Director of VEFRESH
LATVIA

Infrastructure Resilience

14:50 - 15:05

Ground Zero: When Terrestrial Infrastructure Fails, What Does Space Actually Replace?

Robert Aare

Industry Liaison Officer of Enterprise Estonia
ESTONIA

15:05 - 15:20

The Invisible Infrastructure: How Thermal Intelligence Reveals What Europe Can't Afford to Miss

Max Gulde

CEO of constellr
GERMANY

15:20 - 15:34

Beyond the Grid: The Defence Energy Architecture Europe Hasn't Built Yet

Niclas Lehnert

CEO / Reserve Officer of PULSETRAIN / German Federal Armed Forces
Germany

Cybersecurity & Critical Infrastructure | Europe Under Attack: From Threat Reality to System Response

15:50 - 16:05

Defending the Institutions: What EU-Level Cyber Protection Actually Looks Like

Arthur de Liedekerke

Partner and Senior Director at Rasmussen Global
BELGIUM

16:05 - 16:20

Europe's AI Sovereignty Bet — data infrastructure, computing power, and what Europe's distinct regulatory path means for global competitiveness

Sébastien Garnault

President at Paris Cyber Summit
FRANCE

Space Tech -> Military Adoption | Satellites, Autonomy, and the Dual-Use Dividend

16:20 - 16:35

Built for the Moon, Needed on Earth: Autonomy at the Edge of the Possible

Sotirios Zormpas

Technology Development Manager at Lunar Outpost EU
LUXEMBOURG

16:35 - 16:50

How Nuclear Waste Can Save Military Satellites and Lunar Exploration

Mihails Ščepanskis

CEO / Founder of Deep Space Energy
LATVIA

16:50 - 17:10

U.S. experience in leveraging space for defense, and how this can be translated to Europe

Mihails Ščepanskis

CEO / Founder of Deep Space Energy
LATVIA

John Shattuck

Founder at Shattuck Advisory
CZECH REPUBLIC

Quantum Computing in Defence | Architecture, Readiness, and Europe's Scalability Gap

17:10 - 17:25

The Architecture Problem: Quantum Computing, Defence Readiness, and Europe's Scalability Gap

Stefan Schmid

Head of Technology Partnerships at ParityQC
AUSTRIA

Semiconductors in Warfare | How Chips Decide Modern Conflict

17:25 - 17:40

The Chip War Is Real: How Semiconductors Decide Modern Warfare

Benjamin Wolba

Co-Founder at European Defense Tech Hub
GERMANY

17:40 - 18:00

Can Europe Build the Chips It Needs to Defend Itself?

Benjamin Wolba

Co-Founder at European Defense Tech Hub
GERMANY

Jerzy Baratowicz

Distribution Manager Eastern Europe of Infineon Technologies
POLAND

13:00 - 13:05

Introduction

13:05 - 13:35

Beyond the Slide: The Art of Founder Presence

Jeff Cabili

Standford University / Principal / Founder of How2Captivate
USA

13:35 - 14:25

Heal the Future: MedTech & BioTech Pitch Arena

14:30 - 15:20

Built for Battle: DefenceTech Pitch Arena

15:50 - 16:40

Intelligence Unleashed: AI Infrastructure Pitch Arena

16:40 - 17:30

Wild Cards: The Cross-Sector Deep Tech Pitch Arena

17:30 - 17:55

Flip the Script: Investor Reverse Pitches

17:55 - 18:00

Introduction

Deep Tech Atelier Opening session

Designing the Future: How Deep Tech Will Reshape Society, Markets and Human Collaboration

European Deep Tech Funding | The Landscape and Where It Is Heading

Speed is the strategy: why rapid adoption — not funding — defines Europe's defence tech future

Upcoming opportunities provided by the EIC and lessons learned so far

European Defence Alliance: Building Europe’s Strategic Autonomy Through Innovation

TBC

Networking break

Ecosystem Blueprint | What Actually Builds a Working Deep Tech Hub

Polish–Baltic Corridor: Building a Knowledge Economy

You're Building Europe's Future. Just Not for Everyone in It

What actually works: building deep tech ecosystems in Europe

Beyond the minimum viable product fallacy

AI for what and for whom?

From policy to results

Lab -> Market | Why Most European Research Never Becomes a Company

The value of Business Awareness for academics

Patent Intelligence: European and Global Development Trends

No IP, No Deal: Why Intellectual Property Matters in Deep Tech

Quantum Leap: From Lab Breakthrough to Market Reality

From Lab to Market: Intellectual Property and Effective Commercialization Strategic Development Models in Innovation Ecosystems

Reverse Pitches for Corporates | Demand on the Record

Introduction

TBC

Autonomous Systems and the New Architecture of European Defence: A Baltic Perspective

Autonomous Systems | Drone Superpower Ambitions and Remote Control

TBC

From Pilot to Real Operations: 5G, Drones and AI for Urban Public Safety

Infrastructure Resilience

Ground Zero: When Terrestrial Infrastructure Fails, What Does Space Actually Replace?

The Invisible Infrastructure: How Thermal Intelligence Reveals What Europe Can't Afford to Miss

Beyond the Grid: The Defence Energy Architecture Europe Hasn't Built Yet

Cybersecurity & Critical Infrastructure | Europe Under Attack: From Threat Reality to System Response

Defending the Institutions: What EU-Level Cyber Protection Actually Looks Like

Europe's AI Sovereignty Bet — data infrastructure, computing power, and what Europe's distinct regulatory path means for global competitiveness

Space Tech -> Military Adoption | Satellites, Autonomy, and the Dual-Use Dividend

Built for the Moon, Needed on Earth: Autonomy at the Edge of the Possible

How Nuclear Waste Can Save Military Satellites and Lunar Exploration

U.S. experience in leveraging space for defense, and how this can be translated to Europe

Quantum Computing in Defence | Architecture, Readiness, and Europe's Scalability Gap

The Architecture Problem: Quantum Computing, Defence Readiness, and Europe's Scalability Gap

Semiconductors in Warfare | How Chips Decide Modern Conflict

The Chip War Is Real: How Semiconductors Decide Modern Warfare

Can Europe Build the Chips It Needs to Defend Itself?

Introduction

Beyond the Slide: The Art of Founder Presence

Heal the Future: MedTech & BioTech Pitch Arena

Built for Battle: DefenceTech Pitch Arena

Intelligence Unleashed: AI Infrastructure Pitch Arena

Wild Cards: The Cross-Sector Deep Tech Pitch Arena

Flip the Script: Investor Reverse Pitches

The Final Ten: Finalist Announcement