EIT Food Region West Event

We are excited to announce our 1st EIT Food Region West Event!

We welcome our community to come and join us in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the 20th June at the Radisson Blu Hotel.

We will discuss exciting topics such as sustainable packaging and regenerative agriculture. We will hear from experts, plus have the chance to hear startups pitch their innovations. There will also be lots of time for networking with others within the community!

Please note that for partners, we have capacity for yourself, plus two of your colleagues, to attend this event. 

19.6 - Arrival Day (Festive Dinner - Strategic and Delivery partners, and speakers only)

• 16:00 - Closed session (optional) for Strategic and Delivers Partners to meet EMT members in 1-1 talk
• 17:30 - Pre-dinner networking reception and welcome by Richard Zaltzman, CEO EIT Food and a Welcome-Note by Thomas Engel (SB EIT Food)
• 18:30 - Keynote by Garlich von Essen (Secretary General & CEO Euroseeds; formerly European Parliament and EU Commission DG AGRI) “Lessons to learn: EU Green Deal – past and future”...
• 19:00 onwards - Dinner @ Radisson (For Partners + EIT Food SB, EMT Members, Speakers and Leadership team) 

20.6 - Event Day (Keynotes, Workshops, Talks - Open to the wider EIT Food community)

• 8:30 - Arrival and Registration
• 9:00 - Welcome by Richard Zaltzman, CEO EIT Food
• 9:15 - Panel Session: “How do we keep delivering the food we need, at a quality and price that doesn't cost the earth and feeds the population appropriately? - Who pays for any changes? Who makes any changes and how do we measure the impact of these?", moderated by Jayne Brookman, Director of Partner Recruitment, EIT Food  
  • Dirk Holste, EIT Food Partner Austrian Institue of Technology (AIT)
  • Mathew Gilmour, EIT Food Partner Quadram Institute
  • Anne-Catherine Hutz, Co-Founder of EIT Food awarded Startup Infinite Roots
  • Prof. Stefan Lorkowski, University of Jena, Federation of European Nutrition Societies (FENS) and Coordinator Competence Cluster for Nutrition and Cardiovascular Health for the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education
  • Lesley Mitchell, Director of Policy Sustainable Food Trust 
• 10:15 - Coffee Break and networking (30 min)
• 10:45 - Roundtable Group discussions on developing approaches for working together on Mission topics: using systems thinking to prioritise interventions. Select which topic you want to work on. Starting with impluse-talks in each section.
  • Packaging for sustainable and safe foods: Impluse by Ieva Hofmane (Mimica) 
  • Producing healthy, nutritious food using regenerative agriculture: Harry Langford (UK AgriTech Centre) and Damien Jourdan (Danone)
• 12:15 - Lunch break
• 13:15 - Networking and Pitching Opportunities: Explore our breakout rooms to discover more of what the EIT Food network has to offer. With enough time to discover different topics and to hear short pitches. Pitches or presentations will be held in each room at the time indicated and the rooms will remeain open for the full 1h15 slot
  • 13:15-13:40 Startup pitching corner (room 1): Solutions for a fairer sustainable food system with Alberts, Quas,  Crover Tech, Mimica and more
  • 13:45-14:10 Catch up with EIT Food (room 2): an opportunity to connect with EIT Food staff e.g. Education, Consumer Observatory. Any questions you may have and to find out more about current and future work.
  • 14:15-14:25 Presenting (room 3): EIT Food Alumni Network 
• 14:30 - Food innovation clinics: EIT Food's mission work clearly identifies the important supporting adn potentailly defining role that date, definitions and standards; policy and regulation can have on the food system's ability to deliver on a healthy sustainable diet for all. We belive that convening communities around key areas or topics outlined within the mission's framework is an effective pathway toward change. This session aims to generate a starting conversation in two areas around potential multi-actor direct iniatives and/or collaborative approaches for potential funding. Starting with an Impulse talk by Abbie Roberts, EIT Food Strategic Programmes Executive
  • Livestock supply chains within a circular, regenerative system: Shannon McLaughlin (Queens University Belfast)
  • Food Safety and Regulation: date, risk analysis and learning from others: Matthew Gilmour (Quadram Institute)
• 15:00 - Coffee Break and networking (45 min)
• 15:45 - Reverse Panel: “What role can play pet food in the food systems transformation?”, moderated by an EIT Food Key Account Manager
  • Dr Peter Alexander, University fo Edinburgh, Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems
  • Prof Andrew Knight, Centre for Animal Welfare at the University of Winchester
• 16:30 - Wrap Up and Reflection of Conference-Day by Katherine Foster, World Economic Forum EIT Food Fellow
• 16:45 - Farewell by Jayne Brookman, Director of Partner Recruitment, EIT Food 
• 17:00 - Official End of Conference
• Optional Evening Program: Explore Edinburgh together, connecting local Food Initiatives and Dinner in Local Food Hall. 

Disclaimer: Anyone who registers for the pre-event festive dinner on the 19th and is not a strategic or delivery partner, will be removed from the registration.