Smart Farming – a new Era of Agriculture

Jiří Mašek is a graduate of the Faculty of Engineering of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. He works as an associate professor at the Department of Agricultural Machines. Jiri received Ph.D. in 2007 and title of docent in 2013 (both in Agricultural Engineering). Since 2009, he has been Vice-Dean for teaching and learning. From February 2018, he is the Dean of Faculty of Engineering. His research focus is about soil tillage technologies, grain harvesting and technologies for Agriculture 4.0.

Jiří Mašek is a member of the Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Czech Engineering Society, International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ), a member of the Editorial Board of the Mechanization of Agriculture magazine and member scientific boards of 6 faculties and member of International Advisory Board of Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies in Jelgava.

Future Food Systems: Trends, Innovations, Opportunities, Challenges and Priorities

Dr. Rajeev Bhat is presently working as a Professor- Chair in Food Science & Technology at the Estonian University of Life Sciences. He has extensive ‘Research & Teaching experience of more than two decades (nearly 25 years) in the field of agri-food technology, with expertise focusing mainly on ‘Sustainable Food Production’ and ‘Food Security.’ He holds international experience of working in India, South Korea, Malaysia, Germany, Fiji Islands, and now in Estonia.

To date, he has authored more than 200 research articles published in ISI-WOS-based journals more than 50 refereed book chapters; has edited 14 books and authored one book; is on the editorial board of leading international journals and has been on the scientific committee/advisory board member as well as invited keynote speaker in various international conferences and symposiums. His name now figures in the World’s top 2% of scientists in the field of Food Science & Technology as per the recent survey done by Stanford University. Recently, he was elected by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASASC) as an expert in ‘Meat Alternatives’ under the EASAC Biosciences Programme. He is also appointed as an expert panel member of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Guideline Development Group (GDG) working on ‘Traditional Food Markets.’ Prof. Bhat has been a visiting professor in many of the recognized universities world-over and is also a recipient of several prestigious international awards and recognitions conferred by various institutions of higher learning and research establishments.

Prevention of occupational risks in agriculture

Professor Eda Merisalu is a Doctor of Medical Sciences, awarded by Kaunas Medical Academy (1992). Since 1995 she has 20 years teaching and research experience on environmental and occupational health in the University of Tartu, Department of Public Health. During the last decade she is leading research on human factors (ergonomics), occupational health and safety (OHS) in the Estonian University of Life Sciences. The main research topics are: prevention of occupational risks, cognitive ergonomics and work ability, ergonomic intervention to prevent of musculoskeletal disorders, work stress and burnout, risk assessment and risk management in work environment. Based on the named topics she has published more than 200 scientific publications in high-impact international peer-reviewed journals.

Professor Eda Merisalu is a leader of the master program development on ergonomics and ergodesign. In total about 100 dissertations defended under her supervision, while a number of master theses and student research (7) have awarded with the first and third prizes and diplomas by the Estonian Research Council. She is a reviewer for different international research journals (BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, European J Public Health, Journal of Clinical Health Promotion, Agronomy Research). She is a member and national representative of ICOH (International Commission on Occupational Health), and a board member of the Society of Estonian OH Physicians. She has excellent professional experience of international collaboration with experts and research groups on OHS and ergonomics over the world, leading and coordinating more than 30 international and national research projects. Currently she is a country coordinator of the European H2020 research project SafeHabitus (Strengthening the farm Health and Safety knowledge and innovation system in Europe) with aim to improve risk awareness and risk behavior and prevent work accidents among farmers and farm workers.

Revolutionizing Snacking: Harnessing 3D Food Printing and Nano Pore Sequencing for Sustainable Protein Snacks

Dr. Galina Brychkova in a Lecturer in AgriBiosciences in University of Galway, Ireland. She is specializing in the application of cutting-edge technologies to address challenges in agriculture and agrifood sectors. She earned her Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Belarussian State University before completing her PhD in Genetics at the National Academy of Sciences, Belarus, in 2004.

Throughout her career, Dr. Brychkova has held positions in leading research institutes across the UK, Israel, and Ireland, where she has focused on sustainability and crop responses to various stresses. Her research utilizes advanced techniques such as Genomics, Metabolomics, GIS, data analysis, and crop and climate modelling to enhance agricultural practices.

With expertise in agri-genetics and agri-biotechnologies, Dr. Brychkova is deeply interdisciplinary, engaging in training and research on a wide range of agri-related topics including agri-production, food security, and sustainability. She holds a Master’s Degree in Academic Practice from the University of Galway, Ireland, further enriching her teaching and research capabilities.

Dr. Brychkova’s research expertise spans molecular biology, plant and animal tissue culture, biochemistry, enzymology, and metabolomics. Her primary goal is to identify and improve alternative novel food products while leveraging science and biotechnologies to meet the diverse needs of developed and developing countries.

Assessing the viability of converting an existing industrial zone in Nigeria into an environmentally sustainable industrial park

Eldon R. Rene is currently working as an Associate Professor at IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, The Netherlands. He obtained his University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) diploma from IHE Delft (The Netherlands) and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (India). Eldon’s broad research interests are related to the development of resilient ecotechnologies for wastewater treatment, resource recovery and water reuse, waste-gas treatment, eco-industrial parks, the development of waste to energy conversion technologies, and the use of artificial intelligence tools for environmental monitoring and environmental process control. Eldon’s publications database includes scholarly journal articles (~400), books (4), book chapters (~30), papers published in conference proceedings (~240), editorials (30), monographs (7), and edited conference proceedings (5). He is currently the Special Issue and Associate Editor in ET&I (Elsevier), JEE (ASCE), EQM (Wiley) and Bioresource Technology Reports (Elsevier). As a part of his educational and capacity building efforts, Eldon has taught scientific writing and skill development to more than 6200 MS and PhD students in major international events or workshops/conferences.

Fungal-based biorefinery: from residuals to value-added products

Mohammad J. Taherzadeh is professor in Bioprocess technology since 2004 at University of Borås in Sweden and chairman of Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery. Prof. Taherzadeh has PhD in Bioscience, and MSc and BSc in Chemical Engineering. He is developing processes to convert wastes and residuals to value added products with focus on pretreatment and fermentation using anaerobic bacteria and filamentous fungi. He has more than 500 publications. More information about him at  www.taherzadeh.se