Programme
The 2024 symposium is an in-person event and will host a number of special focus sessions addressing contemporary issues and technical methods.
Our Keynote speakers are shown below.
Don't forget to register for the Symposium to gain access to all the sessions and receive a copy of the proceedings.
The 2024 draft programme can be found below.
| 7th_symposium_program_revised.pdf |
Our 2024 Keynote Speakers
Dr. Vera Eory
Reader, Scotland's Rural College
Keynote Presentation: Greenhouse gases and agriculture: are we afraid of the real solutions?
Vera Eory is interested in the socio-economic aspects of sustainable agriculture and works with interdisciplinary methods to better understand how to reduce the environmental effects of agricultural production. Her research spans a variety of topics, including the cost-effectiveness of mitigation practices, farmers’ perceptions and behaviours regarding practice uptake, and the development and assessment of policy instruments.
Dr. Vera Eory
Reader, Scotland's Rural College
Keynote Presentation: Greenhouse gases and agriculture: are we afraid of the real solutions?
Vera Eory is interested in the socio-economic aspects of sustainable agriculture and works with interdisciplinary methods to better understand how to reduce the environmental effects of agricultural production. Her research spans a variety of topics, including the cost-effectiveness of mitigation practices, farmers’ perceptions and behaviours regarding practice uptake, and the development and assessment of policy instruments.
Steven Wolf
Keynote Presentation: What Does Agritech Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Offer for Sustainability Transitions?
Steven Wolf studies environmental governance (i.e., interplay of state and non-state actors in environmental (mis)management) at Cornell University (USA). His teaching and research focus on the implications of real and imagined state (public), market (private) and community (collective) coordination mechanisms applied to agriculture, forests, and environmental change. Recent collaborations with students and postdoctoral researchers focus on India, China, Mexico, and USA. Current work centers on analysis of accountability relations and lack thereof. He is Past President of RC40, Research Committee on Agriculture and Food, International Sociological Association.
Keynote Presentation: What Does Agritech Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Offer for Sustainability Transitions?
Steven Wolf studies environmental governance (i.e., interplay of state and non-state actors in environmental (mis)management) at Cornell University (USA). His teaching and research focus on the implications of real and imagined state (public), market (private) and community (collective) coordination mechanisms applied to agriculture, forests, and environmental change. Recent collaborations with students and postdoctoral researchers focus on India, China, Mexico, and USA. Current work centers on analysis of accountability relations and lack thereof. He is Past President of RC40, Research Committee on Agriculture and Food, International Sociological Association.
Shampa Roy-Mukherjee
Vice Dean, Royal Docks School of Business & Law, University of East London
Opening Keynote Presentation: The Agenda for Change in Business Education to Address the Key Dimensions of Sustainability: Society, Environment and Economy
Shampa is Vice Dean and a Professor of Economics at the Royal Docks School of Business and Law, at the University of East London who over the past decade, has demonstrated sustained and impactful leadership, working closely with the Executive Dean to shape and implement the School’s strategic priorities. Her work directly contributes to the University’s Vision 2028 strategic objectives, with a focus on fostering a Connected Campus, advancing the 5.0 Economy, and promoting Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. Her research is internationally recognized, with a strong publication record in Political Economy, Applied Econometrics, Socio-Economic and Health Inequalities, the Gig Economy, and Financial Development and Growth. As the Co-Director of two research centres - The Noon Centre for Equality and Diversity and The Centre for the Study of States, Markets, and People (STAMP), She leads interdisciplinary and collaborative research projects that enhance the University’s research profile and global visibility.
Beyond her work at the university, Shampa is actively involved in external partnerships with universities, businesses, and communities, both locally and globally. These collaborations are crucial to advancing the University’s Vision 2028 goals and expanding impact. She also contributes to the broader academic community as a member of the editorial boards for the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies and The Journal of Global Faultlines, where she helps shape scholarly discourse in her field. In recognition of her contributions, Shampa has been awarded the title of Guangdong Distinguished Overseas Professor at Guangdong University of Finance & Economics in China and has served as a Visiting Scholar at University Jaume I Castellón in Spain.
Shampa's career is marked by a commitment to academic excellence, impactful research, and strategic leadership, all of which contribute to the University of East London’s mission and its global standing.
Vice Dean, Royal Docks School of Business & Law, University of East London
Opening Keynote Presentation: The Agenda for Change in Business Education to Address the Key Dimensions of Sustainability: Society, Environment and Economy
Shampa is Vice Dean and a Professor of Economics at the Royal Docks School of Business and Law, at the University of East London who over the past decade, has demonstrated sustained and impactful leadership, working closely with the Executive Dean to shape and implement the School’s strategic priorities. Her work directly contributes to the University’s Vision 2028 strategic objectives, with a focus on fostering a Connected Campus, advancing the 5.0 Economy, and promoting Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. Her research is internationally recognized, with a strong publication record in Political Economy, Applied Econometrics, Socio-Economic and Health Inequalities, the Gig Economy, and Financial Development and Growth. As the Co-Director of two research centres - The Noon Centre for Equality and Diversity and The Centre for the Study of States, Markets, and People (STAMP), She leads interdisciplinary and collaborative research projects that enhance the University’s research profile and global visibility.
Beyond her work at the university, Shampa is actively involved in external partnerships with universities, businesses, and communities, both locally and globally. These collaborations are crucial to advancing the University’s Vision 2028 goals and expanding impact. She also contributes to the broader academic community as a member of the editorial boards for the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies and The Journal of Global Faultlines, where she helps shape scholarly discourse in her field. In recognition of her contributions, Shampa has been awarded the title of Guangdong Distinguished Overseas Professor at Guangdong University of Finance & Economics in China and has served as a Visiting Scholar at University Jaume I Castellón in Spain.
Shampa's career is marked by a commitment to academic excellence, impactful research, and strategic leadership, all of which contribute to the University of East London’s mission and its global standing.
Dr Phil Bicknell
CEO UK Agri-Tech Centre Keynote Presentation: Accelerating innovation in the agricultural sector: challenges and opportunities Phil Bicknell was appointed CEO of the UK Agri-Tech Centre as it launched in April 2024. He joined CIEL - one of the three companies which merged to create the UK Agri-Tech Centre - in 2021. Prior to the UK Agri-Tech Centre, Phil has had a varied career across food and farming: he led the 50-strong market intelligence team at the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB), equipping farmers and processors with the insight to manage market volatility, profitability and policy change; he was also chief economist at the National Farmers Union (NFU), spearheading the evidence to support a range of lobbying activity. Other roles include specialising in agri-trade issues at the US Department of Agriculture and advising a range of agribusiness clients with Bidwells. Phil grew up on the family livestock farm and has a degree in agricultural economics. |
Professor Janet Dwyer
University of Gloucestershire
Keynote Presentation: Challenges, opportunities and resilience: towards an agenda for Agri tech economics
Janet directs and undertakes applied research related to agriculture, the environment and rural development. Her research expertise centres on the evaluation and development of European and UK rural development policy and practice, with particular interest in integrated approaches, environmental sustainability and institutional adaptation.
Prof Dwyer is well-known in policymaking circles in the UK and EU, has skills in facilitation and consensus-building, and is a regular speaker at international conferences. Her work has influenced the development and design of agri-environmental and rural policies in the UK, Ireland and Malta, and at the European level within the European Commission’s DGs for Agriculture and rural development, Environment, and Climate.
Prof Dwyer sits on a variety of NGO and government-sponsored policy advisory groups in England including Green Alliance, the RSA’s Food, Farming and Countryside Commission and Defra’s Rural Academic Panel, and chaired Defra’s Nutrient Management Expert Group, 2021-22. Janet is a Director of Rural England CIC, and a Trustee of the Organic Research Centre and the Countryside and Community Foundation. She is a former President of the Agricultural Economics Society, a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies and a Membre Associé of the French Academie d’Agriculture. She was awarded an OBE in the June 2022 Queen’s birthday honours for her services to rural research.
University of Gloucestershire
Keynote Presentation: Challenges, opportunities and resilience: towards an agenda for Agri tech economics
Janet directs and undertakes applied research related to agriculture, the environment and rural development. Her research expertise centres on the evaluation and development of European and UK rural development policy and practice, with particular interest in integrated approaches, environmental sustainability and institutional adaptation.
Prof Dwyer is well-known in policymaking circles in the UK and EU, has skills in facilitation and consensus-building, and is a regular speaker at international conferences. Her work has influenced the development and design of agri-environmental and rural policies in the UK, Ireland and Malta, and at the European level within the European Commission’s DGs for Agriculture and rural development, Environment, and Climate.
Prof Dwyer sits on a variety of NGO and government-sponsored policy advisory groups in England including Green Alliance, the RSA’s Food, Farming and Countryside Commission and Defra’s Rural Academic Panel, and chaired Defra’s Nutrient Management Expert Group, 2021-22. Janet is a Director of Rural England CIC, and a Trustee of the Organic Research Centre and the Countryside and Community Foundation. She is a former President of the Agricultural Economics Society, a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies and a Membre Associé of the French Academie d’Agriculture. She was awarded an OBE in the June 2022 Queen’s birthday honours for her services to rural research.
Professor Dimitrios S. Paraforos
Keynote Presentation: Innovate and Democratise: A Pathway to Increased Adoption of Agricultural Technology?
Dimitrios S. Paraforos grew up on a farm in northern Greece. He completed a bachelor's degree in automation engineering and a master's degree in agricultural engineering. After several years in industry, he moved to the University of Hohenheim (Germany), where he obtained his Ph.D. in 2016 and his Habilitation in Agricultural Engineering in 2020. In 2018, he received the Baden-Württemberg Certificate for University Didactics and in 2020, he was awarded the GIL Prize for his habilitation thesis.
Since April 2023, he has been Professor of Technology in the Cultivation of Specialty Crops at Geisenheim University. He is also Associate Editor of Computers and Electronics in Agriculture and Smart Agricultural Technology (both published by Elsevier). He has been involved in more than 20 European and national research projects in the field of digitisation of agriculture and technology transfer.
He is currently coordinating two BMEL-funded projects, DIWAKOPTER and Oenotrace, dealing with the implementation and traceability of sustainable cultivation practices in specialty crops. In 2024, he was awarded the LOEWE Transfer Professorship by the State of Hesse, with funding of one million euros. His research interests include the automation of agricultural machinery, unmanned ground and air vehicles, and distributed and resilient digital farming systems.
Keynote Presentation: Innovate and Democratise: A Pathway to Increased Adoption of Agricultural Technology?
Dimitrios S. Paraforos grew up on a farm in northern Greece. He completed a bachelor's degree in automation engineering and a master's degree in agricultural engineering. After several years in industry, he moved to the University of Hohenheim (Germany), where he obtained his Ph.D. in 2016 and his Habilitation in Agricultural Engineering in 2020. In 2018, he received the Baden-Württemberg Certificate for University Didactics and in 2020, he was awarded the GIL Prize for his habilitation thesis.
Since April 2023, he has been Professor of Technology in the Cultivation of Specialty Crops at Geisenheim University. He is also Associate Editor of Computers and Electronics in Agriculture and Smart Agricultural Technology (both published by Elsevier). He has been involved in more than 20 European and national research projects in the field of digitisation of agriculture and technology transfer.
He is currently coordinating two BMEL-funded projects, DIWAKOPTER and Oenotrace, dealing with the implementation and traceability of sustainable cultivation practices in specialty crops. In 2024, he was awarded the LOEWE Transfer Professorship by the State of Hesse, with funding of one million euros. His research interests include the automation of agricultural machinery, unmanned ground and air vehicles, and distributed and resilient digital farming systems.
Professor Simon Pearson
Keynote Presentation: Adoption of robotics and AI in the agri-food system
Simon has been responsible for founding and developing the Lincoln Institute of Agri Food Technology (LIAT), now recognised as “world leading” within the 2021 BEIS Innovation Strategy, Creating the Future. His group have helped pioneer the development of advanced robotic systems, machine learning, artificial intelligence and digital systems for UK agriculture. In 2021, he co-chaired the DEFRA Automation and Robotics Review with former Secretary of State George Eustice. For his contribution to the sector, he was awarded the 2022 RASE Science and Technology Award.
Keynote Presentation: Adoption of robotics and AI in the agri-food system
Simon has been responsible for founding and developing the Lincoln Institute of Agri Food Technology (LIAT), now recognised as “world leading” within the 2021 BEIS Innovation Strategy, Creating the Future. His group have helped pioneer the development of advanced robotic systems, machine learning, artificial intelligence and digital systems for UK agriculture. In 2021, he co-chaired the DEFRA Automation and Robotics Review with former Secretary of State George Eustice. For his contribution to the sector, he was awarded the 2022 RASE Science and Technology Award.
Images from the 2019 Symposium
