Keynote Speakers

Joan Simó Cruanyes

Joan Simó is a biologist and Ph.D. in agri-food engineering and biotechnology and has worked as a researcher for more than 10 years, starting as a Ph.D. student and ending up as the director of an SGR-accredited research group by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the scientific director of the Miquel Agustí Foundation. In his role as director, Simó combined research with project and contract management and design. This included writing and coordinating projects at the Catalan, Spanish, and European levels, as well as contracts and agreements with companies and institutions. Since 2019, Joan has been the coordinator of the agri-food sector at UPC, where he shifted his focus from research to project management and research group coordination. During this period, Joan Simó led the identification and preparation of projects for various calls and assisted research groups in drafting and submitting proposals. He also played a role in promoting the establishment of the Agrotech UPC Specific Research Center, which started with over 60 researchers, and the creation of the Cannabis HUB, which currently has more than 40 sector partners. In terms of teaching, since the 2008/2009 academic year, Simó has been teaching at the Barcelona School of Agriculture (EEABB), initially as an assistant professor and as an associate professor since 2015. He has taught over 800 hours of classes in 14 different subjects, both at the undergraduate and master's levels. Throughout his teaching career, he has supervised more than 20 undergraduate, bachelor's, or master's final projects and two doctoral theses. Within the framework of the Cannabis HUB, Joan Simó served as the director of the first postgraduate program in Cannabis production and transformation technologies. Currently, his professional role is as the Director of Innovation at the Ametller Origen Group, where he is responsible for coordinating and managing research and innovation projects in the group's three verticals (retail, manufacturing, and agriculture). He is also a founding partner of two companies, one related to the design of urban green solutions and the other specializing in genetic diagnosis and consulting.