Marcin Mońko is Head of Media and Content at the European Research Council. He has more than twenty years’ experience in communication and media, including in different EU agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Before joining the ERC, he was a communication officer at the European Training Foundation in Turin. Earlier in his career, he held communication roles in Warsaw, Budapest and Luxembourg.

His work has spanned journalism, public information, and science communication, with a focus on making complex issues accessible to broad audiences.

Marta Agostinho is the Executive Director of EU-LIFE, an alliance of leading European life science institutes promoting research excellence and representing institutes in the European policy landscape. Her work spans science policy, research governance and culture, strategic science management, communication and public engagement. She co-designs and steers EU-LIFE’s strategy, leads its science policy activities, represents the alliance externally and oversees the Brussels-based office.

She holds a PhD in Cell Biology and a post-graduate qualification in Science Communication. After 10 years in life sciences research, she built over 15 years of international experience in knowledge mediation, science communication, training and research management in Portugal and across Europe, including leading communication and major EU-level projects in mental health policy.

As a Head of Communications at EUROfusion, Tamás brings 15 years of experience in R&D and science communication from his previous role at the HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, where he developed data acquisition control software for different kinds of diagnostic systems, for example, for fast cameras on fusion energy research experiments across Europe and Japan.

In his current role, he works on various communications matters, including website, social media, and multimedia content (photos, videos, and graphics).

He continues to apply his problem-solving, presentation, and communication skills to advance the visibility and impact of EUROfusion's work.

Dr. David Matthew Smith is a prominent and respected scientist in the field of computational chemistry, currently acting as the Director General of the Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) in Zagreb, Croatia, in his second mandate.

Australian-born and a naturalised Croatian citizen, he studied chemistry and economics at the Australian National University, where he completed Honours and a PhD, awarded the Dean’s Award for Best Thesis. He joined RBI as a postdoctoral fellow, later becoming Senior Scientist, head of the Group for Quantum Organic Chemistry, and of the Division of Physical Chemistry.

His work has earned multiple awards, including the 2008 “Lavoslav Ružička” award, and he has led numerous national and international projects.

Hana Huzjak is a Senior Economic Adviser at the European Commission, with extensive experience in managing projects and programmes across Europe.

She has been working at the European Commission since 2014 and is currently a member of the Task Force for Reforms and Investments. Previously, she worked in the regional office of the World Bank and in the Croatian public administration.

Hana holds a degree in Business Economics from the University of Zagreb and master’s degrees in Programme Management from the University of Oxford, Saïd Business School, and in Public Policy from Central European University.

Marija Mitic is a Policy Analyst at the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) unit of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

Marija coordinates feedback to policy activities in the unit, such as data monitoring, strengthening MSCA science-policy links and structured uptake of project results in policymaking. She is also responsible for several MSCA initiatives supporting researchers at risk and academic freedom.

Marija’s formal and non-formal training is in linguistics, intercultural communication and European higher education and lifelong learning policy.

Iva Tolić is head of the Laboratory for Cellular Biophysics at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb.

She graduated from the University of Zagreb, completed postdoctoral research in Copenhagen and Florence, and led a research group in Dresden before returning to Croatia.

She has received major awards for her discoveries on cell division, including the Ignaz Lieben Award, the EBSA Young Investigators’ Medal and Prize, the European Life Science Award, the Croatian Women of Influence Award, and the National Science Award.

She has received two prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grants and is a member of EMBO and Academia Europaea.

Dr Tonči Tadić is a Croatian physicist and nuclear energy expert, Senior Research Associate at the Ruđer Bošković Institute, working in the Laboratory for Ion Beam Interactions. He holds a degree in engineering physics and a PhD in nuclear physics.

A former visiting researcher at Osaka National Research Institute (ONRI–AIST), he served as a Member of the Croatian Parliament from 2000 to 2008.

He now sits on the EURATOM Scientific and Technical Committee, is a member of the EUROfusion Assembly, and coordinates Croatian fusion activities, including DONES.HR, and represents Croatia on the Fusion for Energy Governing Board.

In 2014, he received Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun for his contribution to EU–Japan scientific cooperation.

Ozren Polašek is Director of the Croatian Science Foundation and an experienced leader in public health, analytics, and research funding, focused on data-driven, impactful global health solutions. He has devoted over a decade to advancing research in Croatia and currently leads a team of 36 at the Foundation, successfully guiding it through a major legal framework change and relaunching three new proposal schemes after a four-year pause.

Previously, he spent more than twelve years at the University of Split as professor and head of the Croatian Centre for Global Health, coordinating eleven graduate and postgraduate courses. As Founder and CEO of Gen-info Ltd., he led four research grants that produced 49 publications and over 11,600 citations.

Tonka Petričević is the Head of the Science and Innovation Department at the University of Split, with extensive experience in developing and managing numerous EU-funded projects in higher education.

She has been the coordinator of the Blue-connect (European Researchers’ Night) project, focused on science communication and public engagement, since 2022. She is involved in the Science Comes to Town project team, promoting science popularization through various formats and interactive activities.

Her work highlights collaboration between researchers, students, and the general public to foster a culture of curiosity and innovation.

Bojan Macan is the Head of the Centre for Scientific Information at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb, Croatia. He holds a Ph.D. in Information and Communication Sciences from the University of Zagreb. 

Bojan has extensive experience in scholarly communication and research information management, having participated in numerous international projects, including OS Trails, PATTERN, NI4OS-Europe, several OpenAIRE projects, and the COST Action ENRESSH. At the national level, he contributes to the development of open science infrastructures, notably DABAR and CroRIS. He has authored around 20 publications in international and domestic journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters.

Vedrana Šimičević is an award-winning freelance Croatian journalist and editor who specialises in science, environment, climate and investigative stories. Her articles appeared in National Geographic, BBC Future, Science, New Scientist, Physics Today, The BMJ, Horizon magazine and Balkan Insight, among others.

She is a two-time recipient of the Croatian national award "Velebitska degenija" for the best environmental protection story, and she has won several international journalistic grants, including the Balkan Fellowship for journalistic excellence, the Reporters in the Field grant, and Journalismfund investigative grants. She is a FRONTIERS science journalism initiative fellow.

In her science communication courses, Vedrana teaches scientists how to efficiently communicate science to the public and the media.

Petra Buljević Zdjelarević is a communication and public relations strategist with 16+ years of experience. At the Ruđer Bošković Institute, she leads the PR & communications team, having delivered 20+ impactful campaigns and major events, created the Institute’s digital strategy, and managed communication for 10+ EU and national projects, including EDIH AI4Health.Cro and flagship fusion initiative DONES.HR.

She specialises in strategic and digital communication, storytelling, and brand building. She leads dissemination & communication for EDIH AI4Health.Cro EDIH, which exceeded all KPIs in the first year.

Petra is a sought-after trainer, mentor, and speaker at international conferences, co-author of the RBI monography, author of a PUBMET paper on science communication, an RBI award winner, and an active member of the EU-LIFE science communication working group.

Marko Košiček is an expert advisor and coordinator of popularisation and public engagement activities at the RBI. As a biochemist and a seasoned science communicator, he truly understands researchers’ challenges because he has been in their shoes.

He designs science outreach, from the Festival of Science, Science Picnic, RBI Open Day, and European Researchers’ Night to workshops and talks. For 10 years, he hosted the science programme “Third Element” on HRT3. He founded the Society for Out-Of-Frame Education and was a long-standing member of the organising committee of the Summer School of Science.

From 2018 to mid-2020, he served as Chief Advisor at the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education. With colleague Saša Ceci, he received the 2014 State Award for Popularisation and Promotion of Science.

Andrej Kajganić is a marketing and communications expert with over eight years’ experience in digital campaigns, content development, and consulting.

He is currently Senior PR and Events Advisor at the RBI, focusing on digital communication, social media, and international projects. Andrej’s agency and entrepreneurial background gave him strong skills in Google Ads, Meta Ads, HubSpot, Mailchimp, copywriting, and content strategy across SaaS, telecom, pharma, and FMCG sectors.

As a lecturer at HUKI’s Innovation Academy and collaborator of the MPA music production and multimedia school, and as a UNICEF UPSHIFT mentor, he trains young people in innovation and digital communication. He also contributes to the Horizon Europe project ReSkillSpan.