Europe's technology transfer challenge: turning research into market success

Laurence Petit
Director at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA); Member of the European Innovation Council Board
Laurence Petit is Director of Innovation, Start-ups and Investments at CEA, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, where she previously held the role of Technical Innovation Advisor. Her career includes 11 years at Andra, the French National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management, where she worked in R&D, the Investing in the Future programme, and was appointed Head of Innovation and later Deputy Director of the Development, Innovation and International Relations division. She has a master's in engineering from Chimie Paristech and holds a post-graduate research degree in computational and theoretical chemistry and a PhD in quantum chemistry from the University of Grenoble.

Professor Sir Adrian V. S. Hill
Director of the Jenner Institute; Professor at the University of Oxford; European Inventor Award winner
Sir Adrian V.S. Hill, winner of the European Inventor Award 2026 in the Research category for developing the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine, is the Founding Director of the Jenner Institute and Chair of the Centre for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine at the University of Oxford. He studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin before completing a DPhil in human genetics at Oxford. He has led the creation and deployment of vaccine technologies that underpin both the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine. Together, these vaccines have helped save more than six million lives between 2021 and 2025.

Laura MacDonald
Chief Executive of ASTP - Europe’s Knowledge Transfer Association
Laura MacDonald is CEO of ASTP, Europe’s leading association for professionals involved in knowledge transfer among universities and industry. Originally a Scots lawyer specialising in EU and IP law, in 1992 she established the in-house legal function in the UK supporting academic and industrial collaborations. She has worked at multiple universities across all aspects of knowledge transfer activities and is active in the Licensing Executives Society and AUTM.

Eleni Dritsakou
Director of Policy at the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO)
Eleni Dritsakou is Director of Policy at EARTO, the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations. Her academic background is in international and European Studies, with a specialisation in law and international relations. She joined the EARTO Secretariat in 2019 and co-ordinates the Policy Working Groups. Her role includes analysing EU policies, programmes and strategic dossiers for the 350 research and technology organisations which are EARTO members. Prior to joining EARTO, she worked at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Greek embassy in Paris, among others. 

Fabrice Lefebvre
Vice-President at ASTP; President of SATT Nord
Fabrice Lefebvre is a chemical engineer with a PhD in Chemical Sciences and a management degree. He has held senior leadership positions in R&D and innovation across multinational companies as well as SMEs, developing strategic partnerships with public research organisations and start-ups. Since 2018, he has been President of SATT Nord, leading international relations for the technology transfer organisation which serves 13 public research organisations and universities across Northern France. He is the Vice-President for Metrics and Impact on the ASTP Board.

Victor Arribas Martinez
Stream Leader for Diversity and Transformation, EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology
Victor works at the EPO Observatory, the EPO’s hub for data and analysis on innovation trends in Europe. He leads research and engagement projects on innovation actors, diversity in research and science, and technology transfer. His work brings together patent data, economic analysis and dialogue with innovation stakeholders to support evidence-based discussions and make insights accessible to policymakers, researchers, startups and the public. He is an economist by training, educated at University College London, Sciences Po and the College of Europe.