Organizing Committee
WOIC was founded in 2014 by Henry Chesbrough, known as “the father of open innovation,” from the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2021, WOIC transitioned to the Innovation, Technology, Entrepreneurship & Marketing (ITEM) group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), under the leadership of Marcel Bogers.
We like to say that in “WOIC” the C stands more for Community than conference. In the spirit of true open innovation, the conference is managed, supported, and developed by a diverse team of academics, practitioners, and experts from around the globe, all part of the vibrant World Open Innovation Community. Learn more about the team below.
Chairpersons
WOIC 2026 Kaunas Guest Team
Asta Pundziene
Conference Co-Chair
Director & Professor — Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Jurgita Giniuniene
Member — Academic Team | Member — Workshop Team
Head-HRM & Senior Lecturer — Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Kadir Batuhan Şayan
Local Support
Administrator at the Open Innovation Center — Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Lukas Geryba
Co-Chair — Industry Program | Member — Communications & Digital Solutions Team
Head of Open Innovation Center — Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Rima Sermontyte-Baniule
Member — Academic Team | Member — Workshop Team
Associate Professor — Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Zineb Benmya
Local Support
Project Coordinator — Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Workshop Team
Marco Greco
Chair — Workshop Program
Associate Professor — University of Cassino and Southern Lazio
Zahra Shams Esfandabadi
Member — Workshop Team
Assistant Professor — Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
Sepide Mehrabi
Member — Workshop Team
Postdoctoral Researcher — Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
Industry Program Committee:
Ruperto Calatrava
Chair — Industry Program
Head of Innovation Consultancy — TNW, the Netherlands
Dieudonnee Cobben
Co-Chair — Doctoral Consortium | Member — Industry Team
Project Leader — Maastricht Municipality | Assistant Professor — Open Universiteit | the Netherlands
Marta Riquelme-Medina
Member — Industry Team
Assistant Professor — University of Granada, Spain
Eduard Esau
Member — Industry Team
Assistant Professor — Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
Mohammad Saleh Farazi
Member — Industry Team
Assistant Professor — University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Doctoral Consortium Committee:
Maral Mahdad
Co-Chair — Doctoral Consortium
Assistant Professor — Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
Attabik Awan
Lead — Digital Solutions | Member — Doctoral Consortium
Researcher — Eindhoven University of Technology & Tilburg University, the Netherlands
Dieudonnee Cobben
Co-Chair — Doctoral Consortium | Member — Industry Team
Project Leader — Maastricht Municipality | Assistant Professor — Open Universiteit | the Netherlands
Salar Alizad Poursaeidi
Lead — Podcasts | Member — Doctoral Consortium
PhD Candidate — Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
Lukas Geryba
Co-Chair — Industry Program | Member — Communications & Digital Solutions Team
Head of Open Innovation Center — Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Zineb Benmya
Local Support
Project Coordinator — Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Farshad Hajiakbari
Member — Doctoral Consortium
PhD Candidate — Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
Communications & Digital Solutions Committee:
Attabik Awan
Lead — Digital Solutions | Member — Doctoral Consortium
Researcher — Eindhoven University of Technology & Tilburg University, the Netherlands
Salar Alizad Poursaeidi
Lead — Podcasts | Member — Doctoral Consortium
PhD Candidate — Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
Support:
Paul Wiegmann
Lead — Contracts
Assistant Professor — Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
Inge Sanders
Co-Lead — Administration
Conference & Events — Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
Evy Koenen – van Elderen
Co-Lead — Administration
Conference & Events — Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands