David is responsible for international research relations and innovation strategy within EELISA. He leads the EELISA InnoCORE work package on outreach (EELISA Innovation Talks, EELISA entrepreneurship action plan, EELISA innovation and co-creation activities, EELISA media channels), manages the InnoCORE project, and coordinates EELISA student mobility at FAU.
Why do you enjoy working for EELISA?
There is something very inspiring about being part of a great European team composed of members from Madrid, Paris, Pisa, Erlangen, Nuremberg, Budapest, Bucharest, and Istanbul striving to make Europe and the world a better place for students, researchers, innovators, and citizens. On top, it is a pleasure to work with my fantastic colleagues at FAU.
Before working for EELISA, …
…I was a research associate at FAU’s Institute of Political Science, where I completed my dissertation on Alexandre Kojève’s political philosophy that was published by Campus Verlag in Frankfurt a. M. and New York. Interestingly, Kojève was not only a very influential Hegelian philosopher in France, but also a notorious bureaucrat of early European integration.
What was your highlight project for EELISA?
So far, my highlight project has been the First EELISA Prototype Contest in cooperation with JOSEPHS – The Open Innovation Lab. The winner of the prototype contest was a nature-based air purifier developed by the Madrid-based startup “The Green Factor” from UPM. The air purifier helps to tackle the serious issue of air pollution that is virulent in many European cities. Together with Dr. Adán Sánchez from “The Green Factor” and JOSEPHS’ open innovation experts, we set up the first EELISA Test Space at JOSEPHS, where we gained valuable user feedback from more than 100 potential customers that will help to further improve the prototype before its market launch. I think this is an excellent example of the new opportunities that EELISA offers to its researchers and innovators.