Piotr Jurga

I am an innovation broker and scientist at the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – State Research Institute in Poland. I hold MSc degrees in Environmental Engineering and Water Management, and I have also completed postgraduate studies in Business and Economics as well as in Commercialisation and Innovation.

Currently, I am involved in seven European and nationally funded projects, including Horizon Europe (Sensor4Food, BIOEASTWIDE, DeepHorizon, ARRIOS), Horizon 2020 (PATHWAYS), Interreg Central Europe (Carbon4Bioeconomy), and national Polish initiatives (WAB 2.0). I coordinate several of these projects (country part) and actively contribute to the co-creation of new ideas. My role focuses on incubating scientific concepts and contributing to research activities, particularly in areas related to the sustainable bioeconomy, decision-making support, policy coherence, and the exploration of business models and value chains within bioeconomy sectors.

I am also a co-founder of the National Bioeconomy Hub in Poland, where we bring together diverse partners and actively support the implementation of innovative solutions across the sector.

Among our key innovation activities is our involvement in the WAB 2.0 startup incubation programme, where we support the development of early-stage companies, particularly those creating innovative solutions for the agri-food, environmental and digital sectors. By combining scientific expertise, mentoring and access to research and testing facilities, we help promising ideas develop into market-ready solutions with real potential for implementation and scale.