Bio
Laszlo Varadi, with a Ph.D. in freshwater aquaculture from Debrecen University, Hungary, has more than 50 years of experience in aquaculture research and innovation. He was the director of the Research Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture (HAKI) in Hungary for 20 years. He worked as an engineering consultant (mainly for FAO) in Asia, Latin America and Africa. His work has focused on the development of integrated aquaculture systems and technologies. He has been an active member of European aquaculture organisations for decades: EAS (president between 2006 and 2008), FEAP, EATiP, and FAO EIFAAC. Currently, he is the President of the Hungarian Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform (HUNATiP) and General Secretary of the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Central and Eastern Europe (NACEE). He received an award for Excellence in European Aquaculture from FEAP in 2015 and Honorary Life Membership from EAS in 2023.

Bio
Prof. Béla Urbányi is a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and works as a university professor at the Albert Kázmér Mosonmagyaróvár Faculty of Széchenyi István University in Hungary. He has published his research results in 261 peer-reviewed journal articles to date. According to Web of Science/Scopus, his papers have received 2,967 independent citations to date, with a Hirsch index of 32. He is the co-author of eight utility model applications in the field of aquaculture. During his project management work, he was the technical leader of three EU tenders and the coordinator of 34 completed Hungarian R&D&I tenders. His research focuses on the development of production and breeding technologies for pond aquaculture, the practical application of research and development results, and the development of the sector's innovation capabilities and skills.

Talk
Freshwater Aquaculture Research in the EU Horizon Program; Upcoming Water Resilience Research and Innovation Strategy.

Bio
Nikos Zampoukas is a policy officer in the European Commission, developing research and innovation policy for aquaculture, fisheries and marine biotechnology. He studied biology at the University of Athens, where he also obtained an MSc and a PhD in biological oceanography, researching fish biology, benthic ecology and ecotoxicology. He served as a scientific officer at the European Commission Joint Research Centre, where he worked on the intercalibration and harmonisation of national ecological assessment methods for transitional, coastal and marine waters for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. He also worked in the forestry department and as a scientific and environmental literacy educator in various schools on the Greek islands, in adult education and in the European School of Brussels.

Talk
How Scientists Can Contribute to Sustainable Aquaculture Development in Central and Eastern Europe.

Bio
Peter Lengyel graduated in ecology from Lajos Kossuth University of Sciences, Hungary. From 1998, worked as a researcher at the Fish Culture Research Institute (HAKI), Szarvas, Hungary, initially focusing on fish nutrition and later on fisheries management in natural waters. From 2003 onward, he contributed to the establishment and coordination of the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Central and Eastern Europe (NACEE), serving as its General Secretary in 2010 and becoming President in 2025. Between 2006 and 2014, he worked in various administrative positions (foreign relations officer, NACEE coordinator, and programme secretary) at HAKI. In 2014, he started working at the Ministry of Agriculture, heading the Aquaculture Development Unit on several occasions (2014–2017, 2018–2023, and since 2025). Between 2023 and 2025, he worked as a Fisheries Attaché in Brussels, co-chairing the Fisheries Policy Working Party during the Hungarian Presidency. He was also a board member of the Hungarian Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform (HUNATiP) since 2020; a member of the Administrative Board of the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) between 2019 and 2023, and since 2025; and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Director of Hungary between 2020 and 2023, and since 2025.