Mentors, experts and alumni, ambassadors and project Staff

Aki Lintumäki (MA, Audiovisual Media) is an artist with a professional background in media art, photography, and socially engaged art. Lintumäki works as a project researcher at Juvenia, the Youth Research and Development Unit of South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences. He is currently working on his doctoral dissertation at the University of Lapland. 

Lintumäki’s work lies at the intersection of art, education, and social change, with a strong orientation toward eco-cultural sustainability. He is particularly interested in how art can support young people’s participation, alleviate negative emotions related to the climate crisis, and promote sustainable development. 

His artistic and research practice emphasizes community engagement, place-based and new materialist approaches highlighting the relationships between humans, non-human agents, and materials. He has carried out several projects combining research, participatory art, and environmental issues. Lintumäki has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented his research at several conferences. He is actively involved in multidisciplinary networks and develops new methods for bringing together art, research, and social impact.

Photo: Olli Heikkinen

Anton Wikstedt is a design professional (MA) and PhD researcher in design futures and evolution. He has experience in both academia and independent design practice, working at the intersections of design, science, art, and technology. His expertise combines research-oriented and critical design approaches with a focus on future-oriented solutions and emerging societal, cultural, ecological and technological transformations.

Camilla Donati is a Barcelona-based designer with experience from smaller studios, such as Josep Abril or Martin Lamoth, to multinationals such as Mango and Inditex. Donati is a graduate of Istituto Europeo di Design in Barcelona in Fashion and Textile Design (2005-2009).

Leading a life full of traveling, she worked in the fast fashion industry for almost five years, and in other Italian companies such as Keyholelab and Jato group. Five years ago, Donati started her journey in slow fashion and began working as a freelance designer. She deeply believes in the system of slow fashion for ethical and social reasons.

For the last two years Donati has been part of the steering committee for ARCA project, a project co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe funding programme, experimenting with a co-design and co-creation process across three European cities.

Jyrki Sinisalo (MA, Theatre and Drama) graduated as a lighting designer from the Theatre Academy in Finland, and has a versatile 40-year career in lighting art. He has worked as a lighting designer in several theatres and, as a lecturer, contributed to developing The Live Performance Technology program at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

In recent years, Sinisalo has been increasingly focused on lighting art, with exhibitions at events such as Lux Helsinki. He has participated in numerous solo, group, and joint exhibitions. Light and shadow play a central role in his works, and his aim is to create aesthetic and multi-sensory experiences with light.

Karl Joonas Alamaa (he/they) is an Estonian artist, designer and researcher, who has studied fashion at the Estonian Academy of Arts and acquired their Master’s in costume design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.

Alamaa is interested in personal and collective power - how the strength of individuals can oppose authority and politics. In their practice, they often engage with the notion of mundanity, exploring the potential of everyday phenomena and small actions to create change, working with historical archival materials, personal memories, and experiences. It is often characteristic of Alamaa to approach topics through sensitive and controversial angles of North-Eastern European recent history and social critique.

Alamaa is a laureate of the Mathilde Horlait-Dapsens Prize, JAT Prize, Eduard Wiiralt Stipend and a nominee for Silver Needle 2021 and 2024.

Heli Salomaa is a costume designer specialised in digital characters. She has 15 years of experience in dressing up physical and digital bodies on stage, screen and VR. Her work includes costume design for an award-winning video game Control, a multi-player online game Pax Dei and an animation Shadow Work that explores the Jungian idea of the shadow and costume as an emotional state.

Salomaa’s thesis on digitalising analogue methods of costume design was awarded three acknowledgements for pioneering Master’s research 2018 (Aalto University). Currently, she is leading an education program in digital fashion and costume design in Victoria University Wellington.

Maila Juns-Verde is a ceramicist, artist and a design expert. She works as the head teacher of Design at the Kuressaare Vocational School. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Estonia and abroad, the most important ones being Kuressaare Raegalerii, WOW Experience Centre, Åland and B7 cooperation projects.

Mikko Vihanto is a Development Specialist and a Bachelor of Business Administration graduate from Xamk, with a specialization in sales and marketing. He has over two years of experience working at Xamk in various projects and roles, ranging from project manager to startup specialist. Throughout his time at Xamk, he has consistently worked with student entrepreneurship. In his current role, he is also responsible for planning and mapping pathways to commercialize innovations emerging from RDI projects. 

During his studies, Vihanto was an active member of Patteri ES, Xamk’s student entrepreneurship society, where he also served as chairperson. In this role, he contributed to organizing the region’s largest startup event, the *ship Startup Festival, in 2023 and 2024.

Patrick Du Wors is a Canadian performance designer, working in a wide range of performance styles and production scales. From classical opera and text-based theatre to contemporary devised work, Patrick's work has been recognized across Canada and internationally.  Exhibitions include The Canadian National Exhibition at the 2015 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design, World Stage Design 2017 (Taipei), and Critical Costume 2020 Exhibition (Oslo).

His design credits include opera and musical theatre, like Die Fledermaus (Edmonton Opera) and Figaro’s Wedding (AtG), contemporary works such as The Wedding Party (ATP) and The Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst (ATP/Ghost River). He has contributed to productions like Giant (Ghost River) and #UncleJohn (Banff Centre/AtG/COC), as well as classic plays including Death of a Salesman & As You Like It and A Streetcar Named Desire (Blue Bridge Rep). His credits also include dramas like Turn of the Screw (Belfry) and productions like Chasing the Moment (Arcola Theatre, London UK).

Patrick designed and curated the Canadian National Exhibition Shared [private] Space at the 2015 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design (PQ) and served on the World Stage Design 2017 selection jury for the Immerging Artist category. For the 2019 and 2023 editions of PQ Patrick curated the Prague Quadrennial's educational platform – PQ.

Patrick is an Associate Professor at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. He is a graduate of the University of Alberta's MFA Theatre Design program and apprenticed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK.

Peter Hertel-Storm (mag. Art., Ph.D.) is an associate professor at the UCL University of Applied Sciences in the program of Online Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education. He has experience in teaching philosophy of science, ethics, and philosophy of cognition, learning and digitalisation. Hertel-Storm has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from the University of Osnabrück.

Petra Kaksonen is a Vancouver-based Finnish designer and creative director with over 25 years of experience in publishing, marketing, and advertising.

She has held senior roles including Art Director at Westcoast Homes & Design magazine, Design Manager at The Vancouver Sun and The Province newspapers, and most recently Art Director at Business in Vancouver magazine. In these positions, she specialized in integrated brand and consumer marketing campaigns for major initiatives such as the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Petra continues to lead her own design agency, serving a diverse range of clients in Vancouver.

Petra is also the founder of Montuuk Oy, a design studio focused on designing and manufacturing innovative lifestyle products for the global premium markets.

Petra's work in surface design includes prints and textiles for the home decor sector in collaboration with global partners across North America, Japan, Europe, and the Middle East. Recent projects include luxury rugs, bespoke home textiles, apparel design, and pattern licensing for both independent brands and private hospitality clients.

Over the years, Petra has contributed her expertise to the community through several volunteer roles with the Scandinavian Centre, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the York House School Society, and the Minerva Foundation. Her solo travels have taken her to more than 50 countries across five continents.

Dedicated to building purpose-driven creative careers with a global perspective, Petra seeks to inspire and encourage students to broaden their worldview and embrace cultural richness as they start out.

Sabina Akhmetova is a Digital International Business graduate from Xamk with strong experience in leading international teams and a passion for event management.

Since 2022, she has been an active member of Patteri ES, a student-run organization dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem in the Kymenlaakso and South Savo regions. Akhmetova has also been part of the organizing team of the region’s largest international startup event, *ship Startup Festival, taking on roles from volunteer to Startup and Mentor Coordinator, where she invited top coaches and speakers and oversaw startup activities.

In her current role at Patteri ES, Akhmetova manages daily operations and community support across Xamk’s four campuses, Kouvola, Kotka, Mikkeli, and Savonlinna, while leading events and initiatives that connect students with entrepreneurship and support young founders.

Salla Salin is a Finnish artist based in Helsinki, Finland, who currently works as a visual artist. Her practice is informed by investigations on the structures and concepts of reality, reflecting an understanding of space as a complex weft of relations varying from tangible matter to temporal, ecological and social dimensions. Working via several media, both as a solo artist and in various collaborative projects, she creates art manifested often in immersive installations and/or interdisciplinary ventures.

Salin has graduated with an MFA degree both in visual art (2014) and performing arts (2005). She has been awarded with several artistic grants and her work has been widely exhibited and performed both in Finland and internationally.

Sandra Liberal is the co-founder and director of Lantoki, a contemporary sewing school and creative studio based in Barcelona.

With a background in Fashion Design, Liberal graduated from Istituto Europeo di Design Barcelona and she has over 13 years of experience in the textile and creative sector. She has developed a unique approach that combines design, sustainability, and education.

Since co-founding Lantoki in 2013, Liberal has been dedicated to bringing contemporary sewing to a diverse audience through classes, original patterns, and collaborative projects. Her expertise focuses on responsible design, artisanal production, and building creative communities. 

Shrimun Padmanav Chakraborty is a Programme Assistant in Stakeholder Engagement & Content Creation at South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences. He is a seasoned content specialist and media strategist with over two decades of experience in television, digital media, advertising, and film production.

Chakraborty began his career as a trainee journalist during the 1999 Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan and went on to work with leading Indian broadcasters such as STAR News, Doordarshan, CNN-IBN, and India TV. His creative leadership has shaped award-winning campaigns and programming, including the Gillette Shave India Movement which earned Gold and Silver at Cannes Lions.

Shrimun has held senior roles at Network18, iTV Network, and Fortune Talkies, where he led branded content and event divisions, generating multi-million revenues through strategic storytelling and brand integration.

Internationally, he has contributed to Hollywood productions in California and a sitcom series in Toronto. He is the founder of Maaxegen Enterprises, a creative agency that has delivered campaigns for global brands such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Tata Steel, and YES BANK. Currently based in Finland, he serves as an Education Assistant at Xamk, where he supports educational media content encompassing 360° stakeholder management and internationalization efforts, bringing global perspectives to the academic and cultural landscape of Kymenlaakso.

Srishti Jain works as an International Coordinator at the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences. She is a strategic communications professional with a decade of experience while working with national and international brands in India, Southeast Asia and GCC.

She specializes in building impactful narratives for international brands and high-growth startups, with expertise in strategic communications, crisis management, and stakeholder engagement.

In her current job Srishti manages incoming exchange students at the Kouvola campus. She is also involved in supporting the international student community through her work with Patteri ES – the Entrepreneurship Society of Xamk. Additionally, she has led communications for DEI campaigns and has managed large-scale events such as the *ship Startup Festival 2025. She also contributes as a lecturer, teaching marketing, sales and communications.

Previously, Srishti has directed multi-market communication strategies for brands like Livspace, a unicorn startup in India, and Amway. Her work included orchestrating unicorn announcements across India, Southeast Asia, and the GCC, as well as leading award-winning crisis communication campaigns that safeguarded brand reputation during challenging times. Srishti holds Master’s in International Business Management from South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences.

Passionate about sustainability, DEI, and emerging technologies, Srishti brings a unique perspective on how storytelling and innovation can drive meaningful change in today’s digital-first world.

Photo: Iina Ruokola

Timo Rissanen (he/him) is an Associate Professor in Fashion and Textiles at the University of Technology Sydney. His research takes design-led approaches to sustainability and social justice in fashion and textiles.

As a queer artist Rissanen works across cross-stitch, installation and performance, on issues of ecologies, politics and love. He has published two books on fashion and sustainability, Zero Waste Fashion Design with Holly McQuillan (2016; second edition 2023) and Shaping Sustainable Fashion with Alison Gwilt (2011). With Kate Fletcher, Mathilda Tham and Lynda Grose, he is a founding member of the Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion. 

Daniel González Franco (Spain/Colombia) is an interdisciplinary researcher, immersive artist, and entrepreneur. He co-founded BeAnotherLab, the creators of The Machine to Be Another, an embodied VR system exploring identity, empathy, and human perception. His work has been internationally recognized with the European Social Innovation Competition, Laval Virtual Awards, multiple Ars Electronica Honors, and N.I.C.E. Awards.

Among his notable projects is the VR/dance hybrid piece Eve, Dance is an Unplaceable Place, which won the VR Grand Prize at the Kaohsiung Film Festival in Taiwan. Daniel focuses on leveraging immersive technology to foster empathy and social innovation.

Daniel Sabio is a Puerto Rican conceptual artist and XR developer based in Barcelona. His work bridges audiovisual performance, immersive installations, and digital technologies, often exploring the intersections of science, spirituality, and human emotion.

Sabio’s projects have been featured in prominent international festivals and exhibitions, including Ars Electronica, Venice Biennale, ISEA, FILE, LEV, and DreamHack, and presented in galleries in Shanghai, Tokyo, New York, and Berlin. He collaborates with commercial brands, including Grammy-winning musicians, Under Armour, and Super Nintendo World. Daniel is also a professor at La Salle Barcelona, teaching AI animation and artistic system design in the Master’s program for Digital Art and Creative Technology.

Marc Gálvez is a VR developer and UX designer with a degree in Video Game Design and Development from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (CITM).

He has worked at Espronceda Institute of Art and Culture as VR Developer and Project Manager, at Digital Twin Technology in Germany as UX/UI Designer, and in the U.S. Ready Teddy project, creating serious games for children in MRI environments.

His artistic collaborations include Temples del Zenit by Enric Pladevall and immersive drone-based light painting with Ars Electronica Futurelab. He has also designed inclusive VR experiences such as Beat the Impact and developed platforms including Inmensiva and the Mozilla Hubs Virtual Gallery. Gálvez is passionate about merging technology, art, and innovation.

Kris Pilcher is an award-winning mixed reality artist, and researcher, pioneering the use of immersive technologies to explore art, culture, and human experience. With over 15 years of professional practice, Pilcher’s work blends augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and spatial computing to create transformative installations and performances that challenge the boundaries between physical and digital worlds. 

His projects have been featured at leading international venues and festivals including Ars Electronica, Cannes XR, and VRHAM!, and he is a research affiliate at , and Georgia State University Creative Media Industries Institute. A strong advocate for the role of art in shaping sustainable and equitable futures, Pilcher integrates technological innovation with cultural research to inspire empathy, awareness, and collective imagination.

MA, Researcher and facilitator of interdisciplinary co-design. Visionary leader, pedagogue, and networks manager in arts, design, and creative industries. Previous positions at cultural foundations, performing arts centers, theatres, and educational institutions. Doctoral Researcher at Aalto University, Finland, Art and Media focusing on knowledge work and systems thinking in the intersection of technology-design-art, integrating performative inquiry and art-based methods to inform design processes, constructing a pedagogical and operational model for higher education purposes.

Alina Viontsek works at Xamk’s Creative Industries Research Unit and is a project worker in the Time for (S) Heroes project. She contributes to the development of the digital portal by focusing on user-centred design, visual communication and UX/UI research and development, ensuring a cohesive and accessible digital experience.

Alina also leads the development and coordination of the project’s Communication Ambassador initiative, working across concept design and international collaboration.

With experience in EU-funded creative industry projects, she works across co-creation, digital development and service design–oriented tasks in multidisciplinary teams. Alina’s multilingual and multicultural background (Finnish, English, Russian, Italian) supports cross-cultural communication. Her experience in a Finnish design brand’s retail environment has strengthened her understanding of customer behaviour, fashion-sector context and empathetic, service-oriented interaction, shaping her user-focused approach to design.

Carine Fabritius is an RDI specialist at Xamk and a visual artist. Her mediums are installation art, photography, textile art, moving images, and new technologies, particularly AR. She is interested in virtual spaces, interaction, spatiality, and scale distortion in artworks. She has exhibited her work in various galleries and art museums across Finland. She is currently doing a PhD at Aalto University, focusing on human-computer interaction and artistic research. Fabritius received her MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts Helsinki.

Matti Halén works as RDI Specialist / Drama Pedagogue at the Creative Industries Research Unit at Xamk. The Drama Pedagogue designs and implements a series of workshops that interpret heroism, focusing on inclusive, ecological, and everyday aspects. This includes reinterpreting European hero myths with young participants and exploring local heroism through values, actions, and decisions. The goal is to create interpretations or stories of heroism, which will be refined into inspirational material and shared via a digital portal. 

Halén is a versatile theatre maker, producer, and educator with extensive experience in the performing arts, both in Finland and international projects. His areas of expertise include directing, pedagogy, audience engagement, acting and scriptwriting.

In 2015, Halén co-founded the performing arts collective Paraabeli with Iiris Autio. Alongside its touring theatre productions, Paraabeli provides training, consultancy, and audience outreach, often addressing themes like freedom, courage, responsibility, and power.  

Halén has worked as an educator and director in various roles, responsible for designing curriculum and teaching different aspects of theatre. Through his role as a school coach, he has gained valuable experience working with young people focusing on community building, emotional education, and anti-bullying efforts. 

With a broad background that also includes entrepreneurship and experience as a software specialist, Halén brings a unique perspective to multidisciplinary projects combining creativity with practical problem-solving.

Kati Viljakainen is an RDI specialist at the Creative Industries Research Unit at Xamk. She works in a role supporting service design, sustainability, and project coordination, drawing on her previous experience in the fashion retail sector and insights into customer behavior in services.

Kati Viljakainen is a skilled Service Designer (MA) with a background in fashion and clothing (BA) and studies in decision-making phenomena within behavioral sciences. Viljakainen possesses extensive expertise in RDI projects focused on foresight, communication, and skills development. She has a great understanding of user-centered design and collaborative approaches that drive innovation.  

In her previous roles, she has gained valuable experience in various positions within the fashion retail sector, working closely with apparel industry supply chains. This experience has equipped her with insights into market trends, customer behavior, and the complexities of product life-cycle management. 

Maarit Kalmakurki holds a Doctor of Arts degree (Aalto University 2021) and her thesis investigated digital character costume design in computer-animated feature films. This pioneering work has been recognized internationally in the New York Times and by Walt Disney Animation.

In 2019, Maarit received the Herbert D. Greggs Honor Award from the United States Institute of Theater Technology (USITT) and the TD&T Publications Committee for her costume history article “The King and His Costumes”. Maarit has conducted practice-led research by digitally reconstructing historical clothing in Refashioning the Renaissance and Visualising Lost Theatres research projects. Maarit’s over 20-year creative career includes multiple costume and set designs on productions ranging from opera and musicals to drama and children’s theater. At Xamk, Maarit works as a lecturer and a degree head for Digital & performance costume- degree program.

In the Time for (S) Heroes project, Maarit works as a digital design specialist, focusing on digital costume and fashion design. 

Photo: Harri Hinkka

Dr. Mikhail Nemilentsev works as RDI Principal Lecturer at the Department of Business and as RDI Expert at the Creative Industries Research Unit at Xamk. With entrepreneurship and financial background, Mikhail works closely with international individuals and teams of entrepreneurs as a mentor, educator, trainer, and facilitator. Innovation and entrepreneurship are two majors for Dr. Nemilentsev. He has two doctoral degrees and international pedagogical qualification.

Dr. Nemilentsev designed and implemented a number of international funded projects as well as served as the co-organizer in innovation hackathons and innovation camps in Finland and abroad.

Minna Porvari (BA) is an RDI specialist at the Creative Industries Research Unit at Xamk. Her skill set focuses on design thinking, gamification, and content production in research, development, and innovation (RDI) projects both nationally in Finland and in international projects.

Her content production expertise spans social media, graphic design, and creative writing, with the competence to leverage different creative tools and technologies. 

Her role in Time for (S) Heroes is coordinating, supporting, and making hands-on communications and dissemination activities with an especial focus on planning and updating the project website contents. She will actively collaborate with all partners and project managers in both external and internal communications. 

Kristel is Tallinn Business Incubator’s project manager with more than 15 years of experience in business consulting, marketing and education. At the same time, export and international cooperation have been consistent features, working in various roles in both the private and public sectors.  

In Time for (S)heroes project she will be responsible for activities in Estonia and generating new ideas and concepts for the project in general.   

In the Business Incubator, Kristel has taken on the topics of the circular economy and having obtained a master's degree in science communication at the University of Dalarna in Sweden. Among other things, Kristel has also completed the "Green turn management" micro-degree program jointly organized by Tallinn University of Technology and Tallinn University, and besides that Tallinn University of Technology's 2-month training module "Practical implementation of the circular economy in the company".  

Continuous know-how growth, innovativeness, openness and creativity in finding the best solutions best characterize Kristel.

Margaret is Marketing Manager in Tallinn Business Incubator and will be responsible for communication activities in Estonia during the Time for (S)heroes project.  

Margaret has a previous background in communications and marketing. She majored in public relations at Tallinn University's BFM Institute and has master's degree in European Studies from University of Tartu.   

Margaret has worked for various organizations and projects, such as PÖFF and the European Parliament, where she has been involved in social media content creation, marketing and communications.

Monika Pärnsalu is business consultant in Tallinn Business Incubator and she is also responsible for developing and supporting creative entrepreneurs in the incubator.  

In Time for (S)heroes project she will be responsible for activities in Estonia and generating new ideas and concepts for the project in general.  

Monika has long and comprehensive work experience in foreign trade in Tallinn and five years in London. In addition, she graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Tartu and an MBA from the Estonian Business School in international business management (with a specialization in marketing). In 2024 she finished her master’s degree in Ceramics in the Estonian Academy of Arts.  

She also has entrepreneurial experience in the field of design. She likes to generate new ideas and implement them. 

Krista Petäjäjärvi (MA) is a Helsinki-based artist and developer whose interests revolve around art in societal renewal and sustainability. She believes in cross-border collaborations as a key to creating more sustainable futures and aims to facilitate practical methodologies, skill-building, and supportive policies to achieve this goal. This area of expertise is also the subject of her ongoing PhD research at the University of Lapland's Faculty of Arts and Design. Since 2021, Krista has worked at the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture Secretariat in Riga, where she serves as an Expert in Arts-Based Innovations. Her work entails design and initiation of new projects, fundraising, project management and expertise. 

In the Time for (S) Heroes project Krista is the project manager from the NDPC side ensuring that NDPC can support the project implementation in the best possible manner. 

Giulia Gotti is the Communications Manager at the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture Secretariat (NDPC) in Riga, Latvia, promoting cultural cooperation in Northern Europe and beyond. She holds a master’s in Cultural Encounters and Communication from Roskilde University in Denmark, with a bachelor's in Modern Literature from the University of Bologna in Italy. Previously, she worked as an engagement assistant in the Green Transition Policy Group at Copenhagen Business School and in the branding department of the global medical company Coloplast, as well as organised various social and artistic initiatives at cultural centres across Italy, Poland, and Denmark. She writes freelance about European independent culture; at NDPC, she currently leads communication efforts on various international projects, with a special focus on cross-sectoral collaboration.

Dace Resele has extensive professional skills in the development of the cultural and creative industries in the Northern Dimension area.

She has acknowledged expertise in the future thinking of this industry and how new pathways of livelihoods and societal impact can be facilitated forward. Since 2019 being the head of the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture secretariat she has valuable connections and networks to the CCI practitioners, networks, and policy makers in all Northern Dimension countries and wider in EU.

In this project Daces role is to connect the project aims and findings to the wider contexts of CCIs development in ND and EU in wide and support the project group in its work to achieve best possible impact.

Agnese Kore has an extensive career as a project manager and board member at the Latvian Technological Center, where she has been actively involved in EU initiatives to foster innovation and support SMEs. Her role in Time (S) Heroes leverages her expertise in strategic planning, event coordination, and business support consulting. LTC has the lead responsibility of Design Wave festival management. 

Since 2001, Agnese has contributed to key EU programs like FP6/7, INTERREG, and Horizon 2020, focusing on innovation transfer, sustainability, and SME competitiveness. Her expertise includes managing projects such as EEN Latvia, supporting SMEs through matchmaking, technology profiling, and partnerships, and coordinating support for companies in need. 

She has also organized large conferences, including the Baltic Dynamics series, led national workshops, and supervised the Baltic region’s Innovation Week.

Agnese has extensive knowledge in branding and marketing, with a strong understanding of strategies to boost brand visibility and engagement. She excels in creating and implementing effective marketing campaigns that align with business goals. 

Erihs Zaharans has worked at Latvian Technological Center since 2022 as an assistant to the project managers, working mostly with art and design, drawing illustrations for various commercial uses, as well as developing front-end website designs for the company and projects. 

Erihs has hands-on experience with large-scale events, and his and LTC’s responsibility in Time for (S) Heroes is organizing the Design Wave festival and taking care of the public relations related to the event. 

Erihs’ professional experience is also highly related to art and design, and he is currently studying for a bachelor's degree in game design and development. For him, game and design are the modern-day media for art; fashion, history, and modeling, all compile into it. Erihs has been doing art all his life with the guidance of his father—a well-known Latvian caricature artist, Zemgus Zaharans. Erihs is following in his footsteps doing art and design. 

Inese Balina has 24 years of professional experience in finance and accounting. She has higher education in economics in business management, professional bookkeeping certificate, professional development, and education in international accounting standards. Inese has experience with 16 European projects as a financial manager, preparing financial reports for the Latvian government, sworn audits, and other institutions. 

Inese’s role in Time for (S) Heroes involves managing finances of the project at LTC. 

Ints Viksna has been involved in innovation support and technology transfer since 1993. With an engineering background and extensive experience in entrepreneurship, he possesses remarkable knowledge regarding company scaling, technology development, and transfer.  

For 10 years, Ints managed a technology-oriented business incubator. He also has significant experience in various EU projects. Ints has a wide network of contacts in research, entrepreneurship, and policymaking, which helps in organizing investment events, mentoring sessions, company missions, matchmaking events, and exhibition booths. 

Ints’ strategy and vision, project work planning, communication with the European Commission and Latvian government institutions, and  consulting on funding and business support are his primary  responsibilities as a board member of the Latvian Technological Center. He also oversees project participation from Latvia. 

Andreas Kosmoswicz has been programming since his youth, building up a strong technical foundation over many years. He is the founder and owner of KosmosKosmos Webentwicklung (since 2011), with a focus on web and app projects; he also leads initiatives like festiware and serve on the board of cultural organizations such as the Ancient Trance Festival and Maultrommel e.V. 

Andreas excels at networking, actively promoting the resilience of free culture by supporting creative projects, and his newest venture is an AI consulting company where he helps organizations strategically harness artificial intelligence. 

Martin Schiel has many years of experience working with OctoberCMS. He specializes in requirement analysis and implementation of customer needs for complex web projects. He focuses on developing intelligent database structures and intuitive user interfaces to ensure both efficiency and high usability. 

Martin’s approach combines technical expertise with a strong orientation toward customer goals at every stage of the project. 

Mathias Pürzl has been gaining experience in programming since 1992. After completing his training as an industrial technologist at Siemens AG and studying physics, he completed his master's degree in art education. Since then, Mathias has worked as a freelance and employed web programmer. 

Mathias’ skills include experience with PHP, JavaScript, SQL, HTML, CSS, Unix servers, and C++, as well as knowledge of user interface development. 

Maria Mantzakou manages the administrative and financial aspects of the European projects involved in this initiative, ensuring seamless coordination between stakeholders.

Her role includes overseeing project budgets, timelines, and compliance with EU funding guidelines. Additionally, she plays a key part in selecting and supporting resident artists, working closely with curators to facilitate a successful collaboration. Her expertise ensures that the project’s operational aspects align with its creative and research goals, fostering a productive environment for all participants.

With several years of experience in coordinating content and projects for virtual and museological initiatives, Maria Mantzakou now specializes in the administration and financial management of European projects, such as Horizon, Creative Europe, and Erasmus+. At Lemongrass/ESPRONCEDA, Institute of Art & Culture, she oversees both national and international projects, managing budgets and operational strategies.

In addition to her administrative expertise, Maria Mantzakou leads the selection process for resident artists on various European projects, providing crucial support for residencies. She works closely with curators and staff to ensure that exhibitions and events are executed smoothly. Her experience in managing creative projects and her ability to align financial strategies with artistic goals make her an essential figure in this project, helping to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.

Maria Rúbies Vistuer is responsible for driving communication, content production, and public relations for this project. As a co-founder of Lemongrass Communications, which manages ESPRONCEDA, she oversees the promotion of the initiative across various platforms, helping to amplify its impact.

Her role also involves curating seminars, workshops, and managing collaborations with international partners, ensuring the project’s objectives reach a wider audience through targeted PR strategies.

Maria Rúbies Vistuer is the co-founder of Lemongrass Communications, a Barcelona-based PR agency that has worked with high-profile clients like Zynga and Pinterest. Lemongrass Communications manages ESPRONCEDA – Institute of Art & Culture, a platform for research and creation in contemporary and new media arts, science, and education. In 2015, she co-founded My Magic Story, a start-up specializing in personalized children's books.

With over 15 years of experience in marketing, communication, and business development, Maria Rúbies Vistuer leads national and international projects focused on content production, seminars, and workshops within ESPRONCEDA. She plays a key role in managing public relations and communication strategies for various initiatives, ensuring their successful promotion and execution. Her strong background in PR and project management is critical in amplifying the visibility and impact of this project, as she fosters meaningful connections between stakeholders.

Gerardo Rangel García is part of Xamk’s Creative Industries team, serving as the Communication Specialist Ambassador for Time for (S) Heroes in Mexico. His work focuses on representing the project within educational and creative communities, strengthening its international presence, and building bridges between Mexican institutions and the European consortium.

With a strong focus on UX research, Gerardo contributes to the development of the project’s digital portal by conducting interviews with students and faculty, analyzing user needs, and generating content based on real insights. His work supports the design team’s decision-making process by integrating local perspectives and proposing improvements for operational efficiency.

Gerardo brings experience from creative and academic projects in both Mexico and Finland, where he has participated in co-creation activities, process analysis, and service design. His multidisciplinary background in engineering, sustainable design, and project management allows him to connect analytical thinking with applied creativity.