Ecosummit Ambassadors are planetfriendly university graduates with international background who aim at a career in the Smart Green Economy. Ecosummit Ambassadors support us before and during Ecosummit Berlin on 4-5 June 2013. The deal is simple: As ambassador you get a free ECO13 ticket and work 50% of your time on conference set up, registration, speaker management, participant service, microphone runner and cloakroom. Moreover, ambassadors get involved in the development and promotion of our new online platform Ecosummit Market. We selected 23 Ecosummit Ambassadors and our ECO13 Berlin team is complete. Check out Ecosummit London 2013 for your next chance to become Ecosummit Ambassador.

The photo above shows the Ecosummit team and ambassadors on stage at ECO12 Düsseldorf. Below are some more photos of happy ambassadors. Please note that we do not cover any travel expenses.

We kindly ask our ambassadors to arrive at the Radialsystem on Monday, 3 June, no later than 10:00, and stay until Wednesday, 5 June, 19:00. Monday is the set up day of the conference during which we need your helping hands. It also enables us to foster team building and make sure that everybody knows what to do when and how. We will provide you with a manual and shift plan prior to the event. After the event, you will get an Ecosummit Ambassador Certificate from us which you can use for future applications.

Please apply by sending us your English CV and motivation email to ambassador@ecosummit.net. The application is open until we have reached 23 ambassadors. We appreciate if you connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and help us spread the word. We are grateful for your support and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Now it’s time to meet our awesome team of Ecosummit Berlin 2013 Ambassadors:

Ecosummit Ambassador Li Wah Wong from Malaysia: I am a PhD candidate at the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam (GFZ). My field of research is Geothermal Energy. In 2011, I participated in the Contextual Learning Journey of Climate-KIC, a programme of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Meanwhile, I am co-founder of a Climate-KIC funded project called Energy Atlas which develops a holistic decision making and planning tool providing integrated assessment of energy demand, energy balancing and planning based on a virtual 3D city model of Berlin. In the past, I worked as a software engineer for IBM and as computer systems engineer for Micron Technology. Joining Ecosummit Berlin 2013 as ambassador will be a lot of fun!

Ecosummit Ambassador Liina Tonisson from Estonia: Last year I graduated from the Sustainable Development master program at University of Leipzig and wrote my master thesis about Intellectual Property related services for Clean Technology Companies in Europe. I have continued my studies on PhD level investigating technology transfer issues among European cleantech companies. I have been lucky to conduct interviews with 25 CEO and technology/IP managers during the year 2012. The interviews gave me lots of insights to what are the main issues for green technology developments in EU and enough research topics to carry out my PhD studies. Ecosummit is closely correlated to my field of interest and thus I am very motivated to participate.

Ecosummit Ambassador Diana Süsser from Germany: Because it was a pleasure to participate as ambassador in Ecosummit Düsseldorf 2012, I would like to contribute to the success of ECO13 in Berlin, too. I am a PhD student at the Institute of Coastal Research of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht doing research on regional climate change adaptation strategies. Related to my research I develop an agent-based planning and decision-making tool to promote integrated coastal management strategies and technological solutions for protecting our coastal regions. Because I worked as research assistant in the field of climate and energy economics and policy in the past, and participated in the EIT Climate-KIC Journey in 2011, I see my responsibility to make a contribution to put research results into smart low-carbon and green businesses. To join ECO13 and to work within such a great team will be great!

Ecosummit Ambassador David Hentschel from Germany: Having had the honour of taking part in last year’s Ecosummit in Berlin, I was able get to know the smart green technology scene, mingle with its forerunners, mavens and entrepreneurs and get in touch with many of the ideas that will soon make up our everyday. It was an inspiring experience and I have had a good time. Pitching in with some of the jobs involved in the implementation of a project of this scale was a natural and important part of my experience. While on my sabbatical last year, I started exploring the problem of really motivating people to save carbon dioxide in their everyday life in order to ultimately stop or at least slow global warming. My answer now is: be positive and measure the effects. I am currently working on an engine that will allow for personalization of carbon footprint reduction measures so that people can start owning their footprint. Combine that with a psychology that instead of avoidance mechanism uses stimulation and social reward and you got my project. The plan is to use this as a basis to a for-profit company, so that green living will not forever rely on NGOs only, however crucial they were in advancing the green imparative so far.

Ecosummit Ambassador Anna Yukiko Bickenbach from Germany: I am currently living the exciting life of a social entrepreneur in Berlin with the mission to marry technology and sustainability to create real behavior change. This conglomoration of positive green possibilities is currently known as the startup Ecotastic. Having studied Integrated Natural Resource Management at the Humboldt University Berlin and, in parallel, having gained knowledge in Design Thinking at the Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking, it soon became clear that I needed to use my acquired knowledge to enhance the forces of innovation in the world of sustainability. Not only am I, and my ecotastic colleagues, interested in changing individual behavior, but my master thesis The Relational Relevance of Corporate Social Responsibility in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises towards Sustainable Change has also strongly contributed to the curiosity of business behavior in the field of sustainability. I see the ECO13 Berlin as a fantastic opportunity to mingle and meet like-minded individuals who are looking for creative ways to support Gaia.

Ecosummit Ambassador Sebastien Treguer from France: I am an entrepreneur with a math and IT background. I apply my time and energy at the crossroads of IT and cleantech, driving innovation toward projects with a positive environmental and social impact. Currently I work on Eel Energy, an early stage startup in marine energy, developing a breakthrough technology to produce clean energy from marine currents with a biomimicry approach. After graduating with a master’s degree specialized in signal processing, I decided to open my horizon by choosing a hands-on experience program, HEC-Entrepreneur, a post master’s degree made of 6 real missions for entrepreneurs. After a few years in the banking industry, I stepped out to give more sense to my activities, and what is better than driving innovation and financial resources toward projects with a positive impact for our environment and society. As a result, I chose to shift from corporates to startup and from banking to cleantech. As in nature, it is more important to foster your ecosystem and share some of your energy and resources rather than focusing on your own development. That’s the reason why I am happy to join the team of Ecosummit Ambassadors for the 3rd year in a row.

Ecosummit Ambassador Ben George Kaippallil from India: I am an Indian student pursuing a Masters degree in Solar engineering at the Technical University of Berlin. I come from a country where half the population still does not have access to electricity and hence it is torn between the needs of a growing and aspiring economy versus the need to protect our environment. For a developing country it could be very easy for us to shrug our shoulders and say that pollution and climate change is not our problem, but any quick fix solution to our troubles will only end badly. Sustainability is the need of the hour and renewable energy has the advantage of being both abundant and free; we only need to harness it. Prior to coming to Berlin, I have had four years of work experience as a manufacturing design engineer. I wish to use these skills and apply them to the renewable energy industry. Efficiencies obtained in the laboratories are very high and the only reason as to why they cannot be brought to the market is because their manufacturing costs are much too high. The aim of my studies is to streamline these manufacturing processes and try to bring down the costs. It is a privilege to be a part of Ecosummit Berlin 2013 and contribute to its success by being an ambassador representing both my country and the climate change initiative.

Ecosummit Ambassador Lillian van Someren Greve from USA: While working a startup booth at Code_n at CeBIT 2013, I felt motivated and proud to work amongst the founders of inspirational planet-friendly startups. They all want to change the world. I am a Berlin-based American with EU citizenship and speak German, English, and Dutch fluently. I attended the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, where I earned a dual degree in International Business and Marketing. I quickly focused on logistics as a career choice. At the time I believed the most efficient and effective methods for decreasing our carbon emissions were to change our supply chains. We need to modernize the process so no more empty or half-full containers are being shipped. After I completed my degree, I joined the Pacific Coast Feather Company (PCF) in Seattle, WA, as Operations Analyst where I further developed my logistical skills. I worked with various departments to optimize internal operations and supply chain. I worked simultaneously on successfully managing the operations, recruiting, marketing, and budgeting of the semi-annual warehouse sales, bringing in an average of $100.000 in gross sales.

Ecosummit Ambassador Julian Kuhlmann from Germany: I am a PhD student at the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ in Potsdam. A colleague of mine suggested the work as an ambassador at Ecosummit as a great way to meet people involved in green businesses and to help with the organization of a complex, meaningful event. As I will complete my PhD studies within this year, I am constantly looking for ways to get in contact with people who are using smart technology to create a way of doing business in an ecologically sound way. On the one hand, I see it as an opportunity to meet potential future employers, on the other hand, I am looking for inspirational ideas in general.

Ecosummit Ambassador Mana Taheri from Iran: Growing up in Iran, a country with major environmental problems yet poor sustainable governance, has been ironically the reason for my passion for sustainable and green solutions. I grew up in Tehran, one of the most polluted cities in the world; according to Iran’s health minister, during the first nine months of 2012, some 4.460 people died from air pollution in Tehran. The state’s approach in tackling this fundamental problem has been the announcement of public holidays every now and then, in an attempt to ease the chronic pollution. So I became interested in search for alternative, sustainable ways during my Bachelor studies in Economics in Tehran. Luckily I had the opportunity of pursuing a Master degree in Economics and Management at Humboldt University in Berlin, the capital of Europe’s green leader. I started learning from my new environment; choosing lectures and seminars such as management of sustainable development, environmental and resource economics, and games of international environmental cooperation have helped me gain profound theoretical knowledge in these fields. Moreover, studying Design Thinking at HPI taught me how to apply the knowledge I have gained in order to rethink and redesign. It was there when I realized how individuals from different backgrounds and with great passion for their society and environment can make things happen.

Ecosummit Ambassador Dr. Fabio D’Andreagiovanni from Italy: I have received my Bachelor and Master of Science in Industrial Engineering at Sapienza Università di Roma and then I started a fantastic PhD experience in Operations Research, during which I also spent one year as invited Research Scholar at Columbia University in the City of New York. After my PhD, I have spent one year as Post-Doc at Sapienza Università di Roma and then I was offered a Post-Doc position in the Department of Optimization of Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB), where I currently work. My research is essentially devoted to developing advanced optimization models and algorithms for the solution of real-world problems. I am extremely interested in contributing to ECO13 as ambassador. This is a perfect occasion to meet international entrepreneurs who look at the future, getting updated on new business challenges connected to environmental issues. Moreover, I want to extend my knowledge about green networking, a topic that I have recently started to investigate within an industrial project with Nokia Siemens Networks who are interested in reaching a more environment-friendly management of its nation-wide networks.

Ecosummit Ambassador Sara Zuluaga from Colombia and Portugal: I am an enthusiastic learner, world traveler, auditor/consultant and sustainability passionate who lived in 4 different countries (Colombia, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland). I have a Master’s degree in Business Administration and work on specializing in sustainable development with emphasis on corporate sustainability (development of processes and behaviors). Due to my work, I have to travel a lot for business. This gives me the opportunity to meet and work with people from very different cultures and backgrounds and enables me to investigate the different approaches countries have towards environmental, social and sustainability issues. I believe that an Ecosummit Ambassador should not only act and embody the organization she represents, but should also be the face and transmit the attitude of what we are about. Ecosummit Berlin 2013 will be a perfect opportunity for companies and individuals to expose their ideas on how to make businesses and cities more clean, efficient, sustainable and ultimately more livable.

Ecosummit Ambassador Vasileios Latinos from Greece: I am a PhD candidate under the Chair of Building Technology and Architectural Design of TU Berlin. Along with a colleague of mine, we have established our startup consulting firm Stadt International Urban Consulting, while I am currently working as a researcher for the ICLEI project Work, Welfare and Wealth for Europe. During my studies as a civil engineer with a focus on environmental management and then as a master and PhD student at TU Berlin, I always was very engaged in the research of green and pro-environmental technologies and policies and how global, pro-environmental ideas, concepts and strategies can be transferred and applied locally. Having already participated as Ambassador in the ECO12 Düsseldorf, I can definitely say that it was a pleasure to meet with experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, possible future mentors and business market leaders and I would definitely like to work again with this excellent team for ECO13 Berlin. I am looking forward to listening to inspirational pitches and discussions and learn more about new ventures and promising startups from people, in the position of which hopefully I will be in the future.

Ecosummit Ambassador Baiyun Chen from China: I am Chinese, born in Hunan Province and spent my teenage years in Shenzhen in southern China. Then I went to Beijing for 4 years of undergraduate study and worked for 2 years after graduation. Now I am pursuing a Master Degree in Sustainable Development. I plan to write my master thesis on the topic of the financing of renewable energy companies in China, such as PV and wind energy companies, as wind and solar are taking up most of all investment in renewables globally. The thesis tries to address the oversupply problem in the renewables sector and contribute solutions towards a healthy competitive market in China and over the world. As I plan to interview Chinese and foreign startups and investors, I believe Ecosummit can provide me with an excellent research opportunity for the development of my thesis. Besides, as a graduate-to-be in 2013, I am curious to find out the latest hotspots in the Smart Green Economy and I definitely aim to achieve a career in this specific field.

Ecosummit Ambassador Jozsef Kadar from Hungary: I studied environmental science at Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary, where I am currently working on my PhD thesis about “Social and environment impact of renewable energy sources.” I did interships at the ENERGIAKLUB and Greenpeace Hungary. At these NGOs, my activities included collecting and analysing European and Hungarian environmental data and laws, managing media relations and managing customer relationships. In 2012, I participated in the Climate–KIC programme called the Journey which was a fantastic and very useful academic and teamwork experience. I look forward to joining the Ecosummit Ambassador team in June in Berlin.

Ecosummit Ambassador Katie Meinhold from UK and Germany: I was introduced to Ecosummit by Li Wah Wong, who I meet through Climate-KIC – we both participated in their Contextual Learning Journey, although in different years (I was part of the first batch in 2010). Currently I work at ttz Bremerhaven, a technology transfer center aiming to bridge the gap between science and business in the fields of environment, food and health. Accelerating innovative, green ideas into practice is a key to transforming our current economy and as Ecosummit fits perfectly into this scheme I would gladly be part of it. With my academic background being in nutritional science as well as in sustainable resource management – from which I graduated in 2011 – I now develop and plan new national and international projects in the field of sustainable agriculture and aquaculture and food production processes. Ecosummit 2013 is a great chance for me not only to meet likeminded people with an international background, but also to get new ideas for innovative projects as well as contacts for potential future collaborations.

Ecosummit Ambassador Karina Zittel from Kazakhstan: After Ecosummit Berlin 2012, it is an honour to be part again of such an extraordinary and interesting event. Throughout my experience in event management of events in different countries and of different sizes I can contribute to a great extent to the organization of Ecosummit and provide a pleasant working atmosphere for the participants. Furthermore, I am very excited to get to know entrepreneurs of green technology startups and being inspired by their ambition and ecology-minded view.

Ecosummit Ambassador Björn Petersson from Sweden: I feel honored to join Ecosummit again. For me it’s a great opportunity to be more actively involved with the green movement and to extend my personal network and meeting people with mutual interests. I’ve always been passionate about environmental and climate change issues. I’ve studied eco-tourism and environmental and climate related subjects on university level, and I’ve been following the Scandinavian stock markets as an investor during the last 15 years now, always focusing on environmental friendly technologies. Real change has to start on a personal level, as Ghandi said: “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” In times of global warming and catastrophes worldwide, I still believe that it’s never too late to do as much as possible to keep our planet habitable for future generations.

Ecosummit Ambassador Florence Sara Klement from Czech Republic: I am a Berlin student with Czech-Moroccan roots studying Industrial Engineering and Management in my fourth year at the University of Technology Berlin. Besides my studies, I have been committed in nutrition education of young people with migration background in socially disadvantaged families as founder and chairwoman of the not-for-profit registered association Kulina e.V.. Apart from my employment in the International Office of TU Berlin, I am a student worker in the startup incubating institution Gründungsservice as part of the Centre for Entrepreneurship of TU Berlin. There, I have got the privilege to get an insight into the consultation and support of potential and current startup companies, mostly in the high-tech sector, as well as into event organization and research.

Ecosummit Ambassador David Joklitschke from Germany: I am currently doing my Master Thesis at TU Berlin in Material Science in cooperation with IONYS AG, a cleantech startup working on chemistry for durable construction of green buildings. In my studies my focus is on composite materials, thin films and functional materials. I attended the ISUenergy 2011 summer school of Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin to gain further knowledge about renewable energies. Last year I participated in the Climate-KIC Journey 3 in Berlin, London and Paris where I discovered my interest for climate innovations. I believe that the substitution or treatment of traditional materials with sustainable, smart materials has a very strong impact to climate change. This is why I concentrated on a profound engineering degree program while broadening my ecological knowledge and opening my mind to economic and entrepreneurial activities. This February I joined a Climate-KIC team from the Netherlands to the ARPA-E Summit in Washington DC, one of the world’s biggest cleantech conferences organized by the US government.

Ecosummit Ambassador Simon Becker from Germany: For five years I have been dealing with the field of built environment, surrounding and concerning people in our everyday life. After gymnasium a six months internship in an architect’s office that mainly works with wood as a renewable construction material, approved my conviction to study architecture. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Hamburg I decided to proceed my architecture studies with a Master’s program at the Technische Universität in Berlin. In terms of buildings the debate on energy efficiency and ecological treatment of resources affects us in our everyday work, since almost eighty percent of the goods produced by men is found in built environment. In my opinion, today it is very important to deal with these topics seriously by challenging conventions and digging for innovations to secure equivalent living conditions for following generations. The Ecosummit Ambassadorship is a unique chance to be part of an inventing and collaborating community researching into this topic on a very high and state-of-the-art level. My personal interest in generating new ideas together with people from different cultural, professional and social backgrounds highly motivates me to join the event.

Ecosummit Ambassador Marvin Kant from Germany: I have a business background in technology and innovation management. I also had a fair share of plant and process engineering in my studies. Currently I am putting my experience into practice by assessing all kind of technologies in an IP asset managing and holding company. Especially technologies and innovations in the area of (more) sustainable construction works have aroused my interest a lot lately. Likewise I took advantage of the opportunity to join the Climate-KIC network in 2011 as well as the Climate-KIC Alumni Association in 2012. I gained detailed insights into recent climate change issues and got inspired by a huge variety of climate innovation. I am looking forward to discussing, sharing and extending my experiences of change-making approaches during the Ecosummit Berlin 2013.

Ecosummit Ambassador Christian Hodgson from Germany and USA: It is an honor to partcipate again in ECO13 Berlin as an ambassador. Having followed the event and the industry for a while, I think you are doing a great and important job in linking high-potential smart green startups with the VC community. With experience both in energy and cleantech, as well as in events anywhere from 50 to 500.000 people, I hope to contribute a little bit to making everybody’s participation a great experience. Having lived in ten countries I am especially looking forward to exchanging ideas on cross cultural partnerships. Let us turn the transition to a green economy up a notch!

Tags: Ambassador, Anna Yukiko Bickenbach, Baiyun Chen, Ben George Kaippallil, Björn Petersson, China, Christian Hodgson, Colombia, Czech Republic, David Hentschel, David Joklitschke, Diana Süsser, ECO13 Berlin, Ecosummit Ambassador, Ecosummit Ambassadors, Ecotastic, Estonia, Fabio D'Andreagiovanni, Florence Sara Klement, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Jozsef Kadar, Julian Kuhlmann, Karina Zittel, Katie Meinhold, Kazakhstan, Li Wah Wong, Liina Tonisson, Lillian van Someren Greve, Malaysia, Mana Taheri, Marvin Kant, Portugal, Sara Zuluaga, Sebastien Treguer, Simon Becker, Smart Green Economy, Smart Green Job, Sweden, UK, USA, Vasileios Latinos