Michael acquired work experience and did his master’s degree in environmental system sciences at the University of Graz. Eight years of work experience and project management experience at the Graz University of Technology in the fields of energy spatial planning and Smart Cities, development of target group-specific calculators for the ecological footprint, development of optimized technology networks for renewable energy technologies. Currently also involved in two European youth education projects in the fields of entrepreneurship skills in Circular Economy along the food supply chain (project partner) and Green Deal skills (coordinator). Currently involved in the YOU SMILE project.

Stephan acquired work experience and did his master’s degree in environmental system sciences at University of Graz in cooperation with Graz University of Technology with special focus on geography, spatial planning, energy and technology. His PhD thesis dealt with an integrated energy and technology development in regions and urban areas and ecological evaluation. He works with a focus on the integration of sustainability, bioeconomy and circular economy in regional planning and development. He has additional experience in knowledge, know-how transfer and education in sustainability, bioeconomy and circular economy in various Erasmus+ projects, as well as the mediation of various regional stakeholders and finding synergies.

Darko is an expert and a project manager with more than 20 years of experience. He has an MSc degree in Economics and Business. Currently, he is a director at MIITR and a project manager. His expertise is in life cycle costing, including production processes, financial literacy, supporting training and education with online tools, etc. He started his career in the banking sector (Raiffeisen Bank, Nova Kreditna Bank Maribor, Sberbank), where he was evaluating Slovenian companies from financial and risk perspectives. Furthermore, he worked at corporate SME, restructuring and investment banking.