Synergy Days Recap: Audiences Show Great Interest in STELAR’s Mission
Synergy Days 2023 kicked off on October 4th in Thessaloniki, Greece and concluded on a high note on October 5th. It was a highly anticipated event in the agricultural and food safety domain which brought together experts, innovators, and agritech enthusiasts from all over the world. Organized by SmartAgriHubs, this event featured a dynamic workshops, insightful discussions, and numerous opportunities for connecting between projects,. They weremostly centred around the crucial topics of digital infrastructure for food safety, data management in agriculture, and sustainable agricultural production.
STELAR-HOLiFOOD Workshop Sees High Turnout
STELAR was a standout project attending the conference on the second day of the conference, with a workshop titled “Novel Digital Infrastructure for Food Safety: Solutions for a Rapidly Changing World.” In collaboration with the HOLiFOOD project, the workshop explored the intersection of artificial intelligence and food safety. It emphasized the importance of digital infrastructure for ensuring safe and sustainable agrifood production.
A stellar lineup of experts led the discussion moderated by HOLiFOOD’s Maria Scherbov:
• Manos Karvounis, the Innovation Team Leader at Agroknow and a key member of the STELAR project consortium.
• Prof. Pablo Fernandez Escamez, a renowned professor in the Agronomic Engineering Department at Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena.
• Dr. Alberto Garre, a dedicated researcher at Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena.
• Vlasis Tsezos, the CEO of Agritrack SA, Innovators in Agriculture Tech.
The workshop started off with a concise presentation by Manos Karvounis who presented the very concept of AI in a way which was understandable even for the novices in the audience.
The workshop later on shed light on the significance of data management in agriculture and the pivotal role of digital infrastructure in the creation of an agrifood data space.
Attendees had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of cutting-edge technologies and solutions for food safety, while also participating in a fun giveaway. This had them leaving the workshop with fitting gifts bearing the STELAR logo.
On the same day, the discussions continued with part 2 of the workshop, where HOLiFOOD led an equally fascinating discussion titled “From Bytes to Bites: How AI & ML Can Safeguard Our Safe Food Supply.” This discussion delved into the role of AI and machine learning in ensuring the safety of our food supply, further underscoring the importance of digital infrastructure in securing food safety.
Project Booth and Presentation Attract Visitors Interested in Knowledge Lakes
The first and second day also witnessed a steady stream of visitors to the project booth, where discussions revolved around engagement and scaling in agrifood data management. Visitors showed special interested in the core concept of STELAR – transforming raw data lakes into Knowledge Lakes. Moreover, agritech experts stopping by the booth were especially intrigued in STELAR’s mission of advancing semantic interoperability of data and providing better ontology experience for users of the planned system the project is developing.
Besides the project booth, the main stage of the Synergy Days conference provided space for STELAR, as well. As part of the conference programme, the project was presented in a rapid 3-minute presentation called the „Pecha Kucha“ format. It provided an opportunity to present the data management project to 200 attendees in a simple and picturesque way that heightened interest in the project.
Source: flickr.com
Overall Feeling: Synergy Days was a Success!
Throughout the event, STELAR and its partners from Agroknow and Foodscale Hub explored synergies with other 28 participating projects. The event highlighted the significance of data management and digital infrastructure in achieving sustainable agricultural production and ensuring food safety in the agri-food sector.
Overall, Synergy Days 2023 was a tremendous success, showcasing how innovative technologies, data management, and sustainable practices are shaping the future of food safety and smart agricultural production.
Source: flickr.com
STELAR Project: Developing a Data Management System Fit for Today’s Needs
STELAR is planning to design, develop and evaluate a Knowledge Lake Management System (KLMS), which consists of a platform and set of tools for enabling simpler data discovery, semantic interoperability and leavng the user with AI-ready data. The idea is to have the system serve players in both food safety and smart agriculture.
To stay in the loop about STELAR’s endeavour, follow our Blog for more, as the project runs until August 2025.