Skip to main content
Search
Menu
Phi satellite with AI (cred: ESA/Novaspace)
Photo: ESA/Novaspace

Opening event for ESA Phi-Lab Sweden

Welcome to the inauguration of ESA Phi-Lab Sweden, part of ESA’s European Phi-Lab NET. This initiative strengthens Europe’s position in the global space market by advancing cutting-edge research and applications in AI and Edge Learning for space.

The day begins with an introduction to ESA Phi-Lab Sweden’s mission and thematic focus, followed by a symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony. After a light lunch, the afternoon will offer a conference programme featuring inspiring presentations and forward-looking discussions.

We welcome researchers, start-ups, industry and public sector actors to take part in this important step toward a future where Sweden plays an active role in shaping AI-driven space applications.

Read more about the project.

Opening event and conference
26 Aug 2025
09:00-17:00
Drottning Kristinas väg 61, Stockholm, Sweden
Map
21 August 2025

Free of charge

85
In-person,
Speakers
Programme
Speakers

Malin Frenning

CEO, RISE

CEO at RISE since October 2023. Previously Executive Vice President and Head of Infrastructure, AFRY, CEO County Council of Stockholm and several positions TeliaSonera Group. Board member of SJ and Polhem Infra. Mech Eng and Honorary Dr Technical University of Luleå.

Philip Thomas

Head of ScaleUp Division, The European Space Agency

Philip is Head of the ScaleUp Programme Division at ESA’s Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness Directorate. He oversees the growth of ESA-enabled space commercialisation networks (BICs, Brokers, PhiLabNET) and advises ESA programmes on market development and commercialisation. Before joining ESA in 2023, he was a senior civil servant in the UK and Scottish Governments, serving as Deputy Director of Space Programmes and Deputy Director of Investment Finance.

Chiara Ceccobello

Project Manager of ESA Phi-Lab Sweden, RISE

Chiara has worked for the past three years at the intersection of industry, academia, and the public sector, managing projects and conducting research at the interface between space and AI. With experience from four universities, she has led international scientific teams and contributed to collaborative research environments. She has co-developed six astrophysical codes in C/C++, Fortran, and Python, two of which are open source. Chiara has also mentored students at bachelor, master, and PhD levels.

Anne Lidgard

Director, Senior Advisor, Vinnova

Anne is currently working at the Swedish Governmental Innovation Agency, Vinnova. She has a multi-faceted background in the private sector, both from larger and smaller businesses, from established companies and from startups, in operations and as board member, in R&D and in Sales, as entrepreneur and as advisor to other entrepreneurs. The common denominators have been tech and innovation in various forms: Light wave communication, Mobile, Devices, etc.

Christer Nilsson

Deputy Director General, Swedish National Space Agency

Christer is Deputy Director General and Director of Technology at the Swedish National Space Agency, where he has worked since 2003. He has a background as Development Manager at Allgon Systems and Development Engineer at Ericsson. Christer holds an MSc in Microelectronics from KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Gabriele Meoni

Innovation Officer, The European Space Agency

Currently, Gabriele Meoni is an Innovation Officer at ESA in the ESA Φ-lab and Advanced Concepts and Studies Office, with research interests spanning edge computing for space, AI, neuromorphic and quantum computing for Earth Observation. He is also co-chair of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Earth Science Informatics Technical Committee. 

Dr. Bernardo Huberman

Distinguished Visiting Scientist, RISE

Bernardo began at Xerox PARC, creating a system that used email exchanges to ID intra-org communities of practice, and his work on distributed smart matter enabled control of both smart matter and office climate. As Sr. Fellow and lab Director at HP/HPE, he shaped disruptive technologies that drove market leadership. At CableLabs, he applied AI to networking and led a quantum initiative. His recent work includes using LEO satellites as a “cloud in the sky” for distributed caching for LLMs.

Dr. Yifang Ban

Professor of Geoinformatics and Earth Observation, KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Dr. Yifang Ban is Professor and Director of the Division of Geoinformatics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and Associate Director for Dissemination and Impact at Digital Futures. Her research focuses on Earth observation big data, machine learning, and environmental change monitoring to support sustainable development. She has published extensively and is ranked among the world’s top 2% of scientists in Geological and Geomatics Engineering by Stanford/Elsevier (2020–2023). 

Linda Höglund

R&D Manager, IRnova

Linda is currently R&D Manager at IRnova AB. She previously worked at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a Microdevices Engineer, focusing on development and evaluation of infrared detectors. Optical characterization, including photo luminescence, minority carrier lifetime, absorption and reflection measurements. She holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and a M.Sc in Physics from Linköping University.

Markus Skogsmo

CEO, PandionAI

Marcus is the CEO of PandionAI. From global monitoring to local action, PandionAI help organizations make informed decisions by delivering global actionable Alerts from satellites that seamlessly integrate with their existing systems. Based in Stockholm (Sweden), PandionAI is a innovative AI company in the forefront of space industry, with bold ambitions, strong market potential, and scalable technical solutions that have the potential to impact on a global scale.

Ahmed El Yaacoub

PhD student, Uppsala University

Ahmed is a PhD student in Embedded Systems at Uppsala University, with a Master’s degree from KTH. He completed his thesis at RISE SICS, and his background includes engineering internships at KEO International Consultants.

Programme

9.00 Coffee & registration

9.40 Welcome from the host organisation
Malin Frenning, CEO, RISE

9.50  A word from the European Space Agency (ESA) 
Philip Thomas, Head of ScaleUp Programme Division, ESA

10:00 Introduction to ESA Phi-Lab Sweden and the focus areas of AI and Edge Learning
Chiara Ceccobello, Project Manager ESA Phi-Lab Sweden, RISE

10.10 A word from Vinnova
Anne Lidgard, Director, Senior Advisor, Vinnova 

10.20 A word from the Swedish National Space Agency
Christer Nilsson, Deputy Director General, SNSA

10.30 Opening ceremony

10.45 Mingel

11.15 Light lunch

12.15 AI and Edge Learning in Space
Gabriele Meoni, Innovation Officer at ESA

12.55 Quantum, Space, Distributed Compute
Bernardo Huberman, Fellow and Vice President of Next-Gen Systems, CableLabs 
Thomas Sandholm, Researcher, RISE

13.35 Earth Observation
YiFang Ban, Professor and Director of the Division of Geoinformatics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology

14.15 Coffee

14.30 AI hardware and sensors
Linda Höglund, R&D Manager, IRnova

15.10 Lifting AI to Orbit for Improved Decision-Making on Ground
Marcus Skogsmo, VD, PandionAI

15.30 Fault Tolerance in Space with Heterogeneous Hardware
Ahmed El Yaacoub, PhD student, Uppsala University

16.15 Thank you and closing remarks

Contact person

Chiara Ceccobello

Projektledare

+46 10 228 45 28

Read more about Chiara

Contact Chiara
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

* Mandatory By submitting the form, RISE will process your personal data.

Tobias Edman

Contact person

Tobias Edman

Enhetschef

+46 10 228 48 87

Read more about Tobias

Contact Tobias
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

* Mandatory By submitting the form, RISE will process your personal data.