What’s the history of the S&TDC?
The Science & Technology Diplomatic Circle has a very deep-rooted tradition of networking with key people from government, academia and private sector. As part of the Consular Corps, S&TDC has been founded by Dr. Felix Moesner at the end of 2013, based on his experience in co-chairing the S&TDC Tokyo for 5 years. The motivation was to immerge in the world-class academic and innovation landscape of Boston and create a platform for informal exchanges among the Consulates. The first S&TDC coordination meeting was held on February 7, 2014 at swissnex Boston, followed by the first visit at the Fraunhofer USA Center for Manufacturing Innovation on March 5, 2014, organized by Mathias Kruse, Deputy Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Recent (Co-)Chairs of the Science & Technology Diplomatic Circle
2014 – 2017 : Dr. Felix Moesner, Consul & CEO, Swissnex Boston
2017– 2018 : Walter de Wit, Innovation Attaché, Netherlands Innovation Network, and Sophie Cerny, Research & Innovation Attaché, Québec Government
2018-2019 : Walter de Wit & Mart Duitemeijer, Innovation Attaché, Netherlands Innovation Network, and Patricia Gruver, Research & Innovation Attaché, Québec Government
2019-2022: Patricia Gruver, Research & Innovation Attaché, Québec Government, and Lucius Lichte, Science Liaison, German Consulate
2022-2023: Mart Duitemeijer, Innovation Attaché, Netherlands Innovation Network, and Ronit Prawer, Director, UK Government Science and Innovation Network
2023-Present: Fernanda Soza, Executive Director, ChileMass, and Chris Begley, Head of Innovation and Investment, Consulate General of Canada