Ellie Shtereva | Project Manager at F6S Innovation. Specialisation – Exploitation.
She is an experienced Project Manager at F6S, specializing in the coordination of multi-
partner European innovation and acceleration initiatives. Working closely with startups,
researchers, and SMEs, she helps high-potential teams navigate open funding frameworks,
build collaborative partnerships, and scale their solutions. Her core expertise lies in
innovation exploitation, focusing on turning emerging R&D results into viable commercial
strategies that deliver tangible market impact.

Joanna Makocka | Project Manager at F6S Innovation. Specialisation – Legal Advise
She specializes in the legal, management, and exploitation aspects of EU-funded projects.
Her work focuses on handling Consortium Agreements, Grant Agreements, and navigating
the legal details of funding mechanisms for diverse stakeholders. She is a registered IP
Scan expert with the Polish Patent Office (UPRP), with broad expertise in IP management
and exploitation activities. She holds an LL.M. in European Legal Studies.

Iwa Stefanik | Innovation Funding Maestra at F6S Innovation. Specialisation – FSTP
A passionate Team Leader combining a Maastricht University Global Health Science
background with business dynamics, she specialises in navigating EU funding mechanisms,
notably cascade funding (FSTP). Guiding startups and SMEs from the laboratory into
commercial markets, she takes a holistic approach that extends far beyond financial
support—transforming traditional, administrative-heavy public grants into an active
acceleration engine to deliver scalable innovation and measurable societal change.

Moderator: Milana Sekulic| Manager at F6S Innovation
She works across multiple Horizon Europe projects in sectors ranging from healthtech and
clean energy to the circular economy and digital innovation. Her work focuses on
communication and dissemination, stakeholder engagement, and cross-project collaboration
within international consortia. She is particularly interested in making complex research
tangible and relevant, connecting innovation with policy, industry, and society.