Anna Panagopoulou is Director of ‘European Research Area & Innovation’ at the Research and Innovation Directorate General of the European Commission. She is responsible together with her teams to co-create with Member States and stakeholders policies to shape a globally competitive European research and innovation system that is open, performant, cohesive and conducive to transformative innovation for a sustainable future. She has been working in the Commission in various policy and management roles for 24 years. She holds a master degree in electrical engineering and has a long professional experience in private and public sector.