Announcing the Syngenta and Sandbox Young Talent Partnership
January 16th, 2012 by Nadia LaurinciSyngenta, a global company dedicated to providing food security, and Sandbox, the leading network of the most inspiring innovators below 30, are proud to announce our Young Talent Partnership.
From supporting young innovators to connecting them with the right resources to magnify their impact, Sandbox and Syngenta share a great number of common aspirations. This partnership brings together two organizations with a global footprint committed to supporting entrepreneurial creativity. It allows five Fellows of Thought for Food, an initiative sponsored by Syngenta, to participate in the Sandbox Global Summit in Lisbon from January 20 to January 22, 2012 and to connect them with other leading young entrepreneurs and innovators from around the globe.
The participating Fellows are exceptional young people who have shown tremendous innovative potential and passion for generating ideas around food security under Syngenta’s Thought for Food initiative, which aims to improve awareness of global food issues and bring together ideas to help make the world a place where everyone has enough nutritious food to eat.
Juan Gonzalez-Valero, Global Head of Public Policy and Partnerships at Syngenta: “Syngenta is dedicated to making a contribution to food security through innovation. We are convinced that food security will remain the most important issue in the years to come. With Thought for Food, we have created a platform where young future leaders can innovate and raise awareness on this challenge. We are very glad to partner with the Sandbox Network to inspire young future leaders to take action.”
Nadia Laurinci, the Head of Business Development at Sandbox, says: “We at Sandbox are thrilled about our partnership with Syngenta. Syngenta’s support of young talents has been exceptional and we are happy to support and welcome the Syngenta Fellows at our Global Summit in Lisbon and help connect them with other young leading changemakers from around the world.”
The Syngenta Fellows at the Sandbox Global Summit are:
Guillaume Darier – Guillaume obtained his B.A. in Business at the University of St. Gallen where he is currently studying Finance & Banking at the graduate level. He is the winner of the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award and is a One Young World Ambassador for Switzerland.
Peter Bickerton – Peter is interested in food security issues, in particular how we can use science to better provide for the extra 2 billion mouths predicted to inhabit the Earth by 2050. He is currently doing a PhD in Plant Sciences at the University of Manchester where he is studying how plants respond to different environmental stresses.
Jean-Philippe Michel – Jean-Philippe is a consultant at the leadership development and talent management firm Development Dimensions International. In his free time, he runs A+ Academic Coaching, where he helps high school students plan for and succeed in their postsecondary studies.
Jonathan Spencer – Jonathan is an economics student interested in market design and food security. He is passionate about exploring Entomophagy as one solution to food security. In his spare time he gets excited about skills to improve learning, John Coltrane, and the Internet.
Alison Ferguson – Alison is interested in genetics and plants. She received her BSc in Biotechnology and a PhD in Plant Science. She just started a position at the University of Nottingham as a Research Associate.
Sandbox is the foremost global community of extraordinary young innovators between 20 and 30. The growing community counts more than 650 young leaders in 48 different countries.
Thought for Food is a one-of-a-kind, bold new initiative that challenges students from top universities to tackle the world’s escalating food issues. The 2011 Thought for Food Challenge was sponsored by Syngenta in partnership with the Sandbox Network, One Young World and Euro RSCG.
Further requests:
Nadia Laurinci, Head of Business Development, Sandbox: Nadia.Laurinci@sandbox-network.com
