On September 5-7, Hong Kong will play host to Asia Fruit Logistica, one of the world’s largest fruit and vegetable trade conferences. With thousands of key stakeholders in the world’s agricultural supply chain meeting up in Hong Kong, what better place could there be for the AVF’s first-ever Vertical Farming Summit in Asia? On Friday, September 7, the AVF Hong Kong Summit 2018 will offer a day full of activities in which the power of Vertical Farming to change the face of the food industry will be demonstrated.
The vertical farming industry has been moving from strength to strength in recent years, as fully-realized facilities are opening up across the globe. The AVF’s Vertical Farming Summit 2018 offers the opportunity to connect current and future (interested) stakeholders, each of whom have valuable insights and unique approaches within the industry.
The event will define and identify how politics, industry cooperation, technology, science, society, and finance can contribute to the future development of Vertical Farming. Highlights of the event will include:
- Keynote speeches from:
- Robert Chen, Chairman, President and CEO of AEssense
- Bob is the Founder of AEssense and also serves as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. AEssense is a global agriculture technology company established to solve three 21st century issues: the need for high agriculture yields for a growing population, food safety, and conservation of resources. To achieve these goals, the Company developed the AEtrium platform, a family of precision automated indoor aeroponic plant growth systems, which dramatically increase both the productivity, and the sustainability of commercial cultivation. Prior to AEssense, Bob had a long history of building successful businesses in Silicon Valley. He was the Co-founder, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of RAE Systems a global developer and manufacturer of rapidly deployable, multi-sensor chemical and radiation detection monitors and networks which was acquired by Honeywell in 2013. Before that, he was the Founder, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of AOT Corp., a manufacturer of computer-aided test systems that was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 1991. Bob’s industry experience also includes various engineering and management positions at General Motors, General Electric, Tektronix, Fairchild Semiconductor and Hewlett-Packard Company. Bob has a BSEE from National Taiwan ChengKung University, a MSEE from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and Advanced Engineer Degree from Syracuse University. Bob also graduated from OPM Class 18 of the Harvard Graduate School of Business. Bob enjoys mentoring young professionals, photography, and traveling. He recently published a book called “From Shanghai to Silicon Valley: How to Start a High Tech Company from Scratch” to inspire and guide aspiring entrepreneurs.
- Saskia Sassen, Professor of Sociology at Columbia University
- Saskia is the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University and a Member of its Committee on Global Thought, which she chaired till 2015. She is a student of cities, immigration, and states in the world economy, with inequality, gendering and digitization, three key variables running through her work. Born in the Netherlands, she grew up in Argentina and Italy, studied in France, was raised in five languages, and began her professional life in the United States. She is the author of eight books and the editor or co-editor of three books. Together, her authored books are translated in over twenty languages. She has received many awards and honors, among them multiple doctor honoris causa, the 2013 Principe de Asturias Prize in the Social Sciences, election to the Royal Academy of the Sciences of the Netherlands, and made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French government.
- Interactive workshops
- Eight topic groups, including: industry & technology, science, education, investment & finance, Smart Food Future Cities, Policies & Legislation
- Design thinking sessions to get you engaged with like-minded individuals
As a participant, you are invited to choose one design thinking session in which you will work together with other like-minded individuals to create a five-year plan for your particular topic. After the workshops, the groups’ findings will be shared and discussed, and an overarching 5-year roadmap for the implementation of Vertical Farming/Plant Factories will be developed.
You can register your visit here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-transformingpower-of-vertical-farming-tickets-47432395572