
Immersive. Interdisciplinary. Unique.
The TFF Academy is a unique educational program focused on empowering the next generation of talents in food and agriculture.
By deepening and broadening the key elements of our educational approach, we are empowering the next generation with the skill sets and mindsets to create and lead purpose-driven businesses that will help create transformational change in food and agriculture.
TFF Academy in Rio
This July we launched the TFF Academy in the center of Rio de Janeiro with a select group of 200 of Thought For Food’s next-generation innovators and entrepreneurs.
Hosted in the innovative, bilingual school Escola Eleva, we brought together a diverse group of entrepreneurs, academics and industry leaders representing over 40 countries as well as disciplines as diverse as science, agronomy, engineering, agriculture, architecture, business, and public policy.
The intense TFF Academy curriculum focused on connecting with relevant topics and experts in the industry, building skills and capabilities in design thinking, leadership and entrepreneurship, as well as developing the personal self through emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and adaptability to change.
Over the course of the TFF Academy days, participants, industry leaders and design thinking experts helped solve real industry challenges through a process of ideation and rapid prototyping in “capstone projects”.
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We work with leading organizations in the food and agriculture sector to uncover hidden opportunities and commit to breakthrough innovation today.
Teachers
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Holley M. Murchison
Impactful StorytellingFounder of Oratory Glory, author of her debut book 'Tell Me About Yourself', and Education Producer
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David Li
Brick by BRIC: DIY Innovation in Emerging EconomiesCo-founder of Maker Collider and Executive Director of Shenzhen Open Innovation Lab.
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Gabriela Agustini
Entrepreneurship the Millennial WayFounder and Executive Director of Olabi, a Brazilian social organization focused on encouraging the use of new (and old) technologies for social change.
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Michael Kock
Open IP Models for Open InnovationOpen IP Pioneer, Strategy Consultant and renowned author and speaker on innovation enablement.
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Alexander Lazarou
Maximizing Engagement, Awareness & ImpactSenior Account Supervisor, Social Purpose and Sustainability at MSL/Publicis who has worked on global campaigns for private companies and NGOs.
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Megan Willis
Do's and Don'ts of FundraisingSocial impact and sustainability professional working with Indigo Ag. She spent over a decade in international development: as a US Peace Corps Volunteer, at Chemonics International and USAID.
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Felipe Villela
How to Restore Nature through AgroforestryCo-Founder of reNature and expert in agroforestry systems.
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Marco de Boer
How to restore nature through AgroforestryExpert in marketing communications / advertising and Co-Founder of reNature Foundation.
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Caroline Steiblin
Exploring Nutrition's Complexities & Impact InvestmentResearcher with a background in physics and economics, and a passion for helping sustainable businesses grow.
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Brittany Dahl
Big Data and GISGIS consultant passionate in technological projects that connect communities with sustainable choices.
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Vinicius Filier
Big Data and GISMBA and Geographer, currently working for Esri Brazil, spreading the word of how Geography and GIS can help us solve most of our biggest global challenges.
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Lorelei Davis
Capstone Project: IoT, AI, Robotics – Right-Sizing Tech for the Smallholder FarmLeading KWS SAAT SE's new Digital Innovation Accelerator, that identifies and tests novel digital technologies for their application to the agriculture industry.
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Satish Rai
Capstone Project: IoT, AI, Robotics – Right-Sizing Tech for the Smallholder FarmSenior Innovation and Licensing Manager at KWS R&D division, focused on scouting and licensing of early-stage technologies.
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Clarissa Biolchini
Capstone Project: IoT, AI, Robotics – Right-Sizing Tech for the Smallholder FarmExpert in innovation processes, based on design thinking and service design.
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David Trayford
Pitch TrainingCommunication specialist, startup coach, mentor, trainer and global speaker on future skills and education strategy.
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Haitao Yu
Scaling-up Rural and Community-Driven EntrepreneurshipSustainability activist and world-traveler: from China, France, the US to Cambodia, Canada and more.
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Maeva Dang
Smart Ag for Smart CitiesMaeva is a civil engineer and researcher at the TU Vienna and the UniRio, passionate about urban agriculture.
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Henry Gordon-Smith
Smart Ag for Smart CitiesFounder and Managing Director of Agritecture Consulting and global thought leader in vertical farming.
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John Cumbers
Frontiers of Synthetic BiologyFounder and CEO of SynBioBeta and senior consultant to leading companies and investors for over a decade.
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Richard Hylerstedt
Design ThinkingInterdisciplinary designer and facilitator. He is on a mission to change the public sector, currently as Lead Service Design Coach for the City of Helsingborg.
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Matt Foley
Boots on the GroundInvestment Analyst, Invest Nebraska Corporation and Co-Founder of FarmAfield.
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Dr. Jenette Ashtekar
Unlocking new perspectives on agriculture by combining science and dataSoil Scientist and Engagement Manager at CiBO Technologies, leading customer facing projects.
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Brennan Costello
Boots on the GroundStartup Coach and Business Relation Officer at the University of Nebraska. Co-Founder of FarmAfield.
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Gemma Milne
Starting a Science StartupFreelance journalist, deep science consultant and co-host of Science:Disrupt – a podcast covering science, tech, culture and politics.
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Peter Bickerton
Slam PoetryPeter is a science communicator, poet, and writer. In his day job, he writes about science for the Earlham Institute as Science Communications Manager.
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Pedro L. Rodriguez
Social MediaVP, Business Growth, Digital Marketing & Transformation at Horizon Media Inc. and rewarded blogger for the HuffingtonPost with focus on emerging social and digital trends.
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Peleg Chevion
Moving to Food Industry 4.0 / Panel of JudgesChief Commercial Officer of Blendhub, leading the global deployment of the world’s first distributed production platform for powder based food.
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Mush’ab Nursantio
New FoodsAward-winning entrepreneur, Co-Founder and CEO of Biteback.
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Mashita Fajri
New FoodsFounder of EconoodlE. Expert in Food Security and Environmental Health.
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Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen
Exploring Nutrition's ComplexitiesPublic health nutritionist with a background in public health and public policy.
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Srujith Lingala
Exploring Nutrition's ComplexitiesManager Technology and Entrepreneurship at Sight and Life. His projects span Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, India and Indonesia.
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Dr. Mike Gould
Create, Innovate, InventAn inspiring leader, scientist, change-agent and disruptor. He developed and led innovative R&D programs in fields ranging from biotech to complexity science to vertical farming.
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Taísa Cecília de Lima Caires
BASF Game: The Road to SustainabilityManagement Consultant for the Sustainability of the Espaço ECO® Foundation, founded by BASF.
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Tiago Egydio Barreto
BASF Game: The Road to SustainabilityManagement Consultant for Sustainability at the Espaço ECO® Foundation by BASF.
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Steven Wall
Capstone Project: New Solutions for Smallholder FarmersSteven is a senior leader at Syngenta where he is developing and implementing strategies for new technologies that incorporate evolving regulatory, safety, political and societal perspectives.
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Joe Fletcher
Capstone Project: New Solutions for Smallholder FarmersJoe Fletcher is a co-founder and Executive Creative Director at Raft. He has 15+ years experience in corporate design management and consulting.
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Karla Rascon-Garcia
Impact InvestingKirchner Food Fellow and Ph.D. candidate in Epidemiology at the University of California, Davis.
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Adrian Garcia-Casarrubias
Impact InvestingKirchner Food Fellow and Plant Biotechnology Ph.D. candidate at CINVESTAV-IPN in San Pedro Zacatenco, Mexico.
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Alfredo Costilla-Reyes
Impact InvestingKirchner Food Fellow, Mexico National Youth Award and Ph.D. candidate in Electrical Engineering at Texas A&M University.
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Julia Giannella
Data Selfie: a personalized graphic expressionDesigner and a researcher assistant at the Vision and Computer Graphics Laboratory (Visgraf) based at IMPA.
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Leandro Amorim
Data Selfie: a personalized graphic expressionHead of Café.art.br, an information design studio that transforms data into stories.
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Dr. Leah McCann
Unlocking new perspectives on agriculture by combining science and dataSenior Crop Scientist at CiBO Technologies, that thrives at the intersection of R&D and commercial application.
More ways to get involved