Diversity Lunch
Date: Friday, July 11th, 2025 from 13:00-14:30
Price: Free as a ticket add-on at registration but limited places are available
Location: A Room With A Zoo
Join us as we formally conclude the SEB Annual Conference in Antwerp with our annual Diversity Lunch, a celebration of equality, diversity, and inclusion in the biosciences. This free sit-down lunch is included with your standard conference ticket, but spaces are limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis, so we encourage you to arrive promptly.
In addition to our guest speaker, the lunch will showcase some of this year’s conference highlight photos, and the raffle prize draw from the SEB membership stand competition. One lucky attendee will win two free VIP tickets to attend next year’s SEB Annual Conference, including access to all social events. To enter, remember to visit the SEB membership stand during the conference to learn about the competition and collect your ticket… and don’t forget, you must attend the lunch to win!
Speaker - Ljuba Ponomarev
We’re delighted to welcome Ljuba Ponomarev as this year’s Diversity Lunch speaker. Ljuba has recently been appointed as Vice-President of BeWiSe (Belgian Women in Science), a non-profit community that supports women at all levels of STEM careers by fostering growth and inspiration. As project manager at the department of Quality and Process Optimization at the Regional hospital in Tienen, she holds a doctorate in Biomedical Sciences. Since 2022, she has been an active member of Belgian Women in Science or BeWiSe, first starting as Mentoring Program coordinator, and later as Treasurer. Recently, she was elected Vice-President. BeWiSe wants to achieve gender-equal participation at all levels of science and engineering in the public and private sectors.
BeWiSe
To achieve the goal of gender equality in STEM and supporting women in science careers, BeWiSe runs a range of activities, including a mentoring programme, networking and career development events, and outreach to schools – such as their annual competition that awards first-year tuition fees at a Belgian higher education institution to secondary school students.