Innovation speaker Manuel Sanroma has been awarded numerous research grants in the US and Spain thanks to his extraordinary work.  He previously served as a professor of astronomy and physics, but he currently teaches mathematics in Tarragona, Spain. Manuel graduated from the Open University of Catalonia in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Humanities and a Master’s degree in Information Technology.

In the past 20 years, he has shared his IT knowledge on many occasions. In fact, he was the Regional Government of Tarragona’s director of the Consortium for the Information Society and the director of AOC. Moreover, he served as the CIO of a Health Services Consortium in Tarragona. He also served as Barcelona’s CIO, where he was in charge of the Smart City Strategy. In 2016 he was the Digital Administration of Catalonia leader for two years.

Speaker Manuel Sanroma ‘s achievements have gained him the position of Executive Director of Smart Cities at NEOM. This is one of the most popular Smart City projects in the world. The overall project costs around $500, taking up over 25,000 square meters. NEOM’s strategic location will enable it to become a global hub for innovation, trade, and knowledge.

Manuel has written several books and articles pertaining to the applications of the internet and Astronomy. He founded TINET, Spain’s first community network. In addition, he was a member of the Internet Society’s Board of Directors from 1999 to 2002. El Mundo, Spain’s national newspaper, ranked Manuel as one of the country’s most influential Internet pioneers in 2001.

Manuel is part of many scientific and professional associations, including the Catalan Society of Mathematics, the International Astronomical Union, and the Internet Society. He received the Alan Turing Award in February 2018 for being the best CIO in Spain.