Ilaha Abasli is a PhD researcher at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, working closely with colleagues at TU Delft. Her research looks at the social side of the circular economy, from just labour transitions in the repair sector to circular practices in the Global South. With a Master's from King's College London and consultancy experience for the FAO and GIZ, she brings a social and policy perspective to the Educating the Educators workshop.

Daria Ardant is an assistant professor in the architecture programme at the University of Antwerp, where she teaches construction and construction materials and sustainability assessment. She completed her doctorate at ETH Zurich's Chair of Sustainable Construction, developing clay binders that let earth-based concrete be poured much like conventional concrete. Her work on low-carbon earth construction shapes the earth- and fibre-based part of the Building blocks from waste workshop.

Olga Ioannou is Assistant Professor of Building Innovation at TU Delft's Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment and co-leads its Circular Built Environment Hub. Trained as an architect in Thessaloniki, Rome and Athens, she researches bio-based circular building products and the value networks behind them. She coordinates Circularity for Educators, Educators for Circularity and the Circular Design Atlas, and teaches Circular Product Design – experience she brings to both of her festival workshops.

Ed Melet is Associate Professor of Circular Building at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA), where he leads the Circular Building research line within the Climate Resilient City research group. His applied research aims to speed up the circular transition in construction, focusing on biobased design, high-quality reuse of materials and long-lasting buildings. A former editor of de Architect with a PhD from TU Delft, he has written five books on architecture and urban design.

Lei Qu is Assistant Professor of Spatial Planning and Strategy in the Department of Urbanism at TU Delft, where she has taught and coordinated research and design studios since 2007. Trained in architecture and urban planning at Tsinghua University, she works on inclusive planning and integrated urban and regional development strategies, with particular attention to liveability and circularity. Her comparative European–Chinese research on urban regeneration has earned two best paper awards. She co-leads the Circular Regions workshop with Alex Wandl.

Mario Rinke is Professor of Structures and Construction in Architecture at the University of Antwerp, where he directs the architecture programme. A structural engineer and architect trained at the Bauhaus University Weimar and ETH Zurich, he worked for design offices in London and Zurich before running his own practice. His research explores how materials, technical knowledge and construction cultures evolve, with a focus on circular design and making-based teaching.

Mieke Vandenbroucke is an assistant professor in the interior architecture programme at the University of Antwerp. Trained as an architect-engineer, she focuses on designing buildings for disassembly and reuse; her doctorate in Architectural Engineering at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel made life-cycle environmental assessment and demountable building design more accessible to designers. She co-leads the Building blocks from waste workshop, bringing an environmental perspective to building materials made from what is usually discarded.

Alexander Wandl is Associate Professor of Urbanism at TU Delft's Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment and sits on the steering group of its Circular Built Environment Hub. His research asks how circular, sustainable and just transitions become spatially possible, linking land use, material flows, infrastructure and governance. He has worked on the EU projects REPAiR and ASSET – the Eurodelta project from which this festival grew – and brings that regional perspective to the Circular Regions workshop.