Our team
The Open Smart Irrigation (OSI) initiative is driven by an interdisciplinary team with deep expertise in agriculture, technology, education, and sustainable development. Our core team brings hands-on experience and passion to the field, while our advisory board provides strategic guidance across key disciplines.
Philippe
Hess
Project Lead
Founder of OSI and agricultural researcher, overseeing all activities from concept to fieldwork with a focus on practical impact.
Hannah
Burkard
Legal & Education
Lawyer and expert in female empowered education, shaping OSI Academy’s inclusive training programs.
Sofia
Felicioni
Agronomy & Training
Horticulture specialist guiding field trials, scientific data aggregation and farmer training.
Joel
Ikabat
Country Manager Uganda
Agricultural engineer with deep field expertise and strong community ties, leading OSI’s pilot implementation and managing local partnerships across Uganda.
Silvan
Imhof
Software Development (Backend)
Engineer and enthusiastic open-source contributor, leading the backend development of OSI OS with a focus on modularity, system stability, and long-term maintainability.
Panya
Gisler
Software Development (Frontend)
User interface designer focused on intuitive design, developing the OSI OS frontend and OSI Academy web platform.
Advisory Board
Elodie Huber
Business Strategy & Investor Relations
Experienced startup consultant with a finance background, advising OSI on growth strategy and investment readiness.
Jesper Clement
Marketing & User-Centered Design
Professor of consumer behavior and intuitive design, supporting OSI’s approach to user-friendly technology.
Thomas Anken
Smart Irrigation & Agronomy
Head of digital production at Agroscope, providing expert guidance on precision agriculture and field evaluation.
Alex
Mathis
Sustainable Crop Production
Senior researcher and lecturer in vegetable crops (ZHAW), enhancing the OSI Academy curriculum on sustainable farming practices.
