Walter is the project-, programme- and policy officer for Future and Emerging Technologies (FET), the European Commission's forward looking technology programme. He has a background in mathematics, a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and experience of research and innovation in many contexts: in academia, in private research labs, large and small companies. At FET he is the guardian of the FET spirit, nurturing its unique role for visionary, interdisciplinary and high-risk research that makes FET the European reference for creative thinking on the technologies of the future.