Kitty Liao Keynote Speaker

Kitty Liao is a visionary entrepreneur, engineer, and innovator who has been a public speaker since 1997 at events globally, including prestigious venues such as SXSW, CERN, and Buckingham Palace.

Renowned for her pioneering work in developing the SMILE last-mile cooling system and her groundbreaking inventions at CERN, she has dedicated a significant portion of her career to addressing critical global challenges. With extensive experience in low-temperature and multi-disciplinary systems and devices, user-centred design, and vaccine cold-chain logistics, Kitty’s creation of the SMILE last-mile cooling system has earned numerous awards, including 36 global innovation accolades.

Before founding IDEABATIC, Kitty designed and developed quantum and diagnostics systems at cryogenic temperatures near absolute zero, both at CERN, home to the Large Hadron Collider, and the UK’s National Physical Laboratory.

After attending a humanitarian hackathon in 2014, Kitty was exposed to a myriad of global issues, inspiring her to utilise her expertise to help people. She created SMILE, a revolutionary last-mile cooling system that significantly reduces human error and spoilage while enhancing overall efficiency. Subsequently, she founded IDEABATIC and led a dedicated team in addressing the pressing issue of vaccine transportation in hard-to-reach and remote areas. SMILE’s fool-proof design and advanced cooling prediction capabilities have earned accolades from global logistics giants such as UPS, acknowledging its status as a game changer. In 2022, UPS showcased SMILE as ‘tomorrow’s technology’.

Kitty’s journey in addressing global challenges with SMILE is documented in the multiple award-winning documentary film “The Big Idea: Last-mile,” produced by MIT-Solve and Redglass Pictures.

Kitty’s passion for innovation and dedication to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion have led to her being awarded an Enterprise Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK in 2018.

Additionally, Kitty volunteers as an ambassador, mentor, and coach at The Port association, which organises humanitarian hackathons, continuing to inspire and empower people.

Kitty holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering, a master’s degree in Physics, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship.

Kitty’s talks playfully challenge the status quo, promising to inspire and stimulate thought-provoking discussions.