Mehrnaz Heidari is the Strategic Partnership Manager at IPIC, Tyndall National Institute, where she passionately fosters collaborations with companies, academia, and international agencies, with a strong focus on empowering SMEs and startups. Driven by a desire to translate research expertise into real-world applications, Mehrnaz brings over a decade of experience as a business developer, venture capital consultant, and corporate-startup matchmaking specialist. Her role involves facilitating capital-efficient development and deployment of photonics-based products. Academically grounded with a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Tarbiat Modares University, her doctoral research explored strategies for mitigating agency problems in venture capital financing for technology-based firms.