Meet the speakers of our 2nd Dissemination Event.
(Register here)
Here they are, in order of appearance:
Welcome and introduction
Claudio Bogliotti (CIHEAM-IAMB)
Claudio Bogliotti: responsible of the EU Research and Innovation Policies Unit at CIHEAM. He is the co-ordinator of the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation platform on R&I (MED-SPRING) and an Eranet Mediterranean (ERANETMED), both funded by the EU (FP7).
He has more than 30 years professional experience both as researcher (hydrogeology, water resources) and EU research project management / coordinator.
He worked in both private sector and public research, or international organisation (UNDP, University of Leuven, CIHEAM-IAMB) and he has long standing international experience in research cooperation, particularly in south Mediterranean countries (North Africa and Middle East) and Sub-Saharan Africa. He has also worked in the European Commission (DG Research and Innovation) as policy officer responsible of the bilateral and bi-regional policy dialogue with the Mediterranean Partner Countries.
He is author of several scientific publications.
Gaetano Ladisa (CIHEAM-IAMB)
Gaetano Ladisa, Scientific Consultant – Researcher at the CIHEAM-Bari Institute since 2000, with degrees in. Forestry Sciences, Irrigation, Hydrology.
He has more than 15 years’ work experience in setting up and designing research and European research funding projects: AQUASTRESS (EC-FP6-IP), INNOVA (INTERREG III B – ARCHIMED 2000-06), INTEGRA (INTERREG/Cards-PHARE), LIFE+ Cent.Oli.Med.(LIFE07 NAT/IT/000450), MEDSPRING (FP7-INCO.2012-1.3 no. 311780), 4PRIMA (H2020-SC5-2016-2017), XF-ACTORS (H2020-SFS-2016-2017), addressed on sustainable management of natural resources, soil degradation and its mitigation, risk assessment of pest disease, Research and Innovation in agro-food sector.
He has published more than 55 scientific papers in the field of desertification risk evaluation, catchment’s basins and natural resources management.
Marta Iglesias (European Commission)
Marta Iglesias is Research programme officer on soil, water, nutrients and International Cooperation at the European Commission directorate general for Agriculture and Rural development.
She has worked for almost 20 year in agriculture research and innovation, and currently she is co-chair of the HLPD EU-AU working group on FNSSA and the policy officer for LEAP4FNSSA.
She is currently working on the R&I policy under the Horizon Europe, and in particular on the implementation of the FNSSA roadmap in support of a green transition in Africa to sustainable and resilient agri-food systems.
Marta has an engineer background and a master degree on watering, soils and drains.
Preparing the ground for discussion
Carlo Sansiviero (CIHEAM-IAMB)
Communication officer at CIHEAM-IAMB, with degrees in linguistic and intercultural mediation (La Sapienza University, Rome Italy) and Political Sciences, International Relations (Aldo Moro University, Bari Italy).
Short Master in immigration, law and inclusion practices (Aldo Moro University, Bari Italy).
Certificate in Translating communication for the European Institutions.
Norhan El Dallal (MHESR)
Norhan El Dallal is a project manager at the EU Cooperation Projects Unit at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Egypt.
She is currently involved in several projects as LEAP4FNSSA, and LEAP-Agri. She also took part in the CAAST-Net Plus and MEDSPRING projects.
She has experience in research projects concerned with sustainable urban development and has worked with several international organizations in the fields of climate change, sustainable agriculture, energy efficient planning, and stakeholder engagement.
She holds a master’s degree and a PhD from the Technical University of Berlin in Urban planning and development.
Melissa Plath (UniPID)
Melissa Plath is Senior Specialist for Stakeholder Engagement UniPID, the Finnish University Partnership for International Development.
She is responsible for stakeholder engagement, cooperation, and communications as well as for management of UniPID’s project portfolio.
Since 2010 she has been involved in AU-EU-projects related to science, technology, and innovation cooperation.
She has significant experience implementing policy support projects and developing joint research agendas.
The Platform
Stefan Haffner (DLR)
Stefan A. Haffner is a Senior Scientific Officer in the German Aerospace Center (DLR), serving the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
He works since over 20 years in international institutions and multilateral projects towards the partnership of Africa and Europe in the field of STI.
Stefan graduated with a master in Geography and Sociology.
He currently works in the LEAP-Agri, LEAP4FNSSA and LEAP-RE projects. His passion is to participate in the successive and inclusive design of multi-stakeholder mechanism and coordination infrastructures for the AU-EU partnership in STI.
Jonas Musabwa Mugabe (FARA)
Jonas Musabwa Mugabe works for the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) as the Lead Specialist for the Research, Policy and Investment (RPIn). He also worked as the Manager of the Platform for African-European Partnerships in Agricultural Research for Development (PAEPARD).
Prior to joining FARA in 2010, Jonas Mugabe was working in Rwanda as the Deputy Director General for Research at the Institut des Sciences Agronomies du Rwanda-ISAR (today Rwanda Agricultural Board-RAB).
Jonas Mugabe taught for a decade at the Faculty of Agriculture at the National University of Rwanda-NUR (today University of Rwanda) from 1995 to 2005.
Jonas Mugabe holds an MSc and PhD in Agricultural Economics from Universite Catholique de Louvain and Faculte Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux (Belgium), respectively. He also holds another MSc in Environment Management from Universite Senghor d’Alexandrie (Egypt).
Panel Session
Henning Knipschild (BLE – Germany)
Henning Knipschild, biologist by training with expertise on funding, research management, international policies, knowledge management and development cooperation. He works in the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food / Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (BLE), an institution directly subordinated to the German Government and empowered to conduct business on behalf of the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).
Henning Knipschild has been working in international cooperation most of his work life. He worked as a Project Manager in Knowledge Management within the field of food security and currently works as a funding manager for international agricultural research programmes, as well as in digital transformation. He has been working in different European-African networks/projects, such as ERA-ARD, LEAP-Agri, LEAP4FNSSA and also in development cooperation in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Prudence Nare Makhura (NRF – South Africa)
Prudence is a Director for international partnerships and collaborations at the National Research Foundation of South Africa.
In this capacity she is responsible for managing bilateral and multi-lateral partnerships with Europe, Asia, Americas, and the Middle East. She does this through funding collaborative research and human capacity development in all strategic areas of importance.
Prudence has worked for a number of research entities including government within the higher education, science and technology sector in South Africa for approximately 20 years.
She’s currently doing her doctoral studies focusing on the internationalisation of the South African national system of innovation.
Eric Mwangi (DRST – Kenya)
Dr Eric Mwangi is a research scientist and policy advisor. He holds a PhD in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Glasgow (UK) and has published widely in scientific journals.
His current portfolio includes implementing the MEST’s international cooperation agenda which include development policies and strategies including research and innovation promotion; executing STI country and regional programmes and resource mobilisation to support for ST&I programmes.
Dr. Mwangi has since 2008 represented MEST in the position of the CAAST-Net Africa Region Coordinator and in the management of the LEAP-Agri project. He is also involved in other EU-FP7 projects listed below on S&T in Africa and therefore, has a good experience on initiatives related to the EU-AU S&T cooperation agenda. He coordinates the technical activities with Jacob Njagi.
Mary Obodai (CSIR – Ghana)
Prof Mary Obodai holds a Ph.D in Food Sciences from the University of Nottingham, UK.
She is the immediate past Director of the CSIR-Food Research Institute and an Associate Professor at the CSIR College of Science and Technology.
She has over twenty eight (28) years’ experience in research and development where she has coordinated and implemented a number of projects and authored and co-authored several publications.
Her research interests include mushroom biotechnology and molecular characterization of African fermented foods and has attained the position of Chief Research Scientist at the CSIR.
Alaye H. Magloire Firmin Oteyami (VART-LAB – Benin)
Magloire Firmin Oteyami is a researcher from West Africa specialised on plant breeding and seed production, agronomist, environmentalist, geneticist- breeder.
Nominated on International Earth Day by USAID, independent consultant, project idea carrier and CEO & Founder of VART- LaB (West African Laboratory for Plant breeding and Seed Production in Benin, Burkina- Faso and Ivory Coast; – member of the global alliance for climate-smart agriculture).
He holds an agronomist degree in science and techniques of plant production, a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Plant Genetic Resources and Crop Protection and participated in the PhD Program in Plant Breeding at the University of Legon, Ghana.
Claude-Arsene Savadogo (BIOPROTECT – Burkina Faso)
Claude Arsène SAVADOGO holds a master’s degree in economic and financial engineering of projects and public policies and an another one in agri-food business strategy from the University of Montpellier 1.
He is the Managing Director and co-founder of GIE BIOPROTECT-B and BIOPROTECT Sarl., a Burkinabe company created in 2011 and specialized in the research and development of biological solutions for agriculture. BIOPROTECT produces organic inputs (biopesticides, biofertilizers and biostimulants) based on local resources (fungi, plants, agricultural residues) to provide farmers with affordable inputs to ensure the sustainability of production systems and food quality.
Claude is member of the Africa-Europe platform for agricultural research and development.
He is also member of the executive board of the National Council of Organic Agriculture of Burkina Faso, and member of the Scientific and Management Council of the Institute of Research in Applied Sciences and Technologies of Burkina Faso.
Hamidou Hamadou Tamboura (FONRID – Burkina Faso)
Dr. Hamidou Hamadou Tamboura (DVM, PhD) is a senior animal sciences scientist at the Scientific and technology research centre (CNRST), Burkina Faso, where he joined in 1985, serving at the Ministry of Higher education, scientific research and Innovation.
More of his 30 years of scientific career was spent in research among: i) local breeds of ruminants, especially in Sahelian of West Africa and ii) indigenous knowledge in animal healing systems and pharmacology of veterinary medicinal plants in West Africa. He coordinated several national and international projects (CORAF/WECARD, INCO-DEV, PROCORDEL-EU, SANREM/CRSP-USAID, FSP/France) from 1994 to 2007. He actively participated in institutional building of the NARS and runned several collaborative projects involving EU/AU like ERAfrica. More recently, he was involved in LEAP-Agri, a joint EU-AU project where he is co-leading a process towards the establishment of an EU-Africa portal on FNSSA (co-leader of WP6 with BLE-Germany). He also led (2007 – 2011) an AFDB funded project aiming to develop livestock production in northern Sahelian Burkina Faso. Since 2012 until now, he is a senior member of CAMES scientific board, the international board in charge of promotion and advancement of all African francophone universities and research staff. He is nowadays the Director general of Research and Innovation for Development Funding Agency of Burkina Faso (FONRID).
Wrap-up and conclusion
Rose Omari (CSIR-STEPRI – Ghana)
Dr Rose Omari is a Senior Research Scientist at the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR- STEPRI), Ghana.
She is a multidisciplinary research scientist with expertise in the design, implementation and management of policy and regulatory studies in agriculture, food safety, nutrition, health, and science, technology and innovation.
She has recently conducted and published a study that identified options for strengthening the enabling environment for providers of agricultural ICT solutions to develop and commercialise their applications.
She has participated in several policy formulation processes and has recently led the development of the National Policy for Aflatoxin Control. Rose has a BSc degree in Biochemistry and Food Science and MPhil degree in Food Science from the University of Ghana. She has a PhD degree in Rural Sociology (Food Studies) from Wageningen University and Research Centre.