Speakers

Dr Muhammad Asaduzzaman

One Health Epidemiology Fellow, Massey University

The One Health Epidemiology Fellowship programme was implemented by Massey University, New Zealand, and funded by the European Commission. Dr Muhammad Asaduzzaman is the Principal Investigator of a Collaborative Investigational Project (CIP) on zoonotic and environmental epidemiology, which seeks to develop control policies to minimise the spread and impact of such diseases.

After completing his medical graduate and postgraduate training in paediatrics, Dr Asaduzzaman started his public health career as Local Nipah Surveillance Coordinator. Over the last 10 years, he has been involved in vaccine-related clinical trials and immunological studies as a Senior Research Investigator at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, an international health research institute based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Along with being a certified vaccinologist, he is good clinical practice (GCP) trained with long standing experience of handling ethical issues.

Dr Jeannette Bayisenge

Senior Lecturer, Centre for Gender Studies, University of Rwanda

As well as fulfilling her senior lecturing role at the University of Rwanda, Dr Bayisenge is also the chairperson of Gasabo District Council. She holds a PhD in Social Work from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, a Master's degree in Development Cooperation, with a specialisation in Women and Development, from Ewha Woman's University in Seoul, South Korea, and a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from the National University of Rwanda.

Since her appointment at the National University of Rwanda in 2004, Dr Bayisenge's research has focused on land rights and gender, women's and youth access to land and rural livelihoods, and land tenure regularisation programmes. She is currently carrying out a research project on land rights and livelihood opportunities for rural youth in Rwanda.

Professor Urmilla Bob

Dean of Research and Professor of Geography, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Professor Bob holds a BA pedagogic degree in Education, English, and Geography from the University of Durban-Westville, a BA (Hons) in Geography from the University of South Africa, and a Master's and PhD in Geography from West Virginia University, USA. Professor Bob conducts research on a range of developmental and environmental issues, including socioeconomic impact assessments of developmental projects in relation to conservation and ecotourism projects, and sustainable livelihoods in both rural and urban contexts.

She has published in these fields both nationally and internationally, and contributed to numerous technical reports. She has training expertise in quantitative and qualitative methodologies and techniques, monitoring and evaluation, development of indicators, environmental impact assessments, and gender analytical methodologies. Professor Bob has supervised to completion 15 PhD students and 43 Master's students.

Dr Alex Coutinho

Executive Director, Inshuti Mu Buzima (Partners in Health Rwanda)

Dr Coutinho is a Global Health leader who has been practising medicine and public health in Africa for the past 33 years. He is currently the Executive Director for Partners in Health Rwanda, and Chair of the Board for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. Dr Coutinho has been involved with the HIV/AIDS epidemic since 1982 when the first cases emerged in Uganda. Over the years, he has provided care and treatment services directly to HIV+ people as a physician, as well as designing and leading large scale HIV prevention, care, and treatment programmes in Swaziland and Uganda.

In 2015, Dr Coutinho helped respond to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa by building the capacity of academic institutions in Nigeria to train and build teams of first responders. Since September 2015, Dr Coutinho has been leading teams in Rwanda to support the Ministry of Health build innovative health systems in the areas of oncology, neonatology, mental health and non-communicable diseases. In 2013 he was awarded the prestigious Hideyo Noguchi Africa prize, together with Dr Peter Piot.

Stephanie Craig

Impact Bond Intern, Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Stephanie Craig is currently completing her Master's degree in Economic Development at the University of Cape Town, where her interest in systems thinking and African economic growth has led to a thesis assessing the impact of the municipal auditing system on service delivery metrics.

Given her love for travel and desire to create global sustainable change, she hopes to enjoy a meaningful and impactful career in the international development space.

Dr Marie-Christine Gasingirwa

Director General for Science, Technology and Research in the Ministry of Education, Government of Rwanda

As Director General for Science, Technology and Research, Dr Gasingirwa has represented Rwanda in regional and international fora to promote science, technology and innovation. She serves on various steering committees of different higher learning institutions, both public and private, and also acts as Vice-Chairperson for the National Commission for UNESCO (CNRU).

Dr Gasingirwa holds a PhD in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, a MSc Degree in Agricultural Biotechnology, and a BSc (Hons) in Zoology and Biochemistry.

The Hon Dr Diane Gashumba 

Minister for Gender and Family Promotion, Government of Rwanda

Appointed as Minister of Gender and Family Promotion in March 2016, Dr Gashumba previously served as Medical Director of Kibagabaga and Muhima Hospital, and as Executive Secretary of the Rwanda Women Council.

Odayne Haughton

Masters student and tutor, University of the West Indies

Odayne Haughton is a Master's student and tutor at the University of the West Indies. For most of his life, he has been dedicated to promoting childhood literacy, youth development, and youth empowerment. Currently Odayne is the Director of a non-profit organisation, The Valley Foundation, which has seen him lead youth development workshops at over 15 high schools throughout Jamaica. He is a recent recipient of the Governor General's award of Excellence in academic volunteerism.

Odayne was recently elected as the Caribbean and Americas representative for the Commonwealth Students Association, where he now works with student organisations and guilds throughout the region. He currently serves as a Lieutenant in the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force and advisor to the Jamaica Union of Territory Students. Odayne is dedicated to improving the lives and standards of living of people in marginalised communities in the Caribbean community through fostering inclusive growth strategies that inspire independence, self-reliance, collective prosperity, and sustainability.

Belise Kariza

Chief Tourism Officer, Rwanda Development Board

As Chief Tourism Officer of the Rwanda Development Board, Ms Kariza's core mandate is to drive the growth of Rwanda's tourism sector, as well as spearheading efforts to conserve the country's biodiversity.

Belise Kariza is chairperson of the Great Virunga Transboundary Collaboration Secretariat, which coordinates conservation efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. She is also chair of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects' joint marketing committee, an initiative that combines Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, to ensure the three countries are promoted as one region.

Ms Kariza received a BA in marketing from the Kigali Institute of Science Technology, a second BA in finance from the University of North Texas, and an MBA in marketing research from the American Intercontinental University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Professor Mammo Muchie

DST/NRF Research Professor of Innovation Studies at the Institute of Economics Research on Innovation (IERI), Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa

Professor Muchie is currently a DST/NRF Research Professor of Innovation Studies at the Institute of Economics Research on Innovation (IERI), at Tshwane University of Technology. He is also concurrently Professor of Development and International Relations (DIR) at Aalborg University and a senior research associate for Oxford University's SLPTMD Programme.

Professor Muchie has widely published in the areas of: international political economy and the emergence of new world orders, broad based development studies, the foundation of an African system of innovation, and comparative regional research on technology and development. Professor Muchie holds a PhD in Science, Technology, and Innovation for Development (STI4D) from the University of Sussex.

Heather Ndlovu

Research Uptake Management Officer and Lecturer, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Zimbabwe

Ms Ndlovu studied for an MPhil in Science and Technology Studies, with a specialisation in Research Uptake and Utilisation at Stellenbosh University, South Africa. She is currently involved in spearheading research uptake activities at NUST as part of the Research Uptake Communications Campaign.

Ms Ndlovu is also involved in the implementation of the Research Uptake Strategy Plan for NUST, and is the editor of the university's research newsletter. Her other duties include lecturing in the Department of Records and Archives. Her research interests are in public engagement in science and technology, science communication, and research uptake (for universities and in policy making).

Jean Chrysostome Sehene

Executive Secretary, Rwanda Environmental Conservation Organisation (RECOR)

Mr Jean Sehene is one of the founding members of Rwanda Environmental Conservation Organisation (RECOR). He has extensive experience in environment and development issues, and NGO management, environmental management, community and rural development.

Mr Sehene is currently serving on the board of Nile Basin Discourse Forum Rwanda chapter as its technical adviser, having previously served on board of Nile Basin Discourse, a network bringing together more than 900 Civil Society Organisations, operating within 10 Nile riparian countries. He is also the Secretary General of WASHNET – Rwanda an umbrella organisation bringing together organisations working on water, sanitation, hygiene, and environment.

Mr Sehene holds a Master's degree in Education for Sustainability from London South Bank University, and a Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences (Sociology) from the National University of Rwanda.

Dr Prasad Senadheera

Senior Lecturer in Botany, The Open University of Sri Lanka and Fellow in Plant Molecular Biology, The International Rice Research Institute

Dr Senadheera completed a PhD in Plant Biotechnology in 2011 at University of York, UK and University of Colombo, Sri Lanka under the Commonwealth split-site PhD Scholarship Programme. His doctoral research focused on the physiological and biochemical screening of rice for abiotic stress tolerance (salt), transcriptomics, mutant screening, and functional validation of genes. Prior to his PhD studies, he was employed by the Department of Export Agriculture in Sri Lanka as an Assistant Director where he was entrusted to manage the crop development and extension programme.

In 2012, he was appointed to the post of Senior Lecturer in Botany at the Open University of Sri Lanka. As the project coordinator of the Commonwealth of Learning's Lifelong Learning for Farmers (L3F) project, he launched a successful university outreach programme. He is currently working at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Manila, Philippines. His work is on gene discovery for drought tolerance in rice.

Dr Aime Tsinda

Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR)

In addition to Dr Tsinda's role at IPAR, he also lectures in Regional Planning and Environmental Geography at the University of Rwanda.

Dr Tsinda's current research interests include: sustainable urban planning, natural resource and environmental management, improving access to and sustainability of water supply and sanitation systems, multi-hazard mitigation and climate adaptation. Dr Tsinda has published three books, several articles in international journals, and several papers in conferences and workshops.

He holds a PhD in Environment Sustainability from the University of Surrey, UK, a Master's Degree in Urban Planning from the Université de Montréal (Canada), and a BA in Geography from the University of Rwanda.