Hon. Joseph NSENGIMANA

The current Minister of Education.

Hon. Jean-Guy Afrika

As CEO of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Jean-Guy Afrika leads an institution with a broad mandate spanning investment promotion, private sector development, tourism, conservation, technology, and the management of special economic zones. RDB’s unique one-stop-center model streamlines business registration, incentives, and regulatory processes, making Rwanda one of Africa’s most competitive investment destinations.
 

Before joining RDB, Jean-Guy held leadership roles at the African Development Bank, including Ag. Director of the Regional Integration Coordination Office and Lead for Regional Integration. In these roles, he advised senior management on regional integration and resource allocation, reported on a $14 billion project portfolio, and led efforts to strengthen partnerships with key institutions such as the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, and the AfCFTA Secretariat.
 

Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at the East African Community and the Rwanda Investment & Export Promotion Agency, spearheading regional integration and export growth initiatives.
 

His contributions have earned him various honors, including a Distinguished Alumnus Award from George Mason University, a Desmond Tutu Fellowship, and special recognition from the Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers

Prof. MICHEL BEZY

Dr. Michel Bézy is a Professor in the School of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), USA. For 8 years, he was the Associate Director of CMU-Africa, a graduate program announced in 2011. Prior, he has been working for IBM Corporation for 25 years in different positions in the Software and Research organizations. For three years, he was the CEO of a library automation software company based in Europe delivering solutions to more than one hundred large corporations in the world. He has a Degree in Engineering from the Université Catholique of Louvain (UCL), a Master Degree in Sciences Mathematics from CMU, and a Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics from UCL.

Prof. KEUN LEE

Dr. Keun LEE is a Distinguished Professor at Seoul National University (economics), a Fellow of the CIFAR (Canada), and the chairman of the Center for Economic Catch-up. He is also an editor of Research Policy, and associate editor of Industrial and Corporate China. He is the winner of the 2014 Schumpeter Prize for his monograph on Schumpeterian Analysis of Economic Catch-up (2013 Cambridge Univ. Press), and also the 2019 Kapp Prize by EAEPE. He is also awarded the title of EBES Fellow of the Year 2023 by the EBES. He writes regularly for Project Syndicate. Previously, He served as the Vice-chairman of the National Economic Advisory Council for the chair and President of Korea, as the President of the International Schumpeter Society (2016-18), a member of the Committee for Development Policy of UN (2013-18), a GFC member of the World Economic Forum (2016-19). He obtained Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. His total citations received is about 12,650 with H-index of 53 and I-10 index of 141 (Google Scholar).

Dr. Eugene MUTIMURA

Dr Mutimura is the Executive Secretary of NCST. Dr. Mutimura was previously Minister of Education in the Republic of Rwanda, which led him to better understanding of policy implications to leverage the potential of technology and innovation for development. Dr. Mutimura grew up as a junior investigator with D71 grant funding from US National Institutes of Health (NIH) after being a Fulbright scholar at Washington University in St Louis, MO, US. This initiated broader collaborations for NIH funding for the D43 on HIV- and ART- associated cardiometabolic research and training, and NHLBI/NIH U24 grant to develop Translational Research capacity for control of hypertension. He was the director of the Central African International Epidemiological database to Evaluate HIV and AIDS (IeDEA) in Burundi, Cameroon, DR Congo, and Rwanda. Dr Mutimura was the Coordinator of World Bank Funded 24 Eastern and Southern African Centers of Excellence (ACEs) to accelerate pedagogy and to develop Research and Training capacity at 16 Universities in 8 countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia). He is the Board Chair for Training Advisory Committee (TAC) for training program on “Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa (DS-I Africa)” that provides prospects for use of data science to catalyze novel investigations in healthcare, biomedical and public health in Africa. Thus, Dr. Mutimura considers that the most valuable investment lies in nurturing the talents for young scientists to become world-class investigators to advance scientific discovery for rapid national development in Rwanda and Africa. With support from national leadership, in collaboration with partners in Africa and globally, Dr. Mutimura is poised to contribute for improved commitment and investments in technology advancement to contribute to Rwanda’s vision to become a knowledge-based economy.

Prof. JEANINE UMUTESI CONDO

Dr Jeannine Umutesi Condo is a medical doctor and PhD holder in Public Health since 2009, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Rwanda (UR) and Tulane University (USA). Since 2021, she became the managing director and co-founder of CIIC-HIN (Center for Impact, Innovation, and Capacity Building for Health Information and Nutrition (CIIC-HIN), a not-for-profit registered in Rwanda (www.ciichin.org). Previously, she was the former Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) (2016-2019), Deputy Dean of Research and Dean of the School of Public Health and Principal of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the UR.

Dr. IVAN TWAGIRASHEMA

Dr. Ivan Twagirashema is a PhD holder in Industrial Chemistry and Catalysis from the University of Science and Technology in Lille/France and has a Master’s degree in Physics-Chemistry and another in Pharmacy. He was the Deputy CEO of Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) until January 2024. Before RMB joining, he was the CEO of Ngali Holdings Ltd, a private group of companies involved in mining, energy, engineering, cyber security, commodity trading and healthcare (in Vitro Fertility Centre). In the last 20 years, he managed major companies in private sector as follow: Executive Director of Rwanda Investment Group Ltd, MD of Locus Dynamics Ltd, CEO of Rwanda Energy Company Ltd, CEO of Peat Energy Company Ltd. Dr. Ivan is a senior consultant with an expertise in energy, mining, industrial processes and project management. He is a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board at African Center of Excellence in Energy for Sustainable Development (ACE-ESD).

Dr. HAKIZUMWAMI BIRALI RUNESHA

Dr. Hakizumwami Birali Runesha is the Associate Vice President for Research Computing and founding Director of the Research Computing Center (RCC) at The University of Chicago. He is the former Director of Scientific Computing and Applications at the University of Minnesota Supercomputing Institute, Research Associate at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Assistant Professor in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Kinshasa. Dr Runesha has more than 28 years of experience in high performance computing, data science and scientific software development. His research interests are in sparse numerical libraries, finite element analysis, AI/Deep Learning, and reproducibility of scientific research. He is the co-Chair of the US National Science Foundation (NSF) Advisory committee on Cyberinfrastructure, member of the National Council of Science and Technology (NCST), member of Lenovo/Intel Project Everyscale, member of the African Center of Excellence in Internet of Things (ACEIoT) International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB), member of the Reimagining Climate Governance in the Digital Age advisory committee and former president of the Great Lakes Consortium for Petascale Computing (GLCPC).

Dr. SEGENET KELEMU

SEGENET KELEMU, PhD

Director General & CEO International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Segenet Kelemu is the fourth Director General & Chief Executive Officer, and the first woman to lead icipe.

A citizen of Ethiopia of humble beginnings and educated in Ethiopia and in the United States of America, she has dedicated her life to the achievement of poverty reduction and sustainable development. She is a 2014 L’Oréal-UNESCO Laureate for Women in Science Awards, and one of the top 100 most influential African women featured in the May 2014 Edition of Forbes Africa. Dr. Kelemu was listed among the 10 most influential African women in agriculture by the Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security. In April 2018, the Women Economic Forum awarded Dr. Kelemu their highest award “Woman of the Decade in Natural and Sustainable Ecosystems” for outstanding leadership. She has received other awards and recognitions including recognition by Bill Gates, as one of five ‘heroes in the field’ who are using their talents to fight poverty, hunger, and disease, and providing opportunities for the next generation (2018); the TWAS Prize for Agricultural Sciences (2011); the 2019 College of Agriculture Alumni Fellow of Kansas State University, USA (2019);  Science Honoree of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St Louis, Missouri, USA (2019), the TWAS Regional award for leadership and building vibrant scientific institutions (2020); in 2020, she was recognized and featured by UN Women as one of seven women “Devoted to discovery: seven women scientists who have shaped our world” (2020); by The International Climate Change Development Initiative as one of “five African women scientists to celebrate” (2020); The Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry International Fellow (2020); The Ellis Island Medal of Honor, New York (2022) and decorated with the second highest award of France; the title of Officier de L’Ordre national du Mérite (Officer in the National Order of Merit) (2023). She has been featured in The CEO Magazine, Australia, as one of the six exceptional leaders from around the world, breaking ground and shattering the glass ceiling; in “the Mind of the Universe”, Time Magazine, the BBC, the CNN’s African Voices, the East African, Selamta Magazine (an inflight magazine), Le Monde among others. She serves in various Boards, science advisory panels in major global initiatives and has served in international juries of key science awards.

Dr. ELIANE UBALIJORO

Dr. Éliane Ubalijoro is the CEO of CIFOR-ICRAF and Director General of World Agroforestry – ICRAF. She is a member of the Capitals Coalition Supervisory Board as of May 2023. Eliane is a Professor of Practice For Public-Private Sector Partnerships at McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development since since 2008. Eliane is a member of Rwanda’s National Science and Technology Council and Presidential Advisory Council. She is a member of the Impact Advisory Board of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet. From 2021 to March 2023, Eliane was the Executive Director of Sustainability in the Digital Age and the Canada Hub Director for Future Earth. She is a co-editor of the 2021 book Building Resilient African Food Systems after COVID-19. Eliane is a member of the External Advisory Committee to the Chief Statistician of Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada on Canada’s first Census of Environment. Eliane was a member of the Expert Consultation Group on the Post COVID-19 Implications on Collaborative Governance of Genomics Research, Innovation, and Genetic Diversity. She was the Deputy Executive Director for Programs at Global Open Data in Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) from 2019 to 2021. She has facilitated the UNAIDS Leadership Programme for Women at the United Nation System Staff College. Eliane’s career path was featured in Forbes in celebration of International Women’s Day 2019.  She is recipient of the 2022 Award from the International Leadership Association Women and Leadership Member Community for Outstanding Practice with Broad Impact. Eliane is a fellow of the International Science Council and on the board of the Science for Africa Foundation. She was the project manager and an investigator on a phase I and II Gates Foundation Grand Challenges in Global Health project led by Professor Timothy Geary, the director of McGill’s Institute of Parasitology from 2009 to 2014. She was the principal investigator on a Gates Grand Challenges Phase I grant looking at Innovations in Feedback & Accountability Systems for Agricultural Development from 2014 to 2015.