Press Section
The event organisers are publishing individual press releases as well as a joint document about key conference facts. All relevant links are being shared here:
- Key Conference Facts [PDF 201.94 KB]
- Press release of the Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Commission
- Press release of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
- Press release of Campus France [PDF 193.51 KB]
Opening Session:
Professor Narciso Matos is from September 2017 Vice Chancellor of the Polytechnic University in Mozambique, of which he was Pro Vice Chancellor from April 2015. He is former Executive Director of the Foundation for Community Development (2007-2014), Director of the International Development Program of the Carnegie Corporation of New York (2000-2007), Secretary General of the Association of African Universities (1995-2000), Associate Professor and Rector at the University Eduardo Mondlane (1990-1995). He is currently President of the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research, member of Mozambique’s National Commission for UNESCO and member of the Board of Directors of the University Foundation for the Development of Education and of BioFund.
He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Humboldt in Germany (1985), and a Lincense in Chemistry from the University Eduardo Mondlane. He is fluent in Ronga, speaks and writes fluently Portuguese and English. Speaks and writes passably in French, Spanish and German.
Elected by the African Union Executive Council and Appointed by the Assembly in July 2017, Professor SARAH MBI ENOW ANYANG AGBOR is the African Union Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, HRST. The Department consists of three divisions namely: Education, Youth and Human Resources, and Science and Technology. She has the mandate to ensure the coordination of AU programmes on human resource development matters, promote science and technology, encourage and provide technical support to Member States in the implementation of policies and programmes in the field under her supervision. Being passionate in her field, H.E. Prof. Sarah plays key roles in promoting research and publication on science and technology; promoting cooperation among Member States on education and training; encouraging youth participation and integration on the continent.
She received her Educational training from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Before joining the African Union, she was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Research, Cooperation and Relations with the Business World (DVC-RCB), University of Bamenda -North West Region of Cameroon.
She serves as a full member of the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), based in Hamburg (Germany). Also, she is a member of the Executive Board of the Coalition on Media and Education for Development Africa Forum (CAFOR). H.E. Prof. Sarah is also, a Distinguished Honorary Lifetime Member of the Society for the Advancement of Science in Africa (SASA). Her term in this position would run until 31 December 2022. She previously served as Inspector of Academic Affairs No 2 and No 1 respectively at the Ministry of Higher Education, Cameroon, (MINESUP) during which she was responsible for evaluation and monitoring of Higher Education Institutions in Cameroon in strategic leadership, academic planning and quality, teaching and learning. She was the Focal Point for the Pan African University; Conference of Ministers of Education in Africa (COMEDAF); Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers and most of all UNESCO. Moreover, she represented the Cameroon Minister of Higher Education in several capacities.
Prof. Sarah ANYANG AGBOR is a Cameroonian and Professor of African and Commonwealth Literatures. She has supervised several students at postgraduate levels, Maîtrise, Master, DEA and PHD levels; sat in numerous juries, authored two textbooks, co-authored two books and over thirty peer reviewed book chapters and scientific publications. She was also a Visiting Fulbright Scholar in residence at the University of Scranton, PA in 2004-2005 where she taught Modern African Drama and Prose respectively and also created and African library for the school.
Koen Doens is a classical philologist, who was a professor of Latin and Greek. As Belgian diplomat, he was posted in Syria, Iran and Russia. After several Belgian ministerial cabinets, he joined the European Commission in 2004. He was Head of Cabinet of Louis Michel, Commissioner in charge of Development and Humanitarian Aid during the 1st Barroso Commission and Head of the European Commission Spokespersons’ Service during the 2nd Barroso Commission.
After a period as Director for EU-Africa Relations, he took up function on 1 March 2018 as Deputy Director-General responsible for Africa, Asia, Middle East/Gulf, Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean in the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development. Within the same Directorate, he became Director-General as of 1st October 2019.
Dorothea Rüland is a German science manager and Secretary General of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) since 2010. After working as a lecturer at universities in England and Thailand, she took over the management of the DAAD department for Great Britain, Ireland and the Nordic countries in 1991. From 1994 to 1999, she headed the Regional Office of the DAAD in Jakarta. In 2000, she returned to the DAAD headquarters as Group Leader for Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, North Africa and the Middle East, and a year later became head of the South Program Division of the DAAD. From 2004 to 2008 Rüland was Deputy Secretary General of the DAAD and at the same time Head of the Policy Department. Before being appointed as Secretary General of the DAAD in 2010, Rüland shortly left the DAAD for her appointment as director of the Center for International Cooperation of the Free University of Berlin (2008-2010). Dorothea Rüland holds memberships in several international scientific Boards and University Councils, among them the Board of Trustees of the German-Russian Institute of Advanced Technologies (GRIAT), the Board of Governors of the German University in Cairo and the Board of Governors of the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech).
Closing Policy Panel:
Marjeta Jager is currently Deputy Director General in DG DEVCO. Ms Jager has been working in the Commission since 2005, starting as Director for Security in DG TREN and later being Director for international energy and transport files and institutional affairs, as well as Head of Cabinet of the Transport Commissioner. Before joining the Commission Ms Jager was working since 1991 for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and she was the first Deputy Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the EU.
Mohamed El-Sayed El-Shinawi M.B.B.CH., M.Sc., Ph.D., M.D, FACS is a Professor in the Department of General Surgery Faculty of Medicine -Ain Shams University, Cairo Egypt , Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Co-Chair of the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the
Mediterranean Area Initiative “PRIMA Foundation ,Barcelon,Spain”, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Consultant of General Surgery in several hospitals in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Also, he is the Regional Lead Trainer of the Sequential Trauma Educational ProgrammS “STEPs course “ conducted in Egypt
and Sudan in collaboration with Maryland University, USA. He is the President of Ain Shams Medical Student Research Association and a member of a several prestigious local and international associations and societies as the American Association of Cancer Research and board member of Breast and Gynecological International
Cancer Society.
Dr. Shinawi is also pursuing a career in breast surgery and breast cancer research. He is interested in studying
factors contributing to breast cancer survival in Egyptian patients in comparison to Western countries. Dr.
Shinawi’s research emphasis is to collaborate with cancer biologists to understand properties of tumor
microenvironment aiming to identify novel cellular and molecular pathways that could be therapeutically
target.
Dr. El-Shinawi also pursues a career in trauma and emergency care. He was the former head of the Emergency
Hospital, Ain Shams Hospitals. He has successfully completed several local and international training courses
in the fields of trauma and emergency care as well as laparoscopic and breast surgery. He is an affiliate of
University of Maryland in the area of injury research .
He is the co-chair for the committee for the Responsible Science in Egypt Phase 3: Fostering: Academic
Curricula and was the Chair for 2 Institutes about Responsible Conduct of research and a leadership Institute in
collaboration with the National Academy of Science, USA and is taking the lead in Ain Shams University to
disseminate this knowledge across Egypt and the region. He is also a member in the U.S. – Egypt Science and
Technology Joint Fund 2017 Board.
He has been awarded several scholarships and awards nationally and internationally as the award for 1st Place
Abstract Winner in the 6th Middle East Best of CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Conference, Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia , January 2012 and he was awarded “special guest status “ at ACEP scientific assembly in
October, 2011and 2016 His Biography was included in Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare 2011-2012
(8th Edition).
He has more than 40 peer reviewed publications and more than 70 oral and poster presentations worldwide in
the fields of breast cancer, trauma and general surgery. He is currently supervising more than 60 junior
physicians in master’s and doctoral programs. He is directing breast cancer awareness programs at Ain Shams
University and is an investigator on several projects regarding breast cancer in collaboration with different
institutes, academes and universities in the United States as Wayne State University, Memorial Sloane
Kettering Cancer Centre ,New York Cancer Institute ,MD Anderson Cancer Institute and Boston University.
He is the recipient of several grants from the national Academy of Science, Fogarty International Research
Collaboration Award “FIRCA” and Avon Foundation and the EU.
Frithjof A. Maennel studied Law at the Universities of Bonn and Munich. In 1992 he joined the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology, today’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research, where he held various positions. From 1996 to 2005 he worked in the “Internal Market” and the “Information Society” Directorates-General at the European Commission in Brussels and was involved in particular in shaping the legal framework for the information society. He left Brussels to become Head of the “Patent Policy, Inventor Promotion” Division at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and was subsequently appointed Head of the “Strategy” Division at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in 2007, remaining in this position until March 2015.
He was appointed Head of the Directorate for International Cooperation at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in April 2015.
Freddy Weima (1971) is Director-General of Nuffic, the Dutch organisation for internationalisation and international cooperation in education. He took up this position in 2012. Before Nuffic, Freddy worked at the Labour Market unit of CAOP – the knowledge and services centre for labour issues in the public domain. Freddy studied political science at the University of Amsterdam and the San Francisco State University. He started his career as a political science lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, after which he joined the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Later on, he also worked at the ministries of Social Affairs and Justice.
The event is jointly organised by the European Commission, the African Union Commission, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the British Council, Campus France and Nuffic.
Founded in Heidelberg in 1925 on the initiative of a single student, the DAAD has since become one of the most important and the world’s largest funding organisations for the international exchange of students and researchers. It is an association of German institutions of higher education and their student bodies. The DAAD relies on a network of 15 regional offices and 57 Information centres (ICs) in more than 60 countries, about 450 “Lektors” and language assistants, 20 Centres of German and European Studies, a diverse range of DAAD-funded university projects abroad, ranging from individual courses to establishing new universities, and a pool of 335,000 alumni. To the Website
Nuffic works from primary and secondary education to vocational and higher education and research. Together with national and international partners, Nuffic strives to promote the development of pupils and students, as well as the growth of teachers, professionals and organisations. Among many other tasks, Nuffic supports Erasmus Plus, the big European education programme; Orange Knowledge, a capacity building programme commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Study in Holland campaign; diploma recognition and bilingual education in primary, secondary and vocational education.
Apart from the headquarters in The Hague, Nuffic is responsible for ten offices all over the world in countries like China, Indonesia and South Africa. To the Website
Campus France is a public institution placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. It is the national Agency in charge of promoting French higher education abroad, hosting international students and researchers in France, managing scholarship programmes for the French and foreign governments and managing the French alumni network.
Campus France has a network of 256 overseas offices located in 126 countries within the French diplomatic network. Some 370 French higher education institutions and research organizations are members of the Campus France Forum. To the Website
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We work with over 100 countries in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Last year we reached over 65 million people directly and 731 million people overall including online, broadcasts and publications. We make a positive contribution to the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust. Our work in Education aims at bringing people together to share expertise and innovation, enrich and improve teaching and learning and open up new opportunities across the world.
In Higher Education and Research, we aim to support effective and efficient higher education and research systems by building partnerships between UK higher education institutions and other countries; supporting the exchange and mobility of researchers, academics, scholars and students and conducting research and analysis, providing evidence to shape the global policy level debate around issues facing international research and higher education. To the Website