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Home After its inaugural year in Cambridge, followed by a successful second edition in Dakar, Senegal, the third Transformers Academy will turn virtual for the first time. The new online format will bring Transformers from across the world together with mentors from the Islamic Development Bank and other experts for an informative and inspiring course. Science, Technology & Innovation Over the last few years, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has been focusing on developing a new development model which focuses resources on enhancing countries’ competitiveness in strategic sectors in which they have, and can build, a global comparative advantage. As part of the His Excellency Dr. Bandar Hajjar’s Five-Year Program, IsDB invested in creating a first ever Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) department in order to foster innovation as one of the key tools to address and help its member countries meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9hsj-fmwQ0 Speakers Dr Hayat Sindi Chief Scientific Advisor to the President, IsDB As Chief Scientific Advisor to the President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr Hayat has spearheaded the launch of the new US$ 500m Transform Fund. The largest of its kind, the Fund is focused on promoting and nurturing science, technology and innovation to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. She has also launched Engage, a global digital hub to connect and support innovative entrepreneurs. Dr. Hayat is a passionate advocate for the promotion of science- based skills for women, particularly in the developing world. At a young age, inspired by great scientists and thinkers, Hayat convinced her family to allow her to travel alone to England to pursue her higher education, a rare permission for a young Saudi woman. She taught herself A-Levels, in order to meet British entry criteria, and went on to earn a degree in pharmacology with honours from King’s College London in 1996, and five years later, became the first woman from the Gulf to obtain a Ph.D. in biotechnology from Cambridge and went on to study at Harvard. Dr Hayat is a Goodwill Ambassador for Sciences and UNESCO; one of the 25 global experts selected by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon to the UN Scientific Advisory board; and a member of the Ten Members group to support the technological facilitation mechanism (TF) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She was recently featured in the BBC’s 100 Women series; was named by Forbes as the second most powerful woman in Saudi Arabia and listed in Newsweek’s “150 Women Who Shake the World.” She is one of the first Saudi women to have served on the Shura council. Bukky Shonibare Founder, Invictus Africa & Girl Child Africa Bukky Shonibare is the Founder of Girl Child Africa, Coordinator of #ChurchMeToo movement, and one of the leaders of the #BringBackOurGirls movement in Nigeria. She is a peace and security expert, and a human rights advocate with a focus on women and girls. Bukky hold a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) with First Class Honours, B.Sc in Business Administration (First Class), and Master’s in Managing Peace and Security in Africa (A). She also hold dual Certificates in Journalism, and Creative Writing from the London School of Journalism; and dual Certificates in Social Sector Management, and Entrepreneurial Management from the Pan Atlantic University, Nigeria. Bukky has received some awards and recognitions, including being named a ‘Nigerian Star’ by the US Embassy in Nigeria (May 2019), Glazia’s Person of the Year in the Philanthropy and Advocacy category (January 2018), one of the 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria (March 2018), and one of Quartz Africa’s Innovators at the World Economic Forum (May 2017). Bukky is a 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow, an initiative of the United States Department of States. Nathalie Munyampenda Nathalie is CEO of Kepler, Rwanda Nathalie Munyampenda is the CEO of Kepler, which is building an innovative global model of accessible higher education and offering new pathways to employment through upskilling in Rwanda and Ethiopia. Over 90% of Kepler’s graduates are employed within six months of graduation. An advocate of African innovation and female leadership, she is former Managing Director at the Next Einstein Forum, where she helped build Africa’s community of scientists as well as pushing for science driven industrialisation through foresight and policy work. Nathalie has also worked in the Canadian public service and international social media consulting before working to build the Government of Rwanda’s central communication unit as Coordinator (DG) in the Office of the Government Spokesperson. Nathalie has a degree in International Development and Globalization from the University of Ottawa and a master’s in Strategic Communication from Seton Hall University. Transformers Jehiel Oliver Founder and CEO, Hello Tractor Jehiel Oliver is the founder and CEO of Hello Tractor, an agricultural technology company that connects tractor owners with smallholder farmers in need of tractor services. At Hello Tractor, Jehiel is responsible for overall management and strategy. He has been honoured with numerous awards for his work in social entrepreneurship including being recognised by Foreign Policy Magazine as a Top 100 Global Thinker for 2016. He was appointed under the Obama Administration to serve two years as a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa, where he most recently chaired the technology subcommittee. Prior to Hello Tractor, Jehiel worked in consulting and investment banking. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Nairobi, Kenya. Wala Saadeh, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering, Lahore University of Management Sciences Wala Saadeh received a B.S. degree from the Computer Engineering Department, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan in 2009, and the M.Sc. degree in Microsystems Engineering and the Ph.D. degree in interdisciplinary program from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in 2012 and 2016, respectively. From January 2013 to June 2013, she was a Test-Chip intern at Test-Chip Integration team, Global Foundries in Dresden, Germany where she performed quality assurance tests on advanced nodes for DFM. During her PhD, she developed a low-energy Body-Area-Network (BAN) transceiver for binaural hearing aid for long-term continuous monitoring. Since 2016, she has been with Electrical Engineering Department, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan, where she is currently an assistant professor. Her current research interests include ultralow power wearable devices, human gait analysis for elderly people, and system-on-a-chip design for portable medical devices. Her publications can be viewed via Google Scholar here. Dr. Saadeh is a recipient of the IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) 2015 Best Paper Award (BioCAS Track) and the ISCAS 2015 Runner-Up Best Student Paper Award. Her LinkedIn profile can be accessed here. Omer Iqbal Chief Operating Officer, Knowledge Platform Omer Iqbal has been working in the EdTech industry for more than a decade. Over the past 13 years, he has been meticulously involved in corporate learning solutions, product design, development and management of technology projects at various scales. As COO of Knowledge Platform, he is trying to create a strong, compelling vision of what the future of EdTech needs by leveraging technology. He believes that educational technology must reach students beyond social and economic barriers. Access to quality of education is a fundamental right of every student in our society. He is trying to address few key

P.S. A few readers have asked which online course subscription we actually reach for — it's Coursera Plus — Sustainable Development & Project Management Specializations; take a look here if you want the current details.