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Prof. Desta Mebratu
Extraordinary Professor at the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST),
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Fellow of Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS)
Visiting Professor at the Addis Abeba Institute of Technology, Ethiopia
Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (FAAS)
Title: Systematic shifts for just and sustainable development in Africa
Bio:
Desta Mebratu is a Professor at the Centre for Sustainability Transition, Stellenbosch University, and a Visiting Professor at Addis Ababa Institute of Technology. He is a chemical engineer by background with a specialization in Industrial Environmental Economics. He has more than 35 years of experience in the field of sustainability and sustainable industrial development working for industries, universities, and international organizations. Professor Mebratu has widely published in peer-reviewed journals and co-edited the ‘Handbook on Sustainable Development Policy and Administration and the book ‘Transformational Infrastructure for Development of a Wellbeing Economy in Africa’. Professor Mebratu is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (FAAS) and several other institutions of Advanced Studies. In 2023, Professor Mebratu was recognized by the Royal Academy of Engineering as one of the Engineering Icons of the Century for his contribution in the field of engineering for sustainability.
Abstract:
The world is faced with multiple crises that may have impacts of tectonic proportions in the coming decades. These include the climate crisis and biodiversity loss which pose existential threat to humanity, the unprecedented impact of technologies associated with the Fourth industrial revolution (4IR) including digitization and artificial intelligence, and the increasing rate of unemployment and the widening wealth gap between and within countries. Africa will face the brunt of the adverse impacts of these global trends if it continues with the business-as-usual development models. However, it also has a unique opportunity of leapfrogging into a more just and sustainable society through a combined and smart utilization of the opportunities from emerging knowledge and technology systems with its unparalleled renewable energy, critical minerals, and human resources. This would require developing a transformational narrative that is responsive to the African context and achieving fundamental systemic shifts in key areas including technology systems. This paper highlights the key foundation and elements of the transformational narrative including the main features of the systemic shifts that need to be addressed.
Keywords: Sustainable transition, transformational narrative, systemic shifts.
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Prof. Mammo Muchie
DST-NRF SARChI Chair Rated Research Professor in Innovation Studies,
Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa
Title: Re-Thinking and Re-Designing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics for Sustainable Development for All Humanity in one world Community Future
Bio:
Professor Mammo Muchie did his undergraduate degree in Columbia University, New York, USA and his postgraduate MPhil and DPhil in Science, Technology, and Innovation for Development (STI&D) from the University of Sussex, UK. He is currently a DST-NRF research chair in Innovation Studies at the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology as a rated research Professor. He is a fellow of the South African Academy of Sciences, the African Academy of Sciences and the African Science Institute. He is also currently adjunct Professor at Bahir Dar, Harmaya, and University of Gondar, Ethiopia. He is senior research associate fellow at the TMD Centre of Oxford University and the Africa Centre of Excellence in Data Science at the University of Rwanda. He has taught at the University of Economics in Prague as visiting professor, Jawarahal Nehru University in India, Tonji and Shanghai University in China; Honorary Professor Jiaxing University in China, Assistant Professor Amsterdam University, Visiting Professor Carleton College in the USA; Principal Lecturer Middlesex University, Professor Aalborg University; Part–time Lecturer, Cambridge University; Honorary Professor UNISA. Professor Mammo held various positions globally, including the Director of the Research Program on Civil Society and African Integration at the then University of Kwa Zulu-Natal; board member at the North Western University, Chengdu, China. He is currently the chairman of the advisory board of African Talent hub of the Community Interest Company (registration no.10461990) to raise funds for making Africa the talent, innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and knowledge hub of the world. He has been appointed as special distinguished advisor to the Africa Union’s Student Council and a mentor for the African Entrepreneurship award. He has initiated the African Unity for Renaissance and Knowledge Exchange. He is a founding scientific advisor to the African Solar network, founding chairman of the Network of Ethiopian scholars. He has led the SIDA, Sweden funded research on engineering design and on transformative innovation for African integrated development and educate on public media to speed up the creation of innovative and renascent Africa. He is also a co-founding member of the Nano Technology Institute in TUT leading the innovation side of the research. He is the founder as Chief Editor of the African Journal on Science, Technology, Innovation and Development that has been running since 2009.He has been appointed as a scientific and academic advisor to the local e-Governance research that involved ten African countries on ICT4D. He had been appointed as a consultant on UNESCO’s higher education, Research and Knowledge forum. He has served as a postdoctoral mentor in the NRF national postdoctoral forum. Since 1985, he has produced over 475 publications, including books, chapters in books, and articles in internationally accredited journals and entries in institutional publications. Prof. Muchie has been given a number of awards: long dedicated and valued service awards, best institutional senior researcher of the year merit, academic excellence award, and outstanding contribution to Science, Engineering, Technology (SET) and innovation by NTSF in South Africa. Prof. Muchie took up the mammoth task of producing an impressive body of research on the innovation systems (in whatever rudimentary forms or degrees of evolutionary state they exist) in various African countries. He is the founder of the Africana Post-Graduate Academy.
Abstract:
As Albert Einstein said, a theory is something nobody believes, except the person who made it. An experiment is something everybody believes, except the person who made it.. This is the time for transforming the conceptual framing and theorising of science, technology, innovation, engineering, and mathematics by including with the social, economic, and human sciences applying the unity of knowledge. A new paradigm- shift and mindset shift to reform and perform the education system to generate impactful knowledge and imagination anchored in a value and supply chain for producing a very tangible and measurable output and outcome with full wisdom is much needed. The world is dominated, guided, and driven by self-interest gained at the expense of human and nature wellbeing. There is a need to use science, technology, innovation, engineering, and mathematics with all the other disciplines to make a real difference by making sure all win full health and wellbeing as one humanity living with nature safety in one world community. Science, technology, innovation, engineering, and mathematics must all create practical knowledge to eradicate poverty, inequality, unemployment and nature safety and livelihood security. There is a real need for conscientific unity of knowledge. There is a need to build STEM to also link STEM with the social and human sciences. STEM can be one way that unity of knowledge can be made by finding how the natural, human and social sciences can be synergised New approaches of re-designing and re-engineering by using the book published in 1998 as “ Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge by E. O. Wilson to unite the sciences with the humanities and social sciences is very useful to apply.Wilson uses the term consilience to describe the synthesis of knowledge from different specialized fields and disciplines ranging from all the natural , social and human sciences .We can bring STEM with human and social sciences to help re-engineer the education system in Ethiopia and make ICAST a model for creating the new innovative knowledge hybrid synthesis to save humanity by uniting all and dividing no one forever.
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Dr. Dagnachew Aklog
Faculty of Civil and Water Resources,
Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia
Title: Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Ethiopia: The role of the academia in achieving sustainable development goals
Abstract:
The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus is an integrated framework that highlights the interconnections and interdependencies between water, energy, and food systems. This concept recognizes that the three sectors are closely linked and any actions in one area often have significant impacts on the others. Understanding and managing the WEF Nexus is, therefore, essential for achieving multiple sustainable development goals (SDGs), such as SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
Ranking 145th out of 167 countries in overall SDG performance, Ethiopia faces significant challenges in achieving the SDGs, particularly in areas related to the WEF Nexus. Food insecurity remains a pressing issue, with Ethiopia ranking 100th out of 113 countries in global food security indices. Similarly, with only 55% of the population having access to electricity and just 52% and 10% having basic water supply and sanitation services, respectively, Ethiopia struggles to ensure availability of safe and adequate water supply, improved sanitation facilities and affordable and reliable energy.
Despite these challenges, the role of Ethiopian academia in addressing these critical issues has been limited. Much of the existing research focuses on the assessment of extent of the problems without offering innovative, practical solutions. This has resulted in a focus on academic outputs with little societal impact, such as publications. However, by adopting a multidisciplinary, problem-solving research approaches and practice-oriented learning methods, the academia has the potential to significantly contribute to Ethiopia’s progress towards sustainable development. This keynote speech will explore the transformative role that higher education can play in advancing the WEF nexus and achieving the SDGs in Ethiopia.