ACU Congress speakers and panellists

Read about our confirmed ACU Congress speakers and panellists. Be sure to check back as we will be updating this page as further speakers are added.

Professor Hutchinson holds a PhD from the University of Guelph, Canada, and MSc and BSc from the University of Nairobi. She has over 43 years of experience in agricultural research, extension, innovation and technology transfer and strategic administration. At the university, she holds several administrative positions, supporting management to deliver the university mandate. She is widely published and a mentor and role model for students and researchers across Africa.

Professor Hutchinson consults with many organisations in matters of agriculture, food and nutrition security, gender mainstreaming in agriculture, leadership, governance and transformation nationally and internationally.

She is a member of several professional bodies such as the International Society of Horticultural Science, the African Crop Science Society, the Horticultural Association of Kenya, the Kenya Professional Association of Women in Agriculture and Environment, and the Agricultural Society of Kenya and Institute of Directors.

Professor Hutchinson is a highly motivated, self-driven, results-focused person who is passionate about economic, social and spiritual, and societal transformation of people, countries and the African Continent.

Professor Colin Riordan CBE studied German at the University of Manchester, gaining his PhD from there in 1986. He was Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer in German at Swansea University from 1986 to 1998, when he moved to Newcastle University to become Professor of German. He became Head of the School of Modern Languages at Newcastle in 2001. After three years in that role, he was appointed as Faculty Dean of Postgraduate Studies, and a year later, in 2005, as Pro Vice-Chancellor and Provost of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. In October 2007 he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex, before moving to Cardiff University in 2012, where he served as President and Vice Chancellor until August 2023.

Professor Riordan has undertaken numerous Board roles including on Universities UK, UCAS (twice), Advance HE, the Association of Commonwealth Universities (until May 2023), as Chair of UUKi, Chair of Universities Wales and as Chair of The Conversation. From 2021 to 2023 he was Chair of the IDP Connect Strategic Advisory Board.

Jennifer Flanagan, Co-founder and CEO of Actua, is a visionary leader focused on equipping Canada's youth with critical future skills, including AI-readiness, through transformative STEM engagement. Under her leadership, Actua reaches 500,000 youth annually, creating pathways to careers in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Jennifer is dedicated to ensuring equitable access to these vital skills for underrepresented youth, including Indigenous youth, girls, Black youth and those in underserved communities. Her impactful contributions have been recognized through numerous accolades, including Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame, the Bold Woman Award by Veuve Clicquot, a Top 25 Women of Influence award, and an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Concordia University.

Soumitra Dutta has been Dean of Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford since June 2022. Previously he was the founding Dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University. Prior to Cornell he spent 22 years at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, in a variety of roles including as Deputy Dean. He is the President of Portulans Institute, a member of the Board of the Global Business School Network and member of the Global Board of Dassault Systemes.

Professor Dutta is an authority on innovation in the global knowledge economy. He is the co-editor and founder of the Network Readiness Index, published by Portulans Institute and the Global Innovation Index, published by the WIPO.

Professor Dutta received a B. Tec. in electrical engineering and computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi a master’s degree in both business administration and computer science, and a PhD in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley. In 2017 he was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus from his alma mater IIT Delhi.

Professor Olusola Oyewole is the Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities (AAU), with Headquarters in Accra, Ghana. He is a Professor of Food Science and Technology (Food Microbiology and Biotechnology) at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, from where he is currently on sabbatical leave to AAU. He was the Vice Chancellor of the University from May 2012 to May 2017. Professor Oyewole has over thirty six years’ experience
working in the African higher education space, and has over one hundred scholarly publications to his credit. He has served as a Senior Expert (Quality Assurance, Mobility and Scholarships) at the Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology of the African Union Commission in Ethiopia, Addis-Ababa, from 2009
to 2010.

Prior to coming over to the African Union Commission, Professor Oyewole was the Coordinator of the British government-sponsored project on the “Mobilisation of Regional Initiatives for the revitalisation of higher education in Africa”, at the Association of African Universities (AAU), Accra, Ghana, from 2007 to 2009. His assignment involved promotion and management of African continental research networking and research programmes for development. He has also served as the
Project Officer of the World Bank project on “Quality Assurance for African Higher Education systems” at the Association of African Universities (2006 – 2009).

Professor Oyewole has worked in national, regional and continental organizations and has experience in coordinating multinational research and development programs. He has experience in international and inter-governmental relations, advocacy and lobbying for research and research funding.

Olusola Oyewole has developed interest in the development of higher education in Africa. His areas of focus include quality assurance, leadership and management in African higher education systems, research systems. At the African Union, Professor Oyewole was charged with the coordination of the Mwalimu Nyerere Scheme, which programmes include the African Quality Rating Mechanisms (AQRM)
scheme, the Mwalimu Nyerere Scholarship programme, and the African – EU-ACP Mobility scheme. He is currently a member of the Advisory Group of the OECD programme on innovation, higher education and research for development, and the Tuning Africa quality assurance programme. He is currently the sub-cluster coordinator of the African Union Commission Continental Education Strategy for Education in Africa (CESA) on research and graduate studies.

Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, born April 28, 1963, is a Nigerian economic policy expert, advocate for transparency, and activist. She served as Vice President of the World Bank’s Africa Region (2007-2012), overseeing operations in 48 Sub-Saharan countries. She was Nigeria’s Minister of Education (2006-2007) and Minister of Solid Minerals (2005-2006), and headed the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit, earning the nickname “Madam Due Process” for reforming public procurement.

Ezekwesili co-founded Transparency International and was a pioneer director (1994-1999). She also co-founded the #BringBackOurGirls movement in 2014, advocating for the release of abducted Chibok schoolgirls, contributing to the freedom of 107 girls. She founded the #FixPolitics Initiative, the School of Politics, Policy, and Governance (SPPG), and Human Capital Africa, focusing on governance and education. A 2018 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, she ran for Nigeria’s presidency in 2019.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nigeria, a master’s in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos, and a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from Harvard Kennedy School. A chartered accountant, she worked at Deloitte & Touche and with Jeffrey Sachs at Harvard. She’s a senior economic advisor at the Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative (AEDPI) and chairs the Women Political Leaders (WPL) board.

Ezekwesili is married to Pastor Chinedu Ezekwesili, with three sons, and is an ordained pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God. She’s received honors like the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) and honorary doctorates from the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, and the University of Essex.

Our history

Our team

Events

Our Members

Funding opportunities calendar

For university staff

For students

Policy and advocacy

Projects and programmes

International mobility

Reports

Case studies

The ACU Review

Our Congress speakers and panellists

Professor Margaret Hutchinson

Vice-chancellor of the University of Nairobi

Professor Colin Riordan

ACU Secretary General and Chief Executive

Jennifer Flanagan

Co-founder and CEO of Actua

Professor Soumitra Dutta

Peter Moores Dean, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

Professor Olusola Oyewole

Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities (AAU)

Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili

Senior economic advisor at the Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative (AEDPI)