Keynote Speaker
Dr Solomon Benor is Director General for Science and Research Affairs at the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, with a home base and Associate Professor of Plant Biotechnology at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU). Dr Solomon is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Addis Ababa University, and Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa.
Dr Solomon has substantial science leadership experiences, namely he is in charge of overseeing Ethiopian higher education institutions' science and research activities; designing policies and strategies that enhance science, science culture, research, and research ethics in Ethiopia; leading evaluation and accreditation system of national scientific journals; providing professional support in resource mobilization and partnerships; networking Ethiopian higher education and research institutions with regional and global scientific organizations; and providing various capacity building programs in STI, research and research ethics.
Before his current leadership role at the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, Dr Solomon served as Director General for Science and Research Affairs at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education; Director for Research, Technology Transfer, University-Industry-Linkage and Community Services at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education; Academic Program Director at AASTU; Dean of Biological School at AASTU, and College Registrar at Hawassa University.
Dr Solomon has 25 years of research experiences and with a focus in biodiversity conservation, plant biotechnology, plant breeding, and environmental sciences. He has extensive national and international research experiences, namely he worked as a Post-Doctoral Scientist at BecA-ILRI HUb, Kenya; Research Fellow at Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Research, Germany; TWAS Research Fellow at Nanjing Agricultural University, China; Researcher at Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology, Norway; Lecturer at Hawassa University, Ethiopia; and Plant Breeder at Sirinka Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia. Dr Solomon has published over 40 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and proceedings. Educational backgrounds of Dr Solomon include PhD in Plant Molecular Genetics at Kassel University, Germany; M.Phil in Plant Molecular Biology at Tromsø University, Norway; BSc in Plant Sciences at Haramaya University, Ethiopia; and Diploma in Animal Sciences at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Dr Solomon served as Associate Editor for the Ethiopian Journal of Crop Science; currently he is an Associate Editor for Journal for Creativity, Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship; and Abyssinian Journal of Science and Technology. He is also member of Ethiopian Biotechnology Society, Ethiopian Crop Science Society, and Biological Society of Ethiopia.