Ibadan, 24 January 2024. – The African Union Commission has appointed Dr Tidiane Ouattara as the Head of the Science, Technology and Space Division at the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, African Union Commission, as reported by Space in Africa. Prior to this, Dr Ouattara was (and still remains) the Space Expert in charge of the development and implementation of the African Outer Space Program, including implementing the African Space Policy and Strategy and establishing the African Space Agency. He also remains the Program Coordinator for the GMES and Africa program.
As head of the Science, Technology and Space Division, Dr Ouattara will lead its contributions to the overall mandate of the Department of Human Resources Science and Technology (HRST) by formulating, harmonizing, coordinating and implementing enabling policies on the continent to accelerate Africa’s transition to an innovative-led, knowledge-based economy. He will also oversee the Division’s mobilization of collective action at the national, regional and continental levels with the aim of popularizing and raising awareness about the central role of science, technology and innovation in Africa’s socio-economic development.
Dr Ouattara has more than 24 years of experience in academia, private and public sectors, holding positions across strategic policy, program, research and operational dimensions. His experience also spans program design and delivery, science and policy integration, geospatial data analysis and management, remote sensing and Geographical Information systems (GIS), environment, R&D, knowledge management and international relations. He also has a PhD and a master’s degree in Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems from Sherbrooke University, Quebec, Canada and a master’s degree in Physical Geography from Université de Cocody, Abidjan, Côte-d’Ivoire.
