The African-German Network of Excellence in Science(AGNES) has appointed the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Professor Odunayo Clement Adebooye, as the President of the Network. The Board of AGNES held its annual meeting on Wednesday 1st March, 2023. The German Government and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation were represented at the meeting by Dr Daniela Kneissl, Head of Africa and Middle East Division of the Foundation.
In the election that was conducted as part of the annual meeting, Professor Adebooye was elected to lead the network from 2023 to 2025. The position is renewable for another 2 years.
By this election, the Secretariat of the network will move from Benin Republic to Nigeria for the first time since the establishment of the Network in 2011 and it will be situated at Osun State University, Osogbo.
AGNES is a networking organization established by the German Government Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH), with the support of the Government of Germany in 2011.
The network is designed to award grants and fellowship to support highly qualified young scholars (Doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers) from Sub-Saharan Africa through four grant programmes: AGNES Intra-Africa Mobility Grants, AGNES-PAWS Intra-Africa Mobility Grants for women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), AGNES Junior Research Grants, and AGNES-PAWS Junior Research Grants for women in STEM.
The new President-elect holds the distinguished fellowship of international organizations including, Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; Fellow, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD); Fellow, United Nations University (UNU) and Fellow, Obafemi Awolowo Order of Sustainable Education.
Adebooye has won some highly prestigious international and national awards. In 2009, he emerged as the first Nigerian to win the prestigious Humboldt Alumni Award of the German Government’s Humboldt Foundation.
Speaking after his election, the AGNES President-Elect pledged his dedication to the vision and objectives of the Humboldt Foundation and AGNES. He reiterated his allegiance to the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation and reassured the organization of the security of funds as well as transparency in every decision and activity of his administration.
He further vowed to ensure that scholars and researchers in the Humanities, Law and Social Sciences are represented more in future grants from the organization.
He stated further “I was nominated for this position, and having accepted the nomination, I am happy to have been elected. I promise to uphold the tenets on which the organization was inaugurated in 2011, and I definitely would not disappoint you all.”
Other members of the new AGNES leadership include: Professor Alexandra Muellner-Riehl from Germany, who was elected Vice President; and Dr. Romaric Vihotogbe from the Republic of Benin, who was unopposed for the position of Secretary.
The AGNES outgoing President, Professor Dr. Romain Lucas Glele Kakai, admonished the President-Elect to maintain and further proliferate the good name of the organization, and congratulated him as well as other newly elected leaders on their victories.
