• Member of the Steering Group of the ISC Social Science Matters Programme

This page was updated in October 2025.

The post Ioana Roxana Podina appeared first on International Science Council.

• Member of the Steering Group of the ISC Social Science Matters Programme

Background

I have a B.A., M.A., and PhD (Linguistics) earned from the University of Nairobi. I teaching at the University of Nairobi in 1982 as a Tutorial Fellow and rose through the academic ladder to become a Professor of Linguistics and languages. Over the years, I have done research in Linguistics and the Swahili language, attended and presented papers in numerous international conferences, and published many articles in peer-reviewed academic journals. I have supervised students at both M.A and PhD levels. Besides teaching and doing research at the University of Nairobi, I have also taught at the Virginia State University, U.S.A. (as a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence), University of Warsaw ( as a Modern European University Visiting Professor), and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (as a Exchange Programme Visiting Professor). I have given leadership at the University of Nairobi including chairing the Department of Linguistics for many years and organising conferences.

This page was updated in October 2025.

The post Kithaka wa Mberia appeared first on International Science Council.

• Member of the Steering Group of the ISC Social Science Matters Programme

Background

I have worked at various universities, with my main base being the University of South Africa (UNISA), where I started off in the Sociology department. I have been Dean (Social Sciences) at the University in Eswatini; Deputy Director in the Centre for Systems Studies at Hull University (UK); and Dean (Social Sciences and Humanities) at European University Cyprus. I am currently Professor Extraordinarius at UNISA. In my research projects (with teams) I have focused on how research can be geared towards facilitating social and environmental justice by employing a transformative paradigm for transdisciplinary research, inflected with an Indigenous paradigm. The latter paradigm for research contributes to nurturing sustainable development because it provides for Indigenous ways of relating to the natural environment, of which we are seen as a part (and not apart).

This page was updated in October 2025.

The post Norma Romm appeared first on International Science Council.

• Member of the Steering Group of the ISC Social Science Matters Programme

Background

Awanish Kumar is currently a part of the School of Development, Azim Premji University. He is also Honorary Fellow at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom (since April 2023), and Consulting Editor (Book Reviews), Economic and Political Weekly, Mumbai (since November 2018).

Prior to joining Azim Premji University, he was a British Academy Newton International Fellow (2021 – 2023) at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. He has taught at the School of Development, Azim Premji University (2020−2021) and at the postgraduate department of Public Policy at St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai (2015 – 2020).

His training is in the area of political economy of development, with specialisation in village studies as a methodology. Currently, he is working towards his monograph to be published as part of the British Academy Monograph Series.

The page was updated in October 2025.

The post Awanish Kumar appeared first on International Science Council.

• Member of the Steering Group of the ISC Social Science Matters Programme

Background

Education

• Ph. D., Sociology; Insitut d’Hautes Études pour L’Amérique Latine- University of Paris III (Sorbonne Nouvelle), France, 2004. Mention Très Honorable (with honors)
• Diplôme d’Études Approfondies (DEA), Sociology, Insitut d’Hautes Études pour L’Amérique Latine- University of Paris III (Sorbonne Nouvelle), France, 1999.
• B.A. Sociology, National University of Mexico (UNAM), 1998, (with honors).

Teaching experience

• Since 1996, Undergraduate level: Lecturer in Sociology; Urban Sociology; Sociopolitical Processes in the city; Cultural products in the city.
• Since 2005, Graduate seminars: Lecturer in Qualitative Research in Social Sciences.

Summary of other academic activities

• Chief editor of the Mexican Scientific Journal PENINSULA (2013-2015).
• Manager of the Academic Network “Historical Downtowns of Mexican Cities” from the National Council of Sciences and Technology, CONACYT, (2018-2020)
• Manager of the Mexican Council of Social Sciences, COMECSO

The page was updated in October 2025.

The post Ricardo López Santillán appeared first on International Science Council.

• Member of the Steering Group of the ISC Social Science Matters Programme

Background

Mr. Mu Rongping receives his B.S. and M.S. from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), and PhD from Technical University Berlin in Germany, and is now Professor at USTC and Institutes of Science and Development of Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS), President of the Chinese Association for Science of Science and S&T Policy Research, editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Science Research Management, the founding editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Innovation and Development Policy. He was the director-general of the Institute of Policy and Management of CAS, the Dean of the School of Public Policy and Management of University of CAS, President of China High-tech Industry Promotion Society.

He is a member of the United Nations University Council, the Board member of The International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA) and a member of working party on Innovation and Technology Policy of OECD.Dr. Mu is now president of Chinese Association of Sciences of Science and S&T Policy.

The page was updated in October 2025.

The post Rongping MU appeared first on International Science Council.

• Member of the Steering Group of the ISC Social Science Matters Programme

Background

Laura Zimmermann holds a joint position as tenured Associate Professor in the Departments of Economics and International Affairs (Political Science) at the University of Georgia in the United States. She is also the Labor Economist and International Migration Expert at the Center on Human Trafficking Research & Outreach (CenHTRO), a member of the Global Young Academy (GYA), and a Fellow at the Global Labor Organization (GLO). She received her BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from the University of Oxford, and her MA and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Her work focuses on capacity building in science policy, studies the political and economic impacts of large government policies in developing countries, and analyzes how households deal with shocks, particularly with respect to poverty reduction, job opportunities and labor trafficking. It has been published in top journals in economics and in the leading interdisciplinary development outlets.

The page was updated in October 2025.

The post Laura Zimmermann appeared first on International Science Council.

• Member of the Steering Group of the ISC Social Science Matters Programme

Background

I am a Professor of Communication and Literature from the University of Santo Tomas (UST), Manila where I have been teaching for over thirty years now. I currently serve as the Chair of UST’s Department of Communication and as Program Lead of the communication and literature programs of the institution’s Graduate School.

Currently, I am the Chair of the Division of Humanities of the National Research Council of the Philippines and a Member of the Technical Committee for the Social Sciences of the Philippine National Academy for Science and Technology.

I have always been active in leading professional organizations in the field of communication and media studies and literary and cultural studies and in pursuing consultancy and extension work through Philippine government-instituted committees related to higher education, research and cultural work.

This page was updated in October 2025.

The post Joyce Arriola appeared first on International Science Council.

• Member of the Partnerships Committee of the ISC Focal Point for Latin America and the Caribbean

Background

Dr. Branislav Pantović is a science diplomacy specialist and international affairs analyst with over twenty years of experience throughout Europe and Latin America. Originally from Serbia and based in Argentina, where he obtained a PhD in International Relations, he acts as a mediator between science, politics, and society, promoting collaborations across sectors and disciplines. Specifically, Dr. Pantović encourages an approach where anticipatory science informs policymakers on the use of scientific evidence for peace, resilience, and development – upholding the idea of science as a global public good.

As the Vice President of DiploCientífica, the Science Diplomacy Network for Latin America and the Caribbean, Dr. Pantović actively promotes Latin American perspectives through diverse collaborations, event planning, editorial work, and authorship of peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and policy papers. He co-developed Argentina’s first postgraduate program in Science Diplomacy at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata and teaches two courses. Additionally, he currently serves at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), where he analyzes geopolitical and humanitarian dynamics, as well as AI governance and emerging technologies, to support evidence-based decision-making.

As a Science, Technology & Policy Fellow at the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), Dr. Pantović helped shape its Science Diplomacy Center to enhance partnerships among governments, researchers, and various organizations. He was involved in the internationalization of higher education, especially in science, at the Universidad Nacional de Río Negro in Argentina. Earlier, as a full-time researcher at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, he focused on the role of diasporas in international relations, cultural centers, and the culture of remembrance, which allowed him to witness firsthand the transformative power of science in the multilateral arena at the United Nations in New York.

This page was updated in October 2025.

The post Dr. Branislav Pantovic appeared first on International Science Council.

• Member of the Science policy & Freedom and responsibility in science commitee of the ISC Regional Focal Point for Latin America and the Carribbean

Background

Strategic Advisor of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Member of the Steering Committee of the Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings Working Group at Health Systems Global, the International Council of the Global Society on Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Health, the editorial board of BMJ Public Health, and the international advisory board of Lancet Global Health. An affiliated researcher of the UNESCO Chair in Global Health and Education and a former Board Member of the Ecuadorian Society of Public Health.

This page was updated in Octrober 2025.

The post Irene Torres appeared first on International Science Council.