International Masters Summer School

Dan Ofori is a Professor of Management at the University of Ghana Business School. He is a Project and Applied Management specialist with teaching, research and consulting experience spanning over two decades in Strategy & CSR, Project Management, Human Resource Management and General Management.

Dan Ofori has spearheaded research, consultancy and governance assignments for international organisations in the private, public and non-governmental various and has worked in Belgium, the UK and Ghana. He has presented at international seminars, workshops and conferences and has published widely. He is currently the Provost of the College of Humanities of the University of Ghana.  

Currently serves as an Executive Director for Strategy, Quality and Sustainability and Associate Professor at Ahlia University Bahrain. Handling various senior level units, including University Strategic Planning, QA and Measurement. Appointed as an external reviewer and conducted various QA reviews as part of Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Assigned as United Nations coordinator for Ahlia University and as HEA Principle Fellow revised the University Strategy, Policies and Procedures to integrate UNSDGs as an outcome of the graduate attributes. Developed an annual SDG plan that generates an annual voluntary report highlighting the achievements of the university towards UNSGDs including number of research conducted tackling specific SDGs. 

Talk Title: Educations Strategies and Competence for Sustainable Development

Fatima brings her broad experience from her various roles in research capacity in higher education and private consulting, and from management within the cosmetics and mining industries. These roles enabled her to build upon her natural curiosity and versatility by enhancing her ability to tap into situations closely and finding the human aspects to policies and theories.

Fatima's particular focus has always been centred on telling the stories of those who may be ignored or marginalised due to lack of representation. Fatima holds a BA in International Studies from New York University, and a Master of Science in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics and Political Science. 

Talk Title: Social Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals

Jamie is the co-founder and general manager of SAIL, a not for profit that supports the creative and cultural industries of West Yorkshire to be environmentally sustainable.
 
Prior to co-founding SAIL, Jamie spent 11 years at Opera North in Leeds as a Technical Manager and engaged in various freelance roles within the music, live events, and theatre sectors. During his tenure at Opera North, he voluntarily spearheaded the organisation’s sustainability efforts, culminating in winning the “Best Newcomer” at the 2019 Creative Green Awards.
 
At SAIL, Jamie has contributed to significant cultural events, including LEEDS 2023 and Calderdale 2024, and is leading on the sustainability partnership with Bradford 2025, UK City of Culture. Additionally, Jamie develops sustainability and carbon reduction strategies alongside theatres, event spaces, and local government bodies, is a qualified Carbon Literacy trainer and is involved in the development of the Theatre Green Book.

Talk Title: Creating a sustainable Bradford 2025, UK City of Culture

Magdalena Tayoun, seamlessly integrates organisational management with sustainability. Originating from Germany and residing in Dubai for over a decade, she blends her expertise in Human Resources Management with a passionate commitment to preserving nature and biodiversity.

With a degree in Business Psychology, Magdalena navigated through various business sectors within the UAE’s business landscape, where she solidified and enhanced her passion for Human Resources and its pivotal role in driving organisational change. In 2018, Magdalena found her purpose at Emirates Nature-WWF, where she realised her desire to transition from profit-oriented organisations to contributing to society. At Emirates Nature-WWF, she champions sustainable HR practices and fosters teamwork with different units of the organisation, by supporting the teams with her expertise gained working in different business sectors to meet the overall organisational goals.

Her work aligns closely with Bradford University's Master Summer Programme, fostering a connection between academia and real-world application. Magdalena is especially interested in Nature-based-Solutions, which will be her topic during her Keynote Speech.

Talk Title: Nature based solutions - an accelerator for local economies

Muhamed Farooque is a Business Performance Management and Strategy Specialist focused on leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve business challenges and drive organizational growth. He is the Founder and CEO of Excelledia, a consulting firm specializing in People, Process, and Technology for Business Performance Management. Farooque established Excelledia Ventures in the UK to design AI-powered business solutions, including the development of isorobot, an enterprise management system specializing in governance, strategy, risk, compliance, and internal audit.

He also founded Dezign Space to prototype business ideas and the AI Center of Excellence (AI CoE) framework, which enables businesses of all sizes to adopt AI without large teams or investments. 

Talk Title: Exploring innovative solutions in overcoming societal challenges

Dr Ato Arthur is a professional engineer, development planner and an expert in governance and public policy with over 20 years’ experience. Currently, Dr. Nana Ato Arthur is the Head of the Office of the Head of the Local Government Service (OHLGS), Ghana.

Prior to his current position, he served as a Member of Parliament in the 6th Parliament of Ghana (Jan 2013-Jan 2017). Dr. Nana Ato Arthur is one of the leading experts on decentralization and local governance in Ghana. He holds a PhD in Development studies. Ing.

Dr. Nana Ato Arthur serves as a Member of Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM). 

Professor Anand is a specialist in environmental economics and public policy with a focus on the interface of urban economy, environment and sustainability. Prof Anand has held various leadership positions including as the Head of the Department of Peace Studies and International Development (February 2019 to date) and the Programme Leader for the PG Certificate programme for the Young Professionals of the African Development Bank.

He was the team leader and principal author of the Mongolia National Human Development Report 2011 titled From vulnerability to sustainability for UNDP. He has been co-organising the Cambridge Capability Conferences led by Prof Flavio Comim with Dr Shailaja Fennell. This has led to two books: New Frontiers of the Capability Approach (Cambridge University Press, 2018) and Social Choice, Agency, Inclusiveness and Capabilities (2024, Cambridge University Press).

He has been the principal editor of the 1100-page volume with 43 chapters written by some 60 experts from around the world and published as Handbook of BRICS and Emerging Economies published by Oxford University Press (2021). 

Talk Title: Sustainability Challenges - Global Perspectives

Dr. Ruwani Fernando is currently the head of the Department of Finance, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. She graduated with Bachelor of Business Management Special Degree in Finance from the same university and obtained MSc. in Management from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Sri Lanka and obtained her PhD. from the University of Waikato, New Zealand.

She was the faculty gold medallist for the achievement of the highest GPA in the Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies in the year 2008. She was also a recipient of the New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship to pursue her PhD. Her PhD thesis has been awarded as one of the best among the three theses of the year 2020, recognized by the Institute of Finance Professionals in New Zealand.

She has also received the Vice Chancellor’s Award for the researcher with the highest number of publications in the indexed journals in 2019 and third place in the category of most outstanding young researcher in the same year. Further, she received the most outstanding young researcher of the Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies in 2022.

Her research interests are; capital structure, climate risk, default prediction and climate finance. 

Talk Title: Safeguarding Climate Investments - The Role of Country Governance

Seth Akumani is a Digital Innovation Specialist and the Head of Exploration for UNDP Ghana’s Accelerator Lab. A former tech entrepreneur, Seth is responsible for horizon scanning, scouting innovative grassroots solutions, and driving the implementation of digital initiatives that support startups and local enterprises.

Prior to his current role, Seth was Director of Business Development and Marketing at GenKey, a biometric technology company, where he delivered identification solutions for health insurance schemes, social protection programs, and other pro-poor projects. Before that, Seth co-founded and led ClaimSync, a health-tech startup that developed digital health solutions for low-resource settings. GenKey Solutions acquired ClaimSync in 2013.

Mr. Akumani is a Chartered Marketer, a Regional Ambassador for Ghana at the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC), and a Digital Health Expert at the Roche-backed FutureProofing Healthcare for Africa. In acknowledgement of his work and dedication to supporting transformative entrepreneurship, Seth has earned recognition from Forbes, CNBC Africa, and the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre.

Talk Title: Unlocking Sustainable Value Creation through Digital Transformation