The objective of the workshop was to establish a network of women researchers in the United States and Africa who have common interests in increasing international research and collaborative activities. More than 30 women scientists from Africa and the USA participated, shared their research ideas and developed collaborative projects on their topic of interests. Among them was scholarship holder Sonnia Nzilani Musyoka. She stressed that the workshop provided a unique platform for networking with women professionals from USA and Africa. Furthermore, she was able to form a scientific group where they are currently developing collaborative activities on integrated and cross disciplinary research. The workshop was sponsored by the Elsevier Foundation and organized by COACh (a grass-roots organization working to increase the number and success of women scientists and engineers) in partnership with Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD).
Sonnia Nzilani Musyoka is a PhD researcher at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). She is employed in Kenya at the South Eastern Kenya University. Furthermore, Sonnia is a technical committee member of the Kenya accreditation service, Kenyan coordinator for the Dutch based consulting firm Q-point, works as a senior consultant at Human Development International, as technical expert and is a trainer and auditor for sustainable aquaculture at DNV-GL Kenya. She has travelled widely and has more than 10 years of local and international experience in consultancy and training on capacity building for fisheries and aquaculture as well as climate smart agricultural practices towards sustainable livelihoods.
