Dr. Chidi Oguamanam is a Professor and Research Chair in Sustainable Bio-innovation, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and Global Knowledge Governance at the University of Ottawa (Canada)’s Centre for Law, Technology and Society. An outstanding African and Canadian scholar, he is one of the world’s leading experts on the complex intersection of Indigenous knowledge systems and Western science in various sites of knowledge production across the life sciences, social sciences, and humanities. His interdisciplinary research explores global transitions in technology and innovation through digitization, datafication, automation, AI, digital sequencing, and more. It encompasses knowledge governance regarding public health, agriculture, food security, environmental sustainability, genetic resources, biodiversity conservation, cultural preservation, entertainment, and various creative repertoires. He conceptualizes, leads and shapes ideas and inquiries that produce understanding and influence policy to fill knowledge gaps resulting from technological transitions for sustainable development.
Through his intellectual leadership, he is a Co-founder of the Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) consortium, a pan-African and globally influential research network. Open AIR builds new generation of African human resources and expertise, amplifying African voices in innovation, intellectual property, and entrepreneurship to advance opportunities in formal and informal economic and cultural sectors. Professor Oguamanam is also the Founder and Director of Access and Benefit Sharing Canada (ABS Canada), a collaborative research platform centering Indigenous knowledge systems, biodiversity conservation, and the fair and balanced access and use of genetic resources.
Professor Oguamanam contributes to building a responsive and inclusive intellectual property order in parallel with advancing global Indigenous capacity in knowledge governance. An erudite and astute negotiator, Dr. Oguamanam is frequently selected to lend his expertise in various national, regional and international fora, providing insightful, original, and pragmatic interventions that enhance the transformation of intellectual property, technology, and innovation policies around the world, especially in relation to Africa and the Global South.
