Invited Speakers
Hussein Suleman (University of Cape Town)
Hussein Suleman is the Dean of Science and a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He was previously Head of Department of Computer Science at University of Cape Town from 2016-2023, where he has worked as an academic since 2003.
He earned his PhD from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2002, after a BSc, Bsc(Hons) and MSc from the then University of Durban-Westville. His research is situated within the Digital Libraries Laboratory in the Department of Computer Science, with a focus on digital libraries, ICT4D, African language Information Retrieval, cultural heritage preservation, Internet technology and educational technology.
He has in the past worked extensively on architecture, scalability and interoperability issues related to digital library systems. He has worked closely with international and national partnerships for metadata archiving, including: the Open Archives Initiative; Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations; and the NRF-CHELSA South African National ETD Project. His recent research has a growing emphasis on the relationship between low resource environments and digital library architectures. This has evolved into a focus on societal development and its alignment with digital libraries and information retrieval. He is currently collaborating with various colleagues in digital humanities groups to develop a proof-of-concept and experimental low-resource software toolkit for digital repositories; this reconceptualision of the architecture of digital repositories will arguably lower the bar for adoption and reduce the risk of data loss for archivists in low-resource environments
Edward A. Fox (Virginia Tech)
Edward A Fox is a Professor Computer Science at Virginia Tech, where he directs the Digital Library Research Laboratory. Since 1983 he has taught courses on digital libraries, information retrieval, multimedia/hypertext/information access, etc. He is a Fellow of ACM, IEEE, AIIA, and AAIA. His degrees are from MIT (BS) and Cornell University (MS, Ph.D.). He serves as Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD). He collaborates with Yinlin Chen and William Ingram on IMLS grants related to the topics of this workshop.
Sylvia Kgorane (ProQuest, a part of Clarivate)
Johanssen Obanda (Crossref)
Johanssen Obanda works with Crossref Ambassadors to effectively engage their communities and support Crossref’s outreach initiatives. Obanda is passionate about building an inclusive research ecosystem where researchers across the globe can easily access scientific knowledge and make meaningful connections
Lombe Tembo (ORCID)
Lombe Tembo, based in Zambia, is a Grant Program Officer/Engagement Lead at ORCID, an international non-profit organization that offers unique identifiers for researchers and scholars, facilitating the connection of their research activities across various systems. Lombe’s role involves enhancing equity of participation in ORCID, with a particular focus on currently underrepresented regions, notably in the Global South. Additionally, she plays a key role in expanding membership and adoption within these underserved areas, while ensuring member satisfaction and the delivery of value. Lombe holds a Master’s Degree in Development Studies and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, which provide her with a strong foundation for her contributions to advancing research collaboration and scholarly communication
Yinlin Chen (Virginia Tech)
Dr. Yinlin Chen earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science & Application from Virginia Tech. His research interests include Digital Libraries, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Cloud Computing, Natural Language Processing, and Information Retrieval. Passionate about cloud-based applications using AWS and GCP, Dr. Chen has taught Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Database Management Systems courses. He has served on program committees and reviewers for conferences such as CIKM, SIGIR, JCDL, iPRES, ICADL, TPDL, and DLF Forum. Additionally, he has been a Fedora Repository committer
William A. Ingram (Virginia Tech)
William A Ingram is an Associate Professor at Virginia Tech and serves as Associate Dean and Executive Director for Information Technologies in the University Libraries. He holds a B.A. in Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ingram's research focuses on digital libraries and information retrieval, particularly applying machine learning and AI to improve access to digital collections. He is also instrumental in organizing workshops on AI for libraries and cultural heritage organizations, with an emphasis on ethics and bias mitigation.
Gabriela Mejias (DataCite)
In her role, she leads the Global Access Program, contributes to DataCite’s outreach efforts and seeks collaboration with the research community. She also leads DataCite participation in the FAIR-IMPACT project. Previously, she worked at ORCID focusing on community engagement, to increase adoption and membership. Gabriela volunteers at the EOSC PID Policy & Implementation Task Force, the Board of Directors of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations and the NISO Diversity Equity Inclusion and Accessibility committee. She’s interested in shaping a more open research infrastructure
Olatunbosun Obileye (DataCite)
Bosun Obileye is the Regional Engagement Specialist - Africa at DataCite, where he drives the promotion of open science principles across the continent. With a background in Computer and Information Research Science, he brings extensive expertise in open data policy development, research data infrastructure implementation, and community engagement, positioning him as a leading advocate for Research for Development (R4D). Bosun is dedicated to advancing the adoption of DOI, metadata, and global best practices for research outputs. Through his unwavering commitment to fostering collaborations and advocating for Persistent Identifiers (PIDs), he catalyzes positive change within the research community.
Charles J Greenberg (NDLTD)
Charles J Greenberg is a Lecturer for the School of Information at San Jose State University and a Board of Director member for the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD).
From January 2000 to November 2023, he directed the Health Sciences Library for the Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine. He was also the Founding University Librarian for the Wenzhou-Kean University Library, situated in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, PRC, between December 2013 and June 2019. Prior to this, he co-founded and maintained the Yale School of Medicine’s Thesis Digital Library, a repository of medical student theses launched in 2003.
Charles joined the NDLTD Board of Directors in 2011 after attending and presenting papers at ETD symposia since 2003. Charles currently serves as Chair of the NDLTD Awards Committee, as well as the NDLTD Finance Committee. Charles is also the Managing Editor for the Journal of Electronic Theses and Dissertations, hosted at the United Arab Emirates University. He nominated student award-winning theses for the 2004 and 2012 ETD annual symposia. Recently, Charlie presented a paper at ETD2018 in Taipei, Taiwan, on Dissertation Coaches and ETD Submissions. Charlie is also a Senior Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals.
Deane Kearns (EBSCO Information Services)
Deane Kearns, is the Regional Sales Manager for Southern Africa at EBSCO Information Services with 10 years of experience in the industry. In these 10 years, he has worked with many institutions and consortiums, including the Zambia Library Consortium, to provide access to EBSCOhost databases and ebooks, helping students and academic staff to enhance their research capabilities.
Originally from Johannesburg, he holds a BCom in Economics and Econometrics as well as a BCom (Honours) in Econometrics from the University of Johannesburg. Prior to joining EBSCO, he gained valuable work experience at Investec and Discovery Health.
In his spare time, he enjoys spending quality moments with family and indulging in his passion for riding bicycles.
He is dedicated to delivering exceptional service and value to institutions, and is constantly seeking opportunities to further develop his knowledge and expertise in the ever-evolving world of information services.
Ernest Banda (Zynle Technologies)
Ernest Banda is a dedicated Sales Manager with a strong background in B2B sales and technology solutions, with over five years of experience across digital and fintech sectors. Currently the Sales Manager - Fintech & Solutions at Zynle Technologies Ltd, Ernest leads sales initiatives that support digital transformation through innovative software solutions. His role involves driving sales, managing client relationships, and collaborating with technology teams to create impactful, user-focused solutions, which aligns with the ETD conference’s focus on advancing electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) globally.
Ernest's expertise also extends into project planning and monitoring, key areas for institutions managing large-scale digital repositories and educational resources. His education from the University of Zambia, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Adult Education, along with certifications in Project Planning, Data Analysis, and Monitoring and Evaluation, underpin his technical and analytical skills. Ernest's contributions emphasize creating long-term partnerships and innovative solutions, both critical for enhancing ETD visibility and accessibility on a global scale.
Ernest is passionate about leveraging technology to foster education and information accessibility, aligning well with the mission of ETD 2024 to expand the reach of electronic academic resources.