USAID Chief Innovation Officer Visits ID

The Institute of Design welcomed Mohamed Abdel-Kader, chief innovation officer and executive director for the Innovation, Technology, And Research (ITR) Hub at the United States Agency for International Development.

Abdel-Kader presented “Innovation, Technology, and Research: Opportunities and Challenges to International Development” to members of the ID and Illinois Tech communities on Wednesday, October 18, at the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship.

Providing a summary of his agency’s mission and work, Abdel-Kader outlined why ID students and designers might be interested in international development and how they could contribute.

Mohamed Abdel-Kader oversees various agency mechanisms to promote the application of innovation, technology, and research for greater aid effectiveness within USAID and the inter-agency, and with partners in the international development community, private sector, and civil society.

Associate Professor of Environmental Management and Sustainability Weslynne Ashton, also co-director of ID’s Food Systems Action Lab, invited Abdel-Kader to speak at ID and provided introductions.