Conference Agenda

*Please note that that the agenda is subject to change. See Speaker page for bios.

Download a PDF version of the final agenda (updated 8/2/2018)

Tuesday, July 17th - Pre-Conference Tour / Early Check-in   

11:00 – 12:30               EARLY CHECK-IN (Sofitel The Palm Dubai, UAE)

12:30 – 15:30               INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN CITY VISIT: GROUP 1 

                                     *City Overview and warehouse tours; 50 people total. Bus departs at 13.00.

DAY 1: Wednesday, July 18th   

7:45 – 9:00                  REGISTRATION (Sofitel The Palm Dubai, UAE)

9:00 – 9:30                  CONFERENCE INTRODUCTION & AIMS 

• Dr. Pinar Keskinocak, Professor, School of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Georgia Tech; Co-founder, Center for Health & Humanitarian Systems (CHHS)

• Dr. Julie Swann, Department Head & Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, NC State University; Co-founder, Center for Health & Humanitarian Systems (CHHS)

9:30 – 9:45                 WELCOME ADDRESS

• Caroline Faraj, Board Member, International Humanitarian City, Dubai; VP Arabic Services, CNN

9:45 – 10:45               KEYNOTE SPEAKER

• Jagan Chapagain, Under-Secretary-General for Programmes and Operation,  International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)  

10:45 – 11:15              POSTER SESSION/COFFEE BREAK

11:15 – 12:30              PANEL 1: Global Strategies: Planning & Responding to Public Health Emergencies

• Jagan Chapagain, Under-Secretary-General for Programmes and Operation,  International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)  

• Chibuzo Eneh, Assistant Director and Supply Chain & Logistics Unit Lead in Health Emergency Preparedness & Response Directorate, National Center for Disease Control Nigeria

• Nathalie Imbault, Global Development Programme Manager, CEPI: Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, London

• Dr. Georges Ki-Zerbo,  Head of Country Office & Representative to Guinea-Conakry, World Health Organization (WHO) African Region

• Dr. Julie Swann, Department Head & Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, NC State University, Moderator

12:30 – 13:30               LUNCH  

13:30 – 14:30               PRESENTATIONS/WORKSHOPS SESSION 1

       *5 simultaneous sessions in parallel, 20 min each oral presentation/ 60 min each workshop

14:35 – 15:35               PRESENTATIONS/WORKSHOPS SESSION 2

15:35 – 16:15               POSTER SESSION/COFFEE BREAK

16:15 – 17:30               PANEL 2: Public Health System Strengthening

• Dr. Maha Barakat, Former Director General, Abu Dhabi Health Authority

• Dr. Abdourahmane Diallo, Health Advisor to the President of the Republic of Guinea, Former Minister of Health

• Azuka Okeke, Regional Director & Country Lead (Nigeria), Africa Resource Centre

• Dr. Rajata Rajatanavin, Former Minister of Public Health, Thailand & Former President of Mahidol University

• Dr. Pinar Keskinocak, Professor, School of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Georgia Tech, Moderator

17:30-19:30                  EVENING COCKTAIL RECEPTION (Sofitel The Palm Dubai, UAE)

Day 2: Thursday, July 19th

8:15 – 8:30                    DAY 2 REGISTRATION (Sofitel The Palm Dubai, UAE)

9:00 – 9:30                    REFLECTIONS ON DAY 1

• Dominique Zwinkels, Executive Manager, People that Deliver

• Liz Igharo, Executive Director, the International Association of Public Health Logisticians (IAPHL)

9:30 – 10:45                  PANEL 3: Technology & Data Innovation: Collaboration & Coordination across Sectors

• Dr. Dhruv Boddupalli, Director of Healthcare Partnerships, Zipline

• Charan Malemarpuram, Director of Engineering, Logistimo

• Julie Rochon, Impact Business Development Director, Optel Group

• Sidarth Rupani, Regional Director, Africa, Middle East & India Public Health Sector, Llamasoft

• Tenly Snow, OpenLMIS Community Manager

• Dr. Jarrod Goentzel, Director, MIT Humanitarian Response Lab, Moderator

10:45 – 11:15                POSTER SESSION/COFFEE BREAK 

11:15 – 12:15                PRESENTATIONS/WORKSHOPS SESSION 3

         *5 simultaneous sessions in parallel, 20 min each oral presentation, 60 min each workshop

12:15 – 13:30                LUNCH

13:00 – 15:45                INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN CITY VISIT: GROUP 2 

                                       *City Overview and warehouse tours; 50 people total; Bus departs at 12:45

13:30 – 14:30                PRESENTATIONS/WORKSHOPS SESSION 4

14:35 – 15:35                PRESENTATIONS/WORKSHOPS SESSION 5

15:35 – 16:15                POSTER SESSION/COFFEE BREAK

16:15 – 17:30                PANEL 4: Refugee Crisis - Facing Challenges

• Rex Alamban, Head of Sub-Office, International Organization for Migration (IOM)

• Houssam Chahin, Head of Private Sector Partnerships, MENA & UNHRC

• Simon Conesa, Global Logistics Advisor, Norwegian Refugee Council

• Sarah Rich, Senior Advisor for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Women's Refugee Commission

• Dr. Paulo Gonçalves, Professor, Director of the Master in Humanitarian Logistics and Management (MASHLM), Universittà della Svizzera Italiana, Moderator

17:30 – 18:00               CLOSING REMARKS

• Dr. Ozlem Ergun, Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University; Co-founder, Center for Health & Humanitarian Systems (CHHS)

• Dr. Luk van Wassenhove, Professor, Director of the Humanitarian Research Group, INSEAD