Assem Abu Hatab - global network coordinator at the NJ faculty

Tell us a little bit about yourself
“Well, I am currently a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Economics. I consider myself an applied economist with broad empirical interests and focus on food and agricultural systems and their interlinkages with food security and sustainable development in developing countries.”

What is your experience from global development work?
“Throughout my postgraduate training and professional career, I acquired diversified experiences in development research and development cooperation. Particularly, since my affiliation with SLU in 2011, my research activities have always been related to development research in low- and middle-income countries. For instance, I serve as a lead author for Chapter 7 (Agriculture, Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use) of the sixth IPCC Assessment Report. Besides, I coordinate a number of development research projects, funded by the EU and Swedish research councils, with focus on developing countries, including Ethiopia, India, Egypt and China.”

How can you contribute to SLU’s global mission?
“I am passionate about promoting interdisciplinary and faculty-wide collaborations within SLU to help generate knowledge and develop science-based policies for sustainable development in low-income countries. Research initiatives and networking activities that help build more resilient agrifood systems that sense and sustainably react to sustainable development needs in low-income countries are also very important.”