Dr Isayvani Naicker is the Director of Strategy and Partnerships at the African Academy of Sciences (AAS). In her role she nurtures strategic partnerships to increase and diversify the number of partners and strengthen engagement with stakeholders in line with the AAS strategic plan 2018-2022. Prior to joining the AAS she worked as Chief Director of International Resources and Co-operation at the Department for Science and Technology in South Africa.
She previously worked as a Research Scientist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa focusing on environment and sustainable development. She was involved in various policy making processes in the science, environment and mining fields in post-apartheid South Africa. She is currently a Research Associate at the Democracy Works Foundation. She was previously a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) and a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Witwatersrand School of Governance. She is a member of various international research, science and policy networks. She completed her PhD in Geography, University of Cambridge focused on Science and Policy Studies, a MSc Philosophy of Social Sciences, London School of Economics and MSc in Geology, University of Cape Town.