Khady Sall

"“If we’re not authentic in being scientists, and not doing research that follows local problems and our local culture, then at some point, we will just become another US or another France, and that will be very boring. Hopefully that will not happen here. And then we will be vibrant and do a different kind of science. People will say: ‘Wow, why didn’t this happen sooner?’”"

"“The hardest part about being a female entrepreneur is that you will definitely need to work twice as hard as a man to succeed. People will tend to underestimate you. But at some point, you should be unapologetic about your leadership. Just get the work done. Show your organizational skills.”"

"“We clearly need to expand science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. The ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic are showing us the dangers of not guiding students towards jobs in biotechnology and artificial intelligence that will define the future. If we are not part of the global economy, leveraging knowledge to create technologies, then we are doomed.”"

"“I chose the struggle. I was pushing myself and pushing my SeeSD colleagues, too. We were young, we lacked experience, we made mistakes, but we learnt by doing. I’ve grown so much since I came back. You have to negotiate the lack of funding, human resources and training. We started something out of nothing.”"

"“Gender bias is an issue for women everywhere, and here I also encounter bias against young people. I try to overcome these biases by speaking through my work. It’s not my personality to promote myself on social media as an influencer or at international conferences."