Diana Santos is a nutritionist from Saposoa (San Martin, Peru) enrolled in the master of Nutrition and Rural Development program at Ghent University. She has worked in projects related to health promotion, food security, food sovereignty, agroecology and nutritional education in the Andean region of Peru. Encouraging farmer families and primary students in rural areas to improve their food intake and consequently the nutritional status of the communities.

Onu Ekpa hails from Nigeria. He is a PhD candidate in Food Quality and Design at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He is the current president of UCAS – United Community of African Student, Wageningen.

Onu believes that in contemporary society, aside from being a good scientist, it is imperative to be able to communicate effectively to a wider audience. Through effective communication, a scientist can build a positive image of science to the general public, especially to the likes of those still clutching at the straw of disbelieving or denying climate change and other scientific facts around us. Being a student reporter gives him the opportunity to improve his communication of research and interact with people from diverse background.

He is passionate about value addition to agricultural produce and creating opportunities for the youths. He hopes to cover the conference sessions on food technology, safety and security. You can follow him on Facebook, Linkedin and ResearchGate.

Jaclyn, aka Jackie, is a MSc student from California, USA. She studies Agriculture Science and Resource Management for the Tropics and Subtropics (ARTS) at the University of Bonn, Germany.

Jackie did her B.S. in Animal Science at California Polytechnic University and recently carried out her master's thesis experiment in Sustainable Nutrition for Aquaculture at FiBL Research Institute for Organic Agriculture in Switzerland.

Last year she helped host Tropentag in Bonn and it was an exciting, insightful experience. Because she loves science and bringing passionate people together, being a student reporter for Tropentag 2018 seemed fitting. With such a diverse spectrum of attendees, she believes it is pivotal to capture the highlights and impressions of the conference; from experts, to young scientists and students alike. She looks forward to illustrating the various presentations and genuine interactions throughout the conference.

With scientific knowledge transfer at the foundation for success in understanding the world and each other, she hopes that Tropentag 2018 can show that universities are playing a great role in the quest for sustainable and inclusive development in agriculture.

Kwabena is a Ghanaian Masters student currently enrolled in the University of Bonn, studying Agricultural Science and Resource Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ARTS). He strongly believes Tropentag is an event that bridges the gap between scientists and producers, and feels that this event summarizes his study and research interests. He therefore applied not just to be a participant of Tropentag 2018 but also a Student reporter. This adventurous and easy-going guy is a member of the interviewing and filming team. Kwabena says, "There wouldn't be lives on earth without Agriculturists, because they feed the world".

Malik comes from Indonesia. He is now studying in a master program with field of study Tropical Hydrogeology and Environmental Engineering at TU Darmstadt, Germany. He had experience working in a Peat Ecosystem Restoration project at Central Borneo, Indonesia. There grown his concern to peat ecosystem and his desire to involved in a bigger action to that. He applied for Student Reporter at Tropentag 2018 because he wanted to expand his network in this field and develop the ability to communicate science in fun and encouraging way. Which in fact he got it already since the day one of the workshop.

Some funny thing happened when he was in his way from Darmstadt to Ghent. He saw these two people got in the bus from Bonn. Because he was sitting next to them, he could listened to them talking all the time during the trip. Turns out these two person are Jackie and Kobbe, another Student Reporters from Bonn. “I had this small feeling but would it be weird to ask?” said him while laugh. Fun fact about him is that he owns 7 cats in Indonesia.

You can reach him on:

Twitter: @malikarrahiem

Linkedin: Muhammad Malik Ar Rahiem

Jess is a Canadian masters student at the University of Hohenheim, and has just completed her master's degree. Having grown up on a farm in rural Ontario, after completing her bachelor’s in Environmental Science her interest in sustainable agriculture came naturally. Paired with a passion for helping others and interest in rural development (and the fact she’d be ok with never seeing snow again), she decided to pursue a masters in agriculture in the tropics and subtropics, with a pointed interest in sustainable agriculture. She is currently searching for opportunities post-MSc and is super excited for the future. Jess is both the editor of the Tropentag 2018 team and a blogger, and is looking forward to collaborating with such a diverse and fun group of people to promote Tropentag to the world.

Email: Jessica_lloyd18@hotmail.com

Ritti is a PhD student in Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, scholar for the Carnegie Trust, and a trained Media Designer for Picture and Sound. Her PhD research focus is on Lyme disease in Scotland, but she is very passionate about food security and ethnobotany so she realised Tropentag 2018 was the perfect opportunity to expand beyond her research, discover the important research first-hand from the scientists, and explore her extracurricular interests to strengthen her position as a researcher. In the Student Reporter team, Ritti is in charge of social media (Twitter and Instagram), blogging and photography. By day, she is an anthropologist, by night an aerialist!