Songon, Dec. 25, 2025 (AIP) – The name of the future director general of the Swiss Center for Scientific Research (CSRS) in Côte d'Ivoire will be officially announced at the end of June 2026, announced outgoing director general Professor Inza Koné.

In office since July 2018, Prof. Inza Koné presented the next steps in the process of appointing his successor, emphasizing the rigor and transparency that will guide this institutional transition. “We have received about ten applications. You can be sure that the CSRS will have an excellent director general in 2026,” he assured.

Professor Koné, who has more than 20 years of experience in natural resource management and large mammal conservation in Côte d'Ivoire and the sub-region, was speaking at the CSRS Day of Excellence, held on December 19, 2025, at the institution's site in Adiopodoumé.

The future director will inherit a rapidly expanding center. Under the leadership of Professor Inza Koné, the first Ivorian to hold this position, the CSRS has strengthened its interdisciplinary research areas, particularly the “One Health” approach, which integrates human, animal, and environmental health, as well as the fields of biodiversity, conservation, and food security, through innovative projects focused on the processing of local products.

In this transition phase, the new Director General will face the challenge of “transformational research,” a concept promoted by Professor Koné, which aims to convert scientific results into concrete solutions that benefit the population.

A flagship institution for scientific cooperation between Switzerland and Côte d'Ivoire, the CSRS is under the dual supervision of the ministries responsible for scientific research in both countries. In Switzerland, oversight is provided by the Leading House designated by the State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER), namely the Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel, headed by Prof. Juerg Utzinger. In Côte d'Ivoire, it is exercised by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

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