Professor Allam Ahmed, a former School of Business student at the Royal Agricultural College (1996 to 1998), has recently been appointed first Scientific Advisor to the Government of the Sudan.

Allam, who is himself Sudanese, was a business management student at the RAC, gaining an MSc in 1998, when he was also awarded a book prize for best postgraduate dissertation. He went on to gain a PhD in development studies at Edinburgh Napier University, where he later lectured. Following more senior lecturing appointments at the University of East London and then the University of Sussex, where he established the postgraduate programme in international management, he was appointed Manager of the new Knowledge and Education Management Network in the Emirates by the Government of  Abu Dhabi. Allam has worked extensively for the World Bank, UN, European Union, and for various governments, in the Middle East in particular, and was awarded a UNESCO Chair for Technology Transfer in 2008 for his work on knowledge dissemination.

His new role with the Government of  the Sudan will mainly focus on capacity - building and key resources management for sustainable development. ' We are delighted that Allam has been offered this special opportunity to advise the Sudan on critical development issues '  says Professor W Paul Davies, RAC Vice-Principal 'and wish him all the very best in this important new role.   Allam was an excellent student at college, and  RAC colleagues, who taught him, recognised his undoubted potential. He will, I am sure, continue to make very significant contributions to sustainable development .'