Dr. Isayvani Naicker
Founder, Evisights | Science Policy & International Cooperation Strategist
Dr. Isayvani Naicker is a science policy and international cooperation strategist with more than 30 years of experience connecting research, policy, innovation and sustainable development.
Her career spans government, research, academia and international organisations across Africa and Europe. She has worked at senior levels to build strategic partnerships, mobilise resources and translate scientific knowledge into programmes and policies that address complex societal challenges.
As Founder of Evisights, Isayvani is developing new approaches to connect scientific evidence with lived experience, enabling researchers, policymakers, practitioners and communities to co-create insights for better decisions.
Previously, she served as Director of Strategy and Partnerships at the African Academy of Sciences, where she led strategy, resource mobilisation and international partnerships, including the development of a €25 million European Commission investment in African research excellence.
She was also Chief Director for International Resources at South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology, where she led international science, technology and innovation partnerships and advanced South Africa’s engagement with the European Union and global development partners.
Isayvani holds a PhD in Science Policy from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Philosophy of Social Sciences from the London School of Economics, and degrees in Geology and Computer Science from the University of Cape Town and University of KwaZulu-Natal.
She serves on international scientific and advisory bodies working across sustainable development, biodiversity, science diplomacy and science-policy interfaces, and is passionate about creating the connections that enable knowledge to become action. Her focus: connecting evidence, experience and expertise to shape better decisions for a changing world.
Isayvani's work today is driven by a belief that the world's most complex challenges cannot be solved by science, policy, government or investment working in isolation. Progress depends on creating the bridges between them — and on ensuring that African and European partnerships, expertise, institutions and perspectives are central to shaping the future.