IT

Israël Tankam Chedjou, PhD

Research, Leadership & Innovation

PhD in Applied Mathematics, trained in scientific research and the management of international projects. My background connects research, entrepreneurship, and industrial engagement. I have developed and led projects funded by European and international institutions in the field of plant health, epidemiology and crop yield improvement. Today, I aim to leverage this experience to support economic development through innovation and the structuring of sustainable productive ecosystems.

In parallel, I am an R&D and data scientist with experience in designing mathematical models and digital products for agriculture, the environment, and complex systems. I am proficient across the solution-development cycle, from scientific modelling and data valorisation to software deployment. I am currently launching scale.ag, an initiative that helps agricultural and agri-food organisations transform their data into practical decision-support tools and digital solutions.

Plum Profile:

Innovation – Persuasion – Embracing Diversity (link)
israeltankam@gmail.com Rennes, France Last edited: —

Key Skills

Digital innovation
Research-grounded innovation
Project management and coordination
Research funding acquisition and grant writing
Work in multicultural environments
Partnership development
Competence-based leadership
Cross-cultural adaptability
Negotiation and diplomacy
Strategic analysis and project structuring
Supervision and training
Fluent in French and English

Research profile

My research interests lie at the intersection of mathematical modelling, plant disease dynamics, and sustainable agriculture. I am particularly focused on developing advanced mathematical frameworks to understand and manage the dynamics of viral, fungal, and pest-driven epidemics.

Fields

Mathematical Modelling, Epidemiology, Ecological Modelling, Plant disease epidemiology, Dynamical Systems, Biomathematics, Computational Modelling and Simulations, Optimal Control, Optimization, Numerical Analysis, Decision Support Systems, Computational Biology

Professional Experience

Founder & Scientific Lead

scale.ag — Africa–Europe | April 2026 – Present

Launching a digital agriculture and data innovation initiative that helps agricultural and agri-food organisations transform their data into practical operational and strategic decisions.
Leading scientific direction, solution architecture, digital product development, and partnership building.
Developing solutions that combine mathematical modelling, remote sensing, machine learning, digital twins, and decision-support systems, with a particular focus on African and resource-constrained contexts.

Focus: Digital agriculture, data valorisation, AI-enabled decision support, training, and technical consulting.

Member of the Board of Directors, Team Manager, and Data Lead

Les Confiotes, Douala — Jan 2025 – Present

Agro-food company specializing in local processing, production of syrups, purées, and liqueurs.
Contributing to strategic decision-making and implemented production monitoring and decision-support tools. Supporting organizational structuring, production management, and commercial performance analysis.

Postdoctoral Researcher and Project Coordinator

Institut Agro Rennes-Angers / INRAE, Rennes, France — Jan 2023 – Jan 2025

Developed a decision-support tool to improve potato crop management and yields.
Led scientific and technical coordination of the project.
Managed funding, budget monitoring, and reporting to European and regional funders.
Supervised students and collaborated with public and private partners.

Supervisors: Frédéric Hamelin
Josselin Montarry

Postdoctoral Researcher

University of Cambridge (Department of Plant Sciences, United Kingdom) — Jan 2022 – Dec 2022

Visiting researcher at the WAVE Center of Excellence (Central and West African Virus Epidemiology for Food Security), Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, Bingerville, Côte d’Ivoire.
Conducted applied research on cassava health and yield improvement.
Coordinated field surveillance activities and developed decision-support tools for farmers.
Project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Supervisor: Prof. Chris A. Gilligan

Research Associate

Center of Excellence in Information and Communication Technology (CETIC), National Advanced School of Engineering, Yaoundé, Yaoundé — Jan 2021 – Dec 2021

Conducted research on crop health and yield improvement. Trained early-career researchers in quantitative methods and scientific project management.

External Data Consultant (remote)

Les Confiotes, Douala — Mar 2020 – Dec 2021

Agro-food company specializing in local processing, production of syrups, purées, and liqueurs.
Designed data pipelines, performance dashboards, and forecasting tools to optimize supply planning and reduce operational downtime. oversaw digital transformation initiatives, and supported leadership in evidence-based decision-making.

Project Digital Production & Sales Intelligence System (end-to-end data architecture for a small-scale beverage manufacturer).

PhD Candidate

University of Yaoundé I and INRIA Sophia Antipolis (France) — 2016 – 2020

Led an applied research project on plant health and the sustainable optimization of banana and plantain yields. Conducted a bilateral Cameroon–France doctoral program. Secured research funding and coordinated scientific activities. Trained students at the National Advanced School of Engineering, Yaoundé.

Project Modelling, analysis and control of plantain plant-parasitic nematodes

Root-Consulting, Yaoundé – Co-founder and Software Engineer

ROOT-consulting, Yaoundé, Jan 2015 – Dec 2015

Founded a digital services company. Developed a medical software application (HemoVigile). First entrepreneurial experience: project management, client relations, and technical and organizational structuring.

Project: Hemovigile (management tool for blood banks)

Community Engagement

Cameroon Lead – African Artificial Intelligence Society (Volunteer)

2020-2021

Led and coordinated the national community. Organized events and promoted digitalization and automation through artificial intelligence, with an emphasis on responsible and ethical use.

Visiting Positions

Visiting Scientist — University of Florida (Garrett's Lab)

Dec 2023

Visiting Scientist — Wageningen University (Lab of Nematology)

Sep 2023

Visiting Scientist — WAVE (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire)

Apr 2022 – Dec 2022

Visiting Scientist — INRIA Sophia-Antipolis (Team Biocore)

Feb 2019 – Jun 2019 | Apr 2018 – Aug 2018 | Sep 2017 – Dec 2017

Funding & Responsibilities

  • Marie Curie Fellowship (Bienvenüe Bretagne Action) – 2023
    European Commission and Région Bretagne
    90,400 euros over 2 years
    Excellence fellowship for my postdoctoral project in plant health and crop yield improvement.
  • Co-funding Inov3PT (agricultural technical institute) – 2023
    22,600 euros over 2 years
    Additional support for the postdoctoral project.
  • Project funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) – 2024 :
    Total amount: 520,000 euros over 4 years
    Member of the project preparation and steering committee.
  • Make Our Planet Great Again (MOPGA) Fellowship – 2023:
    Funded by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, implemented by Campus France
    32,000 euros over 1 year
    Fellowship awarded and then declined to accept the Marie Curie Fellowship.
  • Mobility Grant from the European Mathematical Society (EMS) and the Simons Foundation – 2019
    1,500 euros
    EMS-Simons for Africa: scientific mobility for young African researchers in a European laboratory.

Teaching & Mentorship

  • Contract part-time teacher — AFTEC, Rennes, France (2023–2024). Mathematics for BTS SIO.
  • Part-time teacher — Institut Agro Rennes-Angers (Fall & Winter 2023). Introduction à la démarche scientifique.
  • Teaching assistant — National Advanced School of Engineering, Yaoundé (2016–2021). Courses: Probability & Statistics, Numerical Analysis, Computer Science for Mathematics, Real Analysis.
  • Mentorship: Supervised and mentored PhD students on model formulation, parameter inference and reproducible code.

Education & Awards

Education

PhD in Applied Mathematics — University of Yaoundé I (Apr 2021)

Master in Applied Mathematics — University of Yaoundé I (Jan 2015)

Bachelor in Mathematics & Computer Science — University of Dschang (Jun 2012)

Awards

  • Marie Curie Fellowship (MSCA Bienvenüe 2023)
  • Ovide Arino Outreach Award (2021)
  • EMS-Simons for Africa (2019)

Technical Skills

Programming & Platforms

Python, R, Java, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, NetLogo, Streamlit, Tableau, MySQL, Git

Libraries & ML / Statistical

TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, PyMC, Pandas

Modelling & Methods

Dynamical systems, epidemiological models, population genetics / demo-genetics, time-series forecasting, Bayesian inference, optimal control, numerical analysis

Cloud & DevOps

AWS, Google Cloud, MLOps principles, Docker, reproducible research (notebooks, CI-friendly code)

Other tools

MATLAB, Scilab, Streamlit, Kaggle, Excel

Languages

French (fluent), English (fluent), German (basic)

Certifications & Training

Coursera

  • Machine Learning (Stanford University) — creds
  • Neural Networks and Deep Learning — creds
  • Introduction to Genetics and Evolution (Duke University) — creds
  • Improving Deep Neural Networks: Hyperparameter Tuning, Regularization, and Optimization — creds
  • Deep Learning Specialization (deeplearning.ai) — creds
  • Industrial IoT with Google Cloud Platform (Google Cloud) — creds
  • Getting Started with AWS Machine Learning (AWS) — creds

Udemy & other

  • Tableau for Beginners: Visualize and Analyze Your Data (Programming Hub) — creds

Professional memberships

  • Member of the MMB Chair (Mathematical Modelling and Biodiversity) at École Polytechnique in Paris.
  • Affiliated with the AAIS (African Artificial Intelligence Society).
  • Formerly affiliated with the ESMTB (European Society of Mathematical and Theoretical Biology).
  • Formerly affiliated with the SFBT (French Society for Theoretical Biology).
  • Formerly affiliated with the AAB (Association of Applied Biologists).
  • Principal investigator of the NEMO project (MSCA-Bienvenüe).
  • Co-investigator of the NEM-EMERGE (EU) and BEEP (ANR) projects.

References

Jean-François Grongnet — Trainer and Board Advisor, IECD
jfgrongnet@yahoo.fr
Chris A. Gilligan — Professor, University of Cambridge
cag1@cam.ac.uk
Robertine Bounkeu CEO Les Confiotes
robounkeu@gmail.com

Phone numbers are available upon request.