Dr. Daisy Odunze

Daisy is the programme manager for the Circular Bio-economy Education Centre (CBEC) which will provide a coordinated approach to integrating bioeconomy into all levels of the Irish education system, from primary to university level, including lifelong learning and continuous professional development.

Daisy recently worked as an assistant professor of sustainability and strategy at the National College of Ireland.

She previously worked as a lecturer for agribusiness management at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Zimbabwe and as adjunct lecturer at the Lupane State University(LSU), Zimbabwe.

Daisy’s career in academia spans over 13 years with diverse experiences including developing new study programmes, developing online professional courses, as well as consulting for farmer groups and agribusiness firms. Daisy worked as the Head of Department of Marketing at NUST (2019 -2023) and was part of the team that launched and commercialized different products from the NUST innovation hub.

Daisy is a passionate trainer and business coach for farmers and is experienced in developing and delivering training programmes for farmers. She trained farmers in the “Farming as a business” training project under the Zimbabwean Agricultural Competitiveness Programme (ZimACP). Daisy have also partnered with organizations like ZIMTRADE in delivering trainings and consultancy to small holder farmer and agro-processor groups particularly focusing on sustainability practices and marketing strategies.

Daisy is a published researcher with research interests in food and agricultural policy analysis, agribusiness strategies and market linkage analysis, modern ICT utilization in agriculture, resilience in agriculture and food systems, socio-economic analysis of environmental sustainability projects, life cycle assessment and the circular bioeconomy.

Daisy is one of the winners of the UCD Global Excellence Scholarship for 2023. Daisy has a multidisciplinary education background which includes MSc in environmental technology from University College Dublin, PhD in sustainable agriculture and MSc in sustainable agriculture from the University of Free State South Africa, MBA and PGD in tertiary education from NUST Zimbabwe and a B. Tech in agricultural economics and extension from FUTO Nigeria.