Maroua Afi
Lincoln,USA
Summary
Hardworking Postdoctoral Research Fellow with a demonstrated record of research success. Self-directed and motivated professional with a highly ethical, meticulous, and thorough approach.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University of Nebraska Lincoln
12.2023 - Current
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary team members to accomplish project research goals.
- Liaise with supervisor to review grants and manuscripts to develop potential publications.
- Pursue independent and complementary research interests.
Instructor
University of Nebraska Lincoln
06.2022 - Current
- Sciences and Decision making SCIL 101: Summer 2022 (Remote), Fall 2022, Fall 2023 & Spring 2024 (In person).
- Evaluated and revised lesson plans and course content to achieve student-centered learning.
- Increased student participation via engaging lectures and assignments.
- Applied various teaching aids to minimize learning gaps and instruct and motivate students.
- Tested students to assess progress and adapted learning plans in alignment with performance.
- Optimized learning plans based on student performance and feedback.
Graduate Research/Graduate Teaching Assistant
University of Nebraska Lincoln
08.2019 - 11.2023
- Teaching Assistant: SCIL 101: Fall 2020, Spring, Summer and Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023.
- Mentored students through office hours and one-on-one communication.
- Documented attendance and completed assignments to maintain full class and student records.
- Developed and graded exams and assessments to evaluate student learning and provide feedback on performance.
- Collaborated with other faculty and staff to improve teaching and learning by sharing resources and best practices.
- Built and maintained professional relationships with students and faculty members.
- Coordinated homework and assignments for absent students.
Project Officer
World Wildlife Fund North Africa (WWF NA)
01.2019 - 08.2019
- Supervised, lead managed, and monitored the implementation of the work plans
- Adjusted the monitoring framework for the project as detailed in the proposal and collected data for its implementation
- Responded to media inquiries and gave interviews
- Worked closely with organizations, individual businesses, and government agencies to foster a welcoming climate for business.
- Developed and implemented project plans and budgets to ensure successful execution.
- Analyzed project data to identify trends and areas for improvement.
Graduate Research Fellow
International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA)
10.2017 - 01.2019
- Management and applied research tasks
- Monitoring and Evaluation tasks
- Data Analysis: Econometric modeling and mathematical modeling (SPSS and GAMS)
- Results communication: oral, visual, and written
- Scientific writing: articles elaboration, reviewing, and editing.
- Collaborated and contributed to the development of project proposals
- Reported results in workshops and seminars
- Assisted and co-supervised students and interns in several research tasks
Intern Researcher
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
04.2017 - 09.2017
- Master Thesis Research Internship
- Intern within ICARDA research program: Dry Land Systems
- Thesis entitled "Measurement of socio-ecological systems resilience to food insecurity and climate variability in the MENA region (Study area: Tunisia-Morocco-Jordan-Egypt)"
- Wrote research papers, reports, reviews, and summaries regarding social-ecological systems typology and resilience measurement.
- Developed research proposals, identified research objectives, and created research plans.
- Utilized statistical packages to analyze data and create visualizations.
- Synthesized data and wrote detailed reports to present research findings to stakeholders.
Intern
National Institute for Agricultural Research of France (INRA)
04.2016 - 09.2016
- Intern within the European "PoliRisk" Research Project
- Risk Analysis and Policy assessment for pesticide use regulation in Europe, regarding environmental and economic aspects (case of Wheat)
- Gathered and organized information for research purposes.
- Interpreted data analysis results to draw inferences and conclusions.
- Wrote research papers, reports, reviews, and summaries.
- Collaborated with the leadership team to identify relevant questions and determine the best methods of collection.
- Synthesized data and wrote detailed reports to present research findings to stakeholders.
Intern Engineer
National Institute for Agricultural Research of Tunis (INRAT) and ICARDA
01.2015 - 06.2015
- Intern within Crop-Livestock Integration under Conservation Agriculture (CLCA) research project for engineering graduation project.
- Analyzed economic and environmental tradeoff analysis of cereal crop residue use in mixed agricultural systems under conservation agriculture.
- Collected Data through producer surveys and used GAMS for mathematical modeling.
- Results communication
- Best graduation project award.
Intern (Research Assistant)
Missouri State William Dar College of Agriculture
02.2014 - 05.2014
- Demand and supply of Tunisian dates in the international market
- Sorted and organized files, spreadsheets, and reports.
- Completed research, compiled data, updated spreadsheets and produced timely reports.
- Prepared oral presentations and written reports
Education
Ph.D. - Agricultural Economics
University of Nebraska Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska12.2023
Master of Science - Sustainable Rural Development
Erasmus Mundus Joint Degree
01.2018
Master of Science - Rural Development Planning & Resources Management
Polytechnic University of Madrid
Madrid, Spain01.2018
Postgraduate Diploma - Cooperative Organization And Rural Development
University College Cork
Cork, Ireland 08.2016
Engineering Degree - Rural Economics:Development And Project Management
University of Carthage, ESA Mograne
Zaghouane, Tunisia 06.2015
Non-degree Academic Year - Agricultural Business
Missouri State University
Springfield, MO05.2014
Preparatory institute for engineering studies - Engineering (Pre-Engineering)
University of Science of Tunis
06.2011
Skills
- Interdisciplinary research
- Quantitative research
- Public speaking
- Teaching experience
- Research collaboration
- Advanced data analysis
- Critical thinking
- Problem solving
- Statistical modeling
- Innovation and creativity
- Ethics in research
- Networking abilities
- Academic Publication
Personal Information
- Age: 33 years old
- Nationality: Tunisian
Languages
Arabic
Native or Bilingual
French
Native or Bilingual
English
Full Professional
Spanish
Professional Working
Software Skills
- R
- GAMS
- SPSS
- STATA
Accomplishments
- University of Nebraska Lincoln - Nebraska Rural Prosperity Fellowship -Summer 2023
- European Union Excellence Master of Science Scholarship (Erasmus Mundus- Agris Mundus 2015-2017)
- US Department of State, Education, and Cultural Affairs Bureau Scholarship - Thomas Jefferson Scholarship (UGRAD 2013)
Additional Information
CONFERENCES
Western Agricultural Economics Association (WAEA) Annual Meeting 2023- Whistler Canada:
· Presentation of a paper entitled “ Farming Systems Diversification for Resilience Enhancement: Case of Crop-Livestock Integration in the Great Plains”.
Western Agricultural Economics Association (WAEA) Meeting 2022-New Mexico USA:
· Presentation of a paper entitled “A Comparative Analysis of Technical Efficiency in Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems Vs Specialized Farming systems in Nebraska”
ESA Mograne 2017-Tunisia:
• Participation to « La journée scientifique de l’Ecole Supérieure d’Agriculture de Mograne Décembre 2017 » with a presentation entitled: « Intensification durable des systèmes de production agricole : Utilité et mesure du
concept de résilience avec une application dans la région de Sidi Bouzid en Tunisie »
Link http://www.esamograne.agrinet.tn/index.php/fr/sample-data/item/109-programme-de-la-journee-scientifique-internationale-de-esa-mograne-2017
ICWEES 2018-Tunisia
Participation at The International Conference on Water, Environment, Energy and Society ICWEES’2018 with a paper entitled “Measurement of Socio-Ecological Systems Resilience in Tunisia: Innovative approach using Tri-Capital Framework
Publications
- · Integrated vs. Specialized Farming Systems for Sustainable Food Production: Comparative Analysis of Systems’ Technical Efficiency in Nebraska. Sustainability. Afi Maroua, Parsons Jay (2023); 15(6):5413. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065413
- · Resilience Assessment of Social-Ecological Systems in MENA Region: An Application of Tri-Capital Framework in Jordan, Tunisia & Morocco. Afi Maroua, Yague Blanco José Louis (2018) http://oa.upm.es/52468/
- · “Livestock for Resilience”: Revisiting the role of livestock in the major agricultural production systems of the MENA region. Frija Aymen, Afi Maroua, Dhehibi Boubaker (2018). https://repo.mel.cgiar.org/handle/20.500.11766/9581?show=full
Trainings and Workshops
November 2018 -Tunis, Tunisia: Modeling Bio-economic Diversity of Wheat-based Systems: Typology Analysis and Soil-Crop Simulations using APSIM
October 2018-Otzenhausen, Germany: Autumn Academy on Sustainability and Resources Security in the EU and MENA Region
Mars 2018 -Montpellier, France: International Workshop “Modelling and Mathematical Programming for Economic Analysis in Agriculture”
November 2017 Hammamet, Tunisia: ICARDA's International Workshop on Gender Empowerment Research and Approaches (Reporter)
Mai 2015 Jendouba, Tunisia: Introduction to General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) for Mathematical Modeling in Agriculture
Interests
- Volunteerism and Civic Engagement
- Ecotourism and Rural Tourism
- Social Entrepreneurship
- Animal welfare
- Environment
Timeline
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University of Nebraska Lincoln
12.2023 - Current
Instructor
University of Nebraska Lincoln
06.2022 - Current
Graduate Research/Graduate Teaching Assistant
University of Nebraska Lincoln
08.2019 - 11.2023
Project Officer
World Wildlife Fund North Africa (WWF NA)
01.2019 - 08.2019
Graduate Research Fellow
International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA)
10.2017 - 01.2019
Intern Researcher
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
04.2017 - 09.2017
Intern
National Institute for Agricultural Research of France (INRA)
04.2016 - 09.2016
Intern Engineer
National Institute for Agricultural Research of Tunis (INRAT) and ICARDA
01.2015 - 06.2015
Intern (Research Assistant)
Missouri State William Dar College of Agriculture
02.2014 - 05.2014
Ph.D. - Agricultural Economics
University of Nebraska Lincoln
Master of Science - Sustainable Rural Development
Erasmus Mundus Joint Degree
Master of Science - Rural Development Planning & Resources Management
Polytechnic University of Madrid
Postgraduate Diploma - Cooperative Organization And Rural Development
University College Cork
Engineering Degree - Rural Economics:Development And Project Management
University of Carthage, ESA Mograne
Non-degree Academic Year - Agricultural Business
Missouri State University
Preparatory institute for engineering studies - Engineering (Pre-Engineering)
University of Science of Tunis