Esther Wanjiru Mwangi is an accomplished research and innovation leader, technology strategist, and digital transformation professional with over 15 years of experience advancing research, innovation, technology adoption, and institutional transformation in higher education and beyond. She served as the Founding Director of Research and Innovation at Zetech University, where she provides strategic leadership in building a vibrant research and innovation ecosystem, strengthening research capacity, fostering partnerships, and translating knowledge and research outputs into solutions with societal and economic impact. She currently serves as the manage Innovation at Technology Transfer at ZetechUniversity Esther has played a key role in strengthening research and innovation systems, supporting researchers and students to develop competitive research proposals, mobilize funding, establish industry and international collaborations, and translate research into innovative products, services, and enterprises. She is particularly passionate about creating platforms that connect research, technology, entrepreneurship, industry, and society to address real-world challenges. She is closely involved in the development and growth of the iZET Hub, an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem designed to nurture ideas, support student and researcher innovations, facilitate mentorship and incubation, and strengthen pathways from ideation and prototyping to commercialization and impact. Through innovation programmes, hackathons, design-thinking initiatives, mentorship, and industry engagement, she champions a culture of problem-solving, entrepreneurship, and technology-driven innovation among young people. Her work also focuses on digital transformation in higher education and research, including the adoption of emerging technologies, data-driven decision-making, artificial intelligence, digital learning, and technology-enabled institutional processes. She is passionate about helping institutions strategically leverage technology to improve efficiency, enhance the student and researcher experience, strengthen competitiveness, and create sustainable impact. Esther's research interests span artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, digital transformation, sustainability, climate and health, and technology-enhanced education. Her current doctoral research explores the application of machine learning to predict diarrheal disease outbreaks using climate and environmental variables. She also contributes to discussions on responsible AI, ethical technology adoption, research policy, and capacity building. As a mentor, researcher, speaker, and advocate for innovation, Esther has supported emerging researchers, students, women in technology, and innovation communities. She actively contributes to research committees, professional networks, capacity-building initiatives, and collaborative projects that advance Africa's research, innovation, and digital transformation agenda. Esther holds an MSc in Information Systems and is Phd Computer Science Fellow Proposed talk or session: IP Strategy & Regional Expansion: Taking Innovations Across Africa and the World