Tech Journey of Dagnachew Birru (PhD): From Ethiopia to the Netherlands and the USA

Dr. Dagnachew Birru grew up in northern Ethiopia disassembling his father's radio to learn how it worked — and bet his future on a national exam that took him to Addis Ababa University, then a Philips-funded scholarship in the Netherlands. With a PhD from TU Delft and 50+ patents, he rose from researcher to Head of Research at Philips/Signify and is now Global Head of R&D at Quantiphi, building AI-led solutions for business.