Mrs. Laila Mandi is currently Professor of Water and Environmental Sciences at Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech (Morocco). In 2001, she was nominated as the National Coordinator of the Pole of Competences on "Water and Environment" (PC2E). In 2008, she was nominated as Director of the National Center for Studies and Research on Water and Energy at Cadi Ayyad University. She has coordinated several funded research projects at different levels, namely: i) national; ii) bilateral cooperation with different countries (Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Japan, Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, etc.); and iii) European projects (PURATREAT, MELIA, SOWAEUMED, WATERBIOTECH, TREASURE 2, NORIA, FRAME, etc.). Within the research projects, she has supervised more than 30 PhD theses. She has published more than 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters. Since 2014, she has been a member of the College of Qualified Personalities at the France Water Academy. In 2015, she was awarded the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Prize for Women’s Contribution to Development in recognition of her outstanding research work and contribution to water resource management. In 2017, she became a member of the Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC).