Dr. Darlington Tshuma, Ph.D. is a Researcher at the Istituto Affari Internazionali’s (IAI) Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa Programme in Rome, Italy. Previously, he served as Advisor (on secondment by the World Food Programme) to the UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa at the United Nations Secretariat in New York (2024–2025). He is also an ARUA–Carnegie New York / Mastercard Foundation Early Career Research Fellow (ECR), hosted by the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, and previously held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs in South Africa. He holds a Ph.D. from the Durban University of Technology in South Africa. His work spans various aspects of governance in Africa including colonial encounters, human rights, democracy, gender, human security, African development, African nationalism, leadership, and contemporary African politics. Some of his work has been featured in several prominent media outlets, including the UN’s Africa Renewal, South Africa’s Mail and Guardian and Daily Maverick, Italy’s Affari Internazionali (International Affairs), the Huffington Post and The Conversation Africa (TCA).

Dr. Dedan Luvaga Limanye is an Early Career Researcher at the Centre of Excellence for Federalism and Governance Studies, Addis Ababa. He holds a PhD in Governance and Regional Integration and a Master’s Degree in Intercultural Communication from the Pan African University Institute for Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences (PAUGHSS). Dedan holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education from the University of Kabianga. As an ECR, his research focuses on Socioeconomic Decentralization and Youth Inclusion in Governance. Among his notable publications is “Language Differences and Communication for Political Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa”. Dedan is a Private Governance Consultant advancing projects aligned with his governance interests. Further, he serves as a General Secretary for a youth social movement in Kenya (KEMYC), engaging the community through advocacy, education, and grassroot mobilization.

Dr. Mutebi Denis is a Lecturer in the department of Geology and Petroleum Studies, Makerere University-Uganda, specializing in the Geoscience-Materials-Environment-Energy nexus. He holds a PhD in Engineering Sciences from Kyushu University-Japan, an MSc in Geological Engineering from Padjadjaran University-Indonesia, a PGDE from Kyambogo University-Uganda, and a BSc in Petroleum Geoscience and Production from Makerere University-Uganda. His research interests are Earth resources, Zeolites, Environmental remediation, Food security and Energy sustainability. He is an ARUA Early Career Research Fellow and Africa Science Leadership Fellow, with multiple international publications and ongoing projects in sustainable materials and environmental innovation.

Dr. Dorothy Khasisi Lukhabi is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience/Centre for Coastal Management (ACECoR/CCM) at the University of Cape Coast, and an ARUA/Carnegie Early Career Research Fellow at the University of Ghana. She earned her PhD in Oceanography and Limnology from the University of Cape Coast, an MSc degree in Limnology and Wetland Management jointly offered by University of Life Sciences (Austria), Egerton University (Kenya), and Institute of Water Education (IHE) – Delft (The Netherlands), and a BSc degree in Environmental Science from Egerton University. Her areas of interest include; water quality monitoring, benthic macroinvertebrate ecology and taxonomy, marine ecology and the integration of climate research and citizen science to enhance community resilience. Her current research focuses on maladaptive impacts of Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) interventions on coastal communities.The International Society of Limnology has honored Dorothy with several awards, such as the Wetzel travel award, a small research grant, and recognition for the best-published article in Limnology. She has contributed to leading journals and book series on aquatic systems and water quality indices, with her work cited more than 100 times. Other engagements include the NFRF- funded Coast-Man project, co-ordination of Research Council of Norway’s CoastAfrica Project, environmental outreaches, professional networks, and regional capacity building.

Dr. Emmanuel Ameyaw is an economics and finance lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS). He is also a fellow at the Faculty of Business and Accounting, Botho University (Botswana), and currently serving as a research fellow at the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Centre of Excellence for Unemployment and Skills Development (ARUA-USD, CoE). He graduated from Tohoku University in Japan with a Ph.D. in Economics in November 2023 and began his academic career in 2024. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of macroeconomics, monetary economics, finance, and business research (both quantitative and qualitative).

Dr. Grace Oluwatoyin Oladunni is an expert in urban security, crime prevention, environmental, and infrastructure planning. She has a diploma in Town Planning from Kwara State Polytechnic. She attained B.Sc, M.Sc and PhD degrees in Urban and Regional Planning from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. A researcher in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Ibadan. In 2013, she received the Carnegie Award and was also a beneficiary of the United Kingdom Research and Innovation/African Research Universities Ph.D. Grant in 2021. An alumna of the Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative. A leader with passion for development and change.

Dr. Hervé Nenghem Takam holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Dschang, Cameroon. His PhD thesis was funded by a grant from the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). He is currently a Research Associate in the Centre for Studies and Research in Economics and Management (CERME) at the University of Dschang. His areas of interest include: macroeconomics, development economics, energy transition, climate change, sustainable development, and the informal economy. He is the author and co-author of several research articles in this field, published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow of the ARUA program for Young Researchers, supported by the Mastercard Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He is also a member of the ARUA Center of Excellence (CoE) in Urbanization and Habitable Cities at the University of Lagos in Nigeria.

Dr. Adetoun Alaba Akitoye is a Lecturer at the Department of Chemistry, University of Lagos. Her research area focuses on Food Security, specializing in smart, biodegradable food packaging and sensor-integrated technologies for reducing postharvest losses. She holds a PhD from the University of Lagos and has published impactful works in several high-profile journals. She has been a recipient of several competitive scholarships and fellowships, and has attracted grants from World Connect, USA and Lagos State Research and Innovation Council, Nigeria. She has also been blessed with several awards, including the Best Overall PhD Thesis (University of Lagos, 2025), IUPAC Women in Chemistry Recognition (2025), and TechWomen Fellowship, USA (2022). She currently serves as Vice Chair, National Roots and Tree Crops Standards Committee of the Standard Organization of Nigeria, and leads several waste valorization and youth-focused agri-tech innovation projects. She is currently one of the ARUA Mastercard Fellows at CoE-SFS, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Dr. Janet A. Osei is a Research Assistant with the WASCAL Doctoral Research Programme in Climate Change and Energy at Abdou Moumouni University, where she recently completed a PhD in Climate Change and Energy. She holds an MSc in Environmental Science from Kenyatta University and a First-Class BSc in Environmental Science from KNUST. Her research focuses on sustainable transport, renewable energy and climate impacts on fuel consumption and emissions. She has published multiple peer-reviewed articles and received prestigious scholarships from WASCAL/BMBF and the EU Intra-Africa Mobility Programme. Her current work includes transport decarbonisation research and interdisciplinary climate-energy projects.