Cohort: Cohort 1: 2022

Dr. Joseph Nzabahimana (Ph.D. in Engineering specializing in Materials Science) graduated from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (China) in June 2019. In addition to his Bachelor’s degree in Physics-Education awarded by the former National University of Rwanda, he received his Master’s degree in Physics (Master en sciences physiques, à finalité approfondie) from the University of Liège (Belgium) in June 2013, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education awarded by the University of Rwanda in December 2016. Nzabahimana joined the University of Rwanda-College of Education (UR-CE) in 2008 as an Assistant Tutor of Physics, and he is currently working as a Lecturer of Physics. In December 2020, he was appointed as an associate member of the African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science (ACEITLMS) based at the UR-CE. His major research areas include energy storage materials (high-capacity anode materials for lithium-ion batteries) and renewable energy.

Dr. Wakil Ajibola Asekun is a Senior Lecturer and the Coordinator of the Postgraduate Programme (Master of Managerial Psychology) at the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. He was a 2021 Research Fellow of ARUA-Carnegie Corporation of New York at the African Research Universities Alliance Centre of Excellence (CoE) in the Notions of Identities, Makerere University, Uganda. He was also the Principal Researcher of a TETFUND (Tertiary Education Fund, Nigeria) Institution Based Research Project. He is a beneficiary of the Training scholarship of Social Sciences in Humanitarian Action based in University of Sussex, United Kingdom. He has published in refereed journals including Journal of Social Issues (published by Wiley). Dr. Asekun is the Editor of the Department of Psychology’s journal at the University of Lagos and currently a Consulting Editor to Journal of Psychology in Africa (a Taylor & Francis Journal).

Dr. Bezaye Tessema is an Environmentalist by profession and a passionate researcher. She has been conducting research on Sustainable Land Management and Environmental issues and in recent years on the impact of pollution specially pollution on ecosystem health. She earned her PhD in ecosystem management specifically on Terrestrial carbon from the University of New England, Australia, MSc in Environmental Science and BSc in Plant Science from Addis Ababa and Haramaya Universities Ethiopia, respectively. She is always passionate about contributing to the research and development efforts undertaken. She is currently so keen and widening her collaborations and networks to focus on transdisciplinary and systems thinking research approach for viable social and environmental impact.

Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour is an Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ghana. His research area includes Composite and Nanocomposite Materials Development for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Applications using Silicon, Organic and Perovskite Solar Cells, Batteries, Capacitors/Supercapacitors. He was a fellow of the ARUA-ECRF at the Stellenbosch University. The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)-German Research Foundation (DFG), Carnegie Corporation Next Generation of African Academics (CC-NGAA) and the BANGA-Africa scholar at the Institute for Advanced Materials, Devices and Nanotechnology (IAMDN), Rutgers University, New Jersey, National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York as well as the Integrative Graduate Education Research and Training. He also had Post-Doctoral Fellowship with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA

Elmer Ametefe has a PhD in Biochemistry, from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Her research focus has been on Microorganisms associated with African fermented foods, Probiotics and their impact on human and animal health.
A member of Faculty at the University of Ghana, she is involved in teaching and research at the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology and her current research focuses on the use of probiotics in poultry feed in Ghana. She is passionate about translating her research from the lab to practical applications and impacting societal solutions.

Cornelius Okello is an Associate at the Institute of Climate Change and Adaptation, Lecturer and Chairman of the Department of Environmental Sciences at Machakos University. I hold an Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate in Marine and Coastal Management from the Universities of Cadiz and Bologna. I have over fifteen years of experience in scientific research, program management, and scientific storytelling. I have received grants and i am currently working on a project with the Global Centre of Adaptation on natural infrastructure as adaptative tools to climate change in the water sector along deltas.

Dr. Chilenga-Butao is a lecturer in the Political Studies department at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, where she obtained her PhD in 2019. Her research interests are decentralization and federalism; governance; public policy and public administration. She has conducted research on education governance, the National Development Plan, social grants policy and the just energy transition in South Africa. Dr. Chilenga-Butao currently teaches at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, based on her fields of research. She combines her empirical analysis of governance with a wide-range of theoretical approaches in political studies and public administration. She uses her research and analysis to teach students about the role, functions and problems in South African governance and public administration. These topics are often neglected components of Political Studies in South Africa. She has helped turn them into relevant and relatable subjects for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Dr. Kwadwo Danso-Mensah is a Development Economist and a Monitory, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) expert providing research and MEL services to local organizations, international development institutions and global charities, contributing significantly to enhancing the welfare of communities in the Global South. He exhibits strong project and team management skills with an outstanding track record of project delivery.
Dr. Danso-Mensah’s research interests span a broad spectrum, including evidence synthesis research (i.e., Evidence and Gap Maps and systematic reviews), poverty and inequality dynamics, tax incidence analysis, and the social impacts of climate change. His MEL experience encompasses complex multi-country programs, process and progress reviews, summative evaluations and evidence generatio