Cohort: Cohort 4: 2025

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.

Dr. Ravaka Felandranja Andriatsitohaina, PhD in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from the University of Antananarivo, is a lecturer-researcher at the Institut Supérieur de Technologie Régional de la Côte-Est, University of Toamasina, Madagascar. Her research focuses on the remediation of degraded soils, particularly those affected by erosion, as well as soils polluted by microplastics and heavy metals, with a strong emphasis on soil health and environmental sustainability. An alumna of the TWAS-SISSA Lincei and Eugen Ionescu programs, she is also the founder of Lonatany Madagascar, a consultancy firm supporting rural communities in their transition toward sustainable agricultural practices.

Dr. Dorothy Khasisi Lukhabi is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience-Centre for Coastal Management at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. She earned her PhD in Oceanography and Limnology from the University of Cape Coast, an MSc in Limnology and Wetland Management from the University of Life Sciences in Austria, Egerton University in Kenya, and IHE-Delft in the Netherlands, and a BSc in Environmental Science from Egerton University. Her expertise includes water quality monitoring, benthic macroinvertebrate ecology and taxonomy, marine ecology and the integration of climate and citizen science to enhance community resilience. Her current research focuses on coastal communities and the maladaptive impacts of climate change adaptation strategies.

Dorothy has been honoured with several awards, such as the Wetzel travel award, a research grant, and recognition for the best published article in Limnology by the International Society of Limnology. She has contributed to leading journals and book series on aquatic systems and water quality indices, with her work cited over 100 times. She is involved in NFRF funded CiCADD and Coast-Man projects, coordinates the Research Council of Norway’s CoastAfrica Project, and participates in environmental outreach, professional networks, and regional capacity-building efforts.

Dr. Kundani Makakavhule is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Pretoria. She holds a PhD in Town and Regional Planning and is currently completing a Master’s in Human Rights Law in the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, at the same institution. Her research focuses on public space and waste management, while her industry practice engages spatial transformation and multi-level governance. She is a recipient of an Erasmus+ Teaching Mobility grant and the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences PhD Scholarship. She serves as Principal Investigator for the Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability partnership between the University of Pretoria and Technische Universität Berlin.

Dr. Ntombifuthi Precious Nzimande is a lecturer within the Discipline of Geography at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa. She received her Bachelor of Social Sciences in Geography and Environmental Management, Bachelor of Science (Honours), and Master of Science qualifications from UKZN, and her Doctorate in Earth Sciences from the University of Szeged (summa cum laude). Ntombifuthi has recently completed her studies in a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education from UKZN. Her research interests are multidisciplinary – cutting across geography, environmental education, and disaster management. She is currently working on different projects involving environmental education, disaster management, and green campus initiatives.

Dr. Raphael Wangalwa is a Lecturer in the Department of Biology at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Uganda. He holds a PhD in Biology with specialisation in Ecology and Ethnobotany. He is dedicated to advancing ecological research and biodiversity conservation while applying science-based solutions to pressing environmental and public health challenges. With expertise in ecology, microbiology, and GIS/Remote Sensing, he contributes to evidence-based policy and capacity building. Dr. Wangalwa is a PI/Co-PI on several projects, including the FUNGI-BIP, a mycorrhizal fungi study project (SPUN-Funded), INTERACT-Africa green technologies initiative (EU-Funded), agro-climatic suitability modelling for key food crops (GoU-Funded), and the Novartem™ and pharma-grade excipients development project (GoU-Funded).

Dr. Palesa Nqambaza is an essayist and researcher whose work sits at the intersections of gender and race studies within the context of South African political history. Her work draws from indigenous epistemologies and various Black cultural forms to explore the intellectual and political dimensions of contemporary South Africa. Her current core project is an intellectual archaeology of South African feminist traditions. She is a CDTA Postdoctoral fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and a recipient of the ARUA Early Career Fellowship, based at the Notions of Identity, Centre of Excellence.

Dr. Kemi Rebecca Kehinde is a lecturer in the Department of Languages and Linguistics at Anchor University, Lagos. She holds a PhD in African Literature and an MA in English Literature from the University of Ibadan and Covenant University, respectively. Her research examines gender, cultural politics, and African literary expressions. As an ARUA Early Career Research Fellow, she focuses on postcolonial trauma, gendered violence, and the emergence of new femininities in post-conflict African societies. She has received student-led awards for teaching excellence and has led creative and academic initiatives that support youth development and literary engagement.

Dr Jackson Sebola-Samanyanga is an academic and planning practitioner with expertise spanning urban and rural contexts, informed by experience in the private sector, public institutions, and academia. He holds a Master’s degree in Town and Regional Planning and a Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies. His scholarly work critically interrogates colonial planning legacies and examines the interplay between statutory and traditional governance systems in advancing transformative rural development, reimagining land and (s)place as lived, spiritual, and political constructs. Dr Sebola-Samanyanga’s current work focuses on (S)place, Identity, and Apartheid Amnesia.

Dr. Precious Wapukha is a lecturer of History in the Department of Social Sciences at Kibabii University. She holds a PhD in History from Masinde Muliro University, an MA in History from Kibabii University, Bachelors of Education (Arts) from Moi University. Her research focuses on conflict, gender, governance and indigenous knowledge. She is a member of CODESRIA and the African Studies Centre Leiden. She has participated in reputable workshops, including MIASA, UNESCO and SSRC. She is also an AFRIAK Fellow researching the digitisation of Bukusu oral histories as a pathway to cultural preservation.