ECR

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. 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. 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. 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. Kgomotso Jackson Phillip Sebola-Samanyanga’s 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, 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.