Amb. Prof. Peter Ngure
Kenya’s ambassador – UNESCO, Paris, France
Amb. Prof. Peter Ngure is a strategic thinker, a transformative leader, a researcher, and a diplomat. He is Kenya’s ambassador to UNESCO in Paris, France. He served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs at St. Paul’s University, Limuru, Kenya for four years and as Programme Manager, of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) from 2015 to 2018. Amb. Ngure served as a Dean School of Science, Engineering, and Health at Daystar University for ten years. Peter holds a Ph.D. in Parasitology and Entomology from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. He has over 25 years of experience in university-level teaching, research, research capacity building, and administration in 4 chartered private universities and one public university in Kenya and publications in over 50 peer-reviewed journals. His research interests include leishmaniasis, malaria vector control and treatment, higher education, and poverty alleviation. Peter has won and managed grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Hickey Family Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, among others. He has facilitated numerous capacity-building workshops on auditing, grant writing, leadership, and Ph.D. supervision in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa, with participants drawn from over 10 African countries. He has also successfully supervised 72 master’s students and 6 Ph.D. students. Peter is a member of the Kenya National Academy of Sciences (KNAS), a founder member of the Global Young Academy and the Private Universities Research Consortium of Kenya, and a member of the Kenya Palliative Care Association. He served as a board member at the East African Community’s EASTECO, World Vision Kenya, and Oloolaiser Secondary School. He previously served as the Chair of the Human Resource Committee Chair at KEMRI’s Board and as the Secretary of the CARTA Board.
MAMOKGETHI PHAKENG
PhD(Wits); Hon DSc(UoB); Hon DEd(UoOttawa); GCOB (Silver); MASSAf; FAAS; FTWAS; AfricaEdMedal
Dr Mamokgethi Phakeng is a renowned academic, boasting a wealth of experience spanning over two decades as an executive across various institutions of higher learning in South Africa. Most recently, she held the position of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Cape Town, the top university on the African continent, before opting for early retirement in March of the present year.
Dr Phakeng holds a doctoral degree (PhD) in Mathematics Education from the University of the Witwatersrand and has been granted two honorary doctorates: a Doctor of Science (Hon. DSc) from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom in 2019 and a Doctor of Education (Hon. DEd) from the University of Ottawa in Canada in 2022. Her contributions to research and community engagement have garnered numerous accolades, including the Order of the Baobab (Silver) bestowed upon her by the President of South Africa in April 2016. In addition, CEO magazine recognised her as the most influential female academic in Africa in August 2014, and Forbes included her in their inaugural list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Africa in 2020. In September 2022, Dr. Phakeng became the inaugural recipient of the Africa Education Medal, a distinction presented by T4 Education and HP. In December 2023, she was awarded the Global Lifetime Achievement Award by Women in STEM for her contribution in opening doors for women and girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and her wide-reaching impact in the STEM field.
In 2004, she founded the Adopt-a-learner Foundation, an initiative dedicated to providing financial and educational support to South African students from underprivileged areas, enabling them to pursue higher education qualifications. Notably, when assuming her role as Vice-Chancellor in July 2018, she donated 20% of her monthly salary and 100% of proceeds from her public speaking engagements to scholarship funds administered by UCT
Following her early retirement, she was appointed by the President of the Republic of South Africa to serve on the Presidential Advisory Council on National Orders. Currently, Dr Phakeng is a businesswoman, with diverse interests spanning media, agriculture, and consulting particularly in the education sector. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the German University of Digital Science and a member of the President’s Council of the University of the People.
Professor of Education in the Department of Educational Adminstration & Planning and Academic Leader in the Faculty of Education, University of Nairobi. She has a wide knowledge and experience in planning, designing, and implementing educational programmes at the University where her selected work experience includes inter alia teaching, supervision and examination of both undergraduate and graduate students, developing demand driven teacher education programmes for the secondary and university levels of the education sector as well as engaging in research and disseminating research findings on Education related matters. She is also a Peer Reviewer for the Commission of University Education (CUE) and a member of the Research and Evaluation Panel of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) As a researcher, Prof. Genevieve Wanjala is of the opinion that research is critical in generating and refining knowledge to inform development and provide skills that enhance knowledge production leading to industrial transformation and socio-economic growth. Quality teacher preparation and licensing are not about the route chosen but about the training and experiences that education programmes provide. Ipso facto the research experience is undoubtedly one that enables the sustenance of resilient learning communities. As the Director of the Centre for Educational Research and Evaluation (CERE), her responsibilities include inter alia positioning CERE to become an instrument through which the education system is supported by credible data drawn from research findings and , thus,(a) nurture the culture of evidence- based policy-making and planning by mainstreaming educational research and evaluation in all fields, levels and types of education and (b) Maintain a sustainable research structure which ensures steady and reliable feedback at all levels of education as well as (c) build the capacity of educators through relevant research programmes such as M.Ed., MPhil and PhD in Monitoring and Evaluation.