Africans rising
Nigerian student Eugene Ikejemba bags PhD in record time
27 year-old Nigerian, Eugene Chidiebere Xavier Ikejemba bagged his PhD from the University of Twente in Enschede, the Netherlands. He completed his PhD in two and a half years and his research focused on enhancing sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
A 27 year-old Nigerian, Eugene Chidiebere Xavier Ikejemba recorded a remarkable academic achievement in the Netherlands graduating with his PhD Degree, which he read for in just two and half years. In between working on his PhD, Dr. Eugene published seven scientific articles in high ranked journals without access to funding for his research.
Dr. Ikejemba obtained his bachelor degrees in both Computer Science and Industrial Engineering with a 4.0 out of a 4.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) in both South Africa and Cyprus respectively.
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Ikejemba who obtained his PhD Degree from the University of Twente in Enschede, the Netherlands, focused his research on enhancing sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. His research interest rose out of conversations with Nigeria who lost their jobs and businesses due to lack of electricity for six months.
Dr. Eugene Chidiebere stands alongside his Professors and members of Faculty just after being awarded his PhD. Photo: Eugene Chidiebere
In his research, he investigated the reasons why so many projects failed in the energy sector in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, and Kenya, and developed a framework of implementation that could be considered by stakeholders hoping to succeed in the current boom of renewable energy projects in the region.
Dr. Ikejemba’s defence which was held at the University of Twente was attended by high profile professors from around the world including Nigeria, Turkey, Hungary, United States, and the Netherlands. Eugene attributes his motivation to the current situation of the region of Sub-Saharan Africa, and the support he received from his supervisor, family and friends.
Currently, Dr. Ikejemba’s models and framework is being utilised in the implementation of renewable energy projects across multiple countries in the Sub-Saharan region.
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When asked about his next targets –Dr. Ikejemba said he would continue to focus on the “true” sustainable development of the Sub-Saharan Africa region by developing only applicable solutions to the issues of power, job creation and migration of Africans.
A copy of Dr. Eugene’s PhD Dissertation can be found here: Thesis Link.
