Joy graduated in June 2013 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She worked as an intern in Chile and Mexico, helped develop a learning program in Israel and Mexico, and teamed up with a local NGO in Jamaica to train and equip teachers with the skills needed to best utilize computers in the classroom and disseminate knowledge within their specific communities. She previously worked as a Technical Coordinator and GPSA Medical Fellow at the Developing World Healthcare Technologies Lab at Duke University where she oversaw projects in Guatemala, Zambia, and St. Vincent.
Saurabh Kwatra is an engineering designer, innovative-step amplifier & mentor to technical start-ups. His book ‘Trimming, Miniaturization & Ideality via Convolution Technique of TRIZ’ published by Springer Germany, 2012 is used as guide to inventing, patenting & lean mechanical design. Producing a light, small, low energy-consuming technical system without compromising on functional utility is his forte.
Prior 2009 he was more into industrial design & CAD/CAM. He was technical consultant to ‘solar power scooter charged by reflective coatings on adjoining buildings’. As part of US National Lab Day 2009, this project was successfully prototyped and demonstrated in a New York City school serving economically weaker students.
In 2012-16, alongside consultancy, he was Visiting Faculty, Industrial Design Center, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay; Guest Faculty, Instrument Design & Development Centre, IIT Delhi ; Specialist Faculty, Make in India: Innovative Design Course, IIT Delhi. Currently, he conducts workshops at Technocracy, IIT Delhi while in India. He was invited Friday Buns speaker to Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge in 2016.
Presently he is Expert, Smart Growth Operational Programme: European Commission (2014-20), National Centre for Research & Development, Warsaw, Poland.
He is Level 4 Expert, TRIZ (translates to Theory of Inventive Problem Solving), DSc in Innovation Management & holder of 10 patents (including pending).
Omijie Osas is a young Nigerian based electronic & telecoms engineer with specialty in embedded systems. He’s also an e-learning/e-commerce entrepreneur, violinist, and inspirational speaker.
Osas started building electronic circuits and tech gadgets at a young age of 7. Later on, with sponsorship from his secondary school, he built an electric generator for his school to compete in science competitions in Lagos State.
In 2014, he built a Touchless GSM phone as a university student, and he led thirteen of the brightest engineering students from the University of Benin to win the Automobile Innovation Award in Shell Eco-marathon, South Africa, 2014.
As an NYSC corps member, he created a vehicle anti-theft technology that won the Shell Technical Innovation Award in Shell Eco-marathon, South Africa, 2015.
Aside having lots of experience in hardware design, he’s also experienced in software development and has worked as an Intern Software Developer in the University of Hagen, Germany.
He has been featured on various radio stations such as MetroFM Lagos and Tv networks such as NTA (Nigerian Television Authority), EbonyLife on DSTv Africa and his work has been widely shared on lots of newspapers and blogs including CNN Market Place Africa.
After his youth service, in 2016, he was retained as a Research Assistant in Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Nigeria, where he currently works on various research and development projects.
He’s extremely excited to share some of his stories, success tips and also teach some foundational practical electronics to the 2017 MIT ImpactLabs audience.
Mureji obtained her MSc in Health Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 2013. She completed her undergraduate education in Biomedical Engineering at Harvard University in 2012. Mureji is interested in increasing the competitiveness and effectiveness of organizations in emerging markets through research in operations and supply chain management.
Ayo, An Idealist and Founder of Khispa. Ayo is a design Engineer, conventional software developer, motivator and lover of wine. He studied electrical electronics engineering at Bells University of Technology in Nigeria where he went ahead working with tech startups.
Major interests are in the areas of Agriculture, Startups, Hardware, Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Internet of Things, Education, and creating sustainable Smart Cities. Ayo loves the dynamic environment of startups and currently works in the Security and AdTech Industry.
Passionate about STEM Education, Mentorship and Technology, he has worked with several EdTech startups and anchoring of several technology based boot camp. Aside from technology and business, Ayo loves to cook, riding, idealism and playing video games. You can reach Ayo on Twitter: @hapy_one and LinkedIn: @AyoAyibiowu
Tunde Alawode is a co-founder of dot Learn Inc., an edtech startup in Lagos. He obtained his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2017. He co-founded TheBridgeInitiative, a free mentorship service for prospective graduate students from Africa applying for graduate school in the United States. At MIT, he carried out fundamental material science research on an economically viable method of converting greenhouse gases to useful fuels. He obtained master’s degrees in Material Science and in Mechanical Engineering in 2015. Prior to MIT he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lagos, Nigeria and worked at Schlumberger (an oilfield servicing firm), and EY and McKinsey (consultancies).
Samuel Oghenenyerovwo Enoch-Oghene holds first and second degrees in Electrical & Electronics Engineering. He is very passionate about human development (capacity, deployment etc) primary through problem solving oriented education. This has led him (along with others) to a number of start-ups:
Life and fitness Cycling (which runs a club lifeandfitness cycling club(lfcc) (http://lfcc.oauife.edu.ng). LFCC has successfully contributed to transforming the active cycling population in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) from less than 0.1% to well over 2% (and growing rapidly) in just a few years.
A few years ago his passion for problem solving oriented education led him to start ZIWAS (Zoe Integrated Waste Solutions) which is tackling amongst others the e-waste problem in Nigeria and beyond.
Samuel believes that the core of development is the individual and these guiding principles can be seen in the activities of LFCC, ZIWAS and other bodies he is privileged to function in.
Agriculture – Samuel has demonstrated his unwavering conviction that smart agriculture is a sine qua non to national development and transformation. His participation in Lagos Labs in 2016 is a testament to this where his team (Farmilee) which provided smart agricultural solutions came 2nd in a competition with over 10 teams in attendance.
Samuel believes that multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving is key to developing robust and long lasting solutions and this is his approach in solving the problem of battery state of Charge estimation – for his PhD at the Obafemi Awolowo University.
He loves interacting, cycling, unicycling, travelling and learning new things.
Esosa is enthusiastic about technology, leadership and the growth and development of young people. He wants to make an immense contribution to the telecommunications industry in developing countries through Research and Development(R&D). He obtained a bachelor degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Benin in 2016. In his undergraduate days he volunteered with international organisations such as AIESEC and IAESTE. He also volunteered as a Digital Marketing/Branding facilitator at the “The Girl-Lead Project” bootcamp which was held at the University of Benin in 2016, the project aimed to train girls who will become problem solvers and change agents in the society. Through these experiences, he obtained numerous practical and professional skills in engineering, digital marketing, branding, and organisational development. Esosa plays video games and reads about technology in his spare time.
Akinbiyi Ogunware studies Electrical/Electronic Engineering at the University of Ibadan and specialises in Telecommunication and Embedded Systems. He is an active member of IEEE, AIESEC and currently a Technology Ambassador at Youth For Technology Organization, Kentucky. Akinbiyi is an alumnus of the President Barack Obama Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and very passionate about Sustainable Development Projects.
Olatunde attended Northwestern University where he double majored in Mechanical Engineering and Economics. As an undergraduate, he was a research assistant in an advanced manufacturing lab where he mostly did research on sheet metal properties. He was a member of the Northwestern University Solar Car team.
He is interested in developing innovative solutions to Africa’s energy problems by harnessing the continent’s substantial renewable energy resources.
I’m Gabriel Alexander Stephen, I’m a Medical Student, majoring in Dental Surgery in University of Benin. I code in Java, Python and JavaScript. Flair for Algorithm Design, Automation, Discrete Mathematics and Robotics. I’m the CTO at GirlLEAD, an organization set to teach girls modern skills leveraging technology.
