Executive Committee
Dr. Felicity Agwu Kalu
Dr. Felicity Agwu Kalu is a Lecturer in Midwifery at the School of Nursing & Midwifery (SONM), Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). Before joining QUB in 2020, she served as a lecturer in Midwifery at Trinity College Dublin. Dr. Kalu earned her MSc (Nursing Education) & PhD in Midwifery from University College Dublin (UCD) School of Nursing, Midwifery, & Health Systems and has extensive experience facilitating learning for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
At QUB, Dr. Kalu has served in several leadership roles, including Professional Midwifery Lead for Simulation, where she worked with colleagues across the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences, and served as a member of the Faculty Inter-simulation Governance Group. Prior to that role, Dr Kalu served as a disability officer and a member of the Steering Committee for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI).
Dr Kalu is currently a member of the Staff Development Committee at QUB. She is also a member of the Northern Ireland Practice & Education Council Project Board for Ethnic Diversity for Niursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals. She is a member & co-founder of QUB’s African Scholars Research Network. She is also a member and a co-founder of the QUB’s SONM Neurodiversity support group for nursing & midwifery students.
Dr. Kalu’s research interests encompass all areas of maternity care and healthcare, with a specific focus on maternal and newborn health and well-being, global health, and perinatal bereavement care. Her research expertise includes qualitative research, quantitative research, mixed methods research, and quality improvement projects.
Dr. Kalu is dedicated to advancing the field of midwifery and improving healthcare outcomes through her teaching, leadership, and research endeavours.
Dr. Loveth Eseoghene Owhor
Dr. Owhor is a distinguished Bioresource technologist and Medical researcher. Her research expertise lies within Reproductive Medicine, with a specific focus on the female reproductive system, where she has conducted investigations into inflammation within the Fallopian tubes using innovative Live Cell Imaging techniques.
Her groundbreaking work has been featured in Nature Scientific Reports Journal. She possesses over a decade of experience across both the Healthcare and Academic sectors. Dr. Owhor holds an MSc in Bioresource Technology and a PhD in Medicine, earned from the UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science and the UCD School of Medicine, respectively.
Dr. Owhor serves as a Tutor for the “Introduction to Black Studies” module at the Institute of Antiracism and Black Studies. In this capacity, she illuminates previously unacknowledged narratives concerning Africa through her teachings on ‘Africa and Africans’ Contributions in Medicine and Science.
Dr. Gift Sotonye-Frank
Gift is a law lecturer to both undergraduate and postgraduate students at Queens University Belfast School of Law. Her research interests are in the areas of gender stereotyping of adolescent pregnant girls’, and also rights to equality and non-discrimination in the areas of education, gender, sexuality and the law.
In 2023 Gift was appointed as the Equality Diversity and Inclusion lead at the Queen’s School of Law. She is also a member of the Queen’s Race Equality Champions Network. Gift is a founding member of the Queen’s African Scholars Research Network. She volunteers with the Education working group of the African and Caribbean Support Organisation of Northern Ireland. Gift sits on the board of Counselling All Nations Services (CANS) in Northern ireland and is also an academic contributor to the Northern Ireland African and Caribbean Leadership Consortium.
Diretnan Dikwal-Bot
Diretnan Dikwal-Bot is an Assistant Professor in Digital Media Studies and Ad Astra Fellow at University College Dublin’s School of English, Drama and Film.
Her current project on the African AI value chain examines the socio-economic and gendered hierarchies underpinning digital infrastructures, foregrounding questions of epistemic justice and extractivism. She is also the lead on Bridging Generations: Empowering Futures, a UCD Global-funded initiative that fosters equitable mentorship between African students and alumni, reimagining career development through solidarity.
Her recent publications, include Blogging and Gender Activism in Nigeria (Palgrave Macmillan) and articles in European Journal of Cultural Studies, Feminist Media Studies, and Cultural Politics.
Nkem Itanyi
Nkem Itanyi is an accomplished, experienced academic. She is a law lecturer and researcher specialising in Intellectual Property Law. With over twenty years of research and teaching across two continents, she has an impressive record of scholarly achievement.
As a TETFund scholar, she earned a PhD in Intellectual Property Law from the prestigious School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom, an LLM in Corporate and Commercial Law from University College London, and an LLB (Hons) from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Nkem’s research activity is robust; she has an extensive publication record in law and has been cited in leading peer-reviewed academic journals indexed in Clarivate Web of Science, Scopus, and other databases. She has published one of the “most viewed” articles in the Journal of World Intellectual Property and received a certificate of recognition.
Nkem is an invited and celebrated speaker at conferences, having been asked to share her research globally, including as a guest speaker at Harvard Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Boston, United States of America, and as a Guest Lecturer at the School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom.
Her research interests lie in intellectual property law, with a focus on copyright law, culture, and emerging economies. She is the co-author of Decolonising Intellectual Property Law: An Afrocentric Approach, published by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2025.
She is a member of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), United Kingdom, with a Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice and Project Management; fCMgr.
Dr. Mary Ajide
Dr Mary Taiwo Ajide is a Chemical Engineer. She works at the nexus of AI, water, energy, and sustainability. Mary leads student representation, mentorship, and engagement across AfSAI, co-initiating the UCD Global–funded Bridging Generations, Empowering Futures mentoring programme and co-organising the 2024 African Scholars in Ireland Conference, which reached 200+ researchers across Africa.
As AfSAI’s 2025 Black History Month Contributor, she led creative design and LinkedIn strategy, significantly boosting community engagement; her sustained pro-bono service has elevated AfSAI’s visibility and student outreach.
Mary’s cross-sector experience spans academia, consulting, and regulated industries, including refineries, power plants, pharmaceutical labs, and chemical manufacturing, complemented by roles as a chemical analyst, process engineer, and business data analyst. She supports emerging tech start-ups and led the secure launch of an e-commerce platform for the All-Ireland Conference on Nanobubbles, Energy, Water, while co-leading promotional campaigns for AfSAI and NEW 2024.
She holds a PhD (2023) and MEngSc (2019) in Chemical Engineering from UCD and a First-Class BEng from Igbinedion University, plus a Professional Diploma in Transversal Skills (UCD Innovation Academy & TU Dublin) and a Business Analytics certification from Harvard Business School. Recognised with a Humanitarian Certificate of Honour from Nigeria’s NDLEA for community service, Mary also serves on the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council and the Girls Advisory Council (WITIN).
Dr. Toluwani Akaehomen
Toluwani Akaehomen is a dynamic, experienced and purpose-driven pracademic with a PhD in Inclusive Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurship Education from Coventry University, UK and over a decade of experience teaching, mentoring, and designing innovative programmes in business, leadership, entrepreneurship, and management.
She is co-author of Female Immigrant Entrepreneurship – Enhancing Entrepreneurial Capabilities Through Education and Training (2025), a groundbreaking monograph, which explores the urgent need for tailored support systems that empower female immigrant entrepreneurs to navigate the complex challenges and unlock the opportunities they encounter in their host countries and offers agencies a guide to empower immigrants for positive economic and social contributions. She has published her work in peer-reviewed journals and also presented her research in various conferences.
Toluwani is the brain behind Ireland’s first Integrated Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development Programme for Immigrant Entrepreneurs, which she is currently running with Longford County Local Enterprise Office (LEO), as an introductory programme to the Start Your Own Business (SYOB).
She is an Advisory Board Member of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Behaviour, Innovation and Inclusion (CEBII), a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (Chartered MCIPD), and an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA). She also currently serves as AfSAI’s Vice President (II) Student Relations.
Alongside her guest lecturing roles, Toluwani is the Principal Leadership and People Development Consultant at DrPhenomenal.com and Director at Roegate Institute for Leadership, Management, and Research, Ireland.
Dr. Georgina Nnamani
Dr Georgina Nnamani is a researcher in Education whose work explores the role of educational policies in promoting the social inclusion of learners with dyslexia in schools from an ecosystemic perspective. She is particularly interested in how inclusion is understood in different contexts and the implications for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Dr Nnamani has worked in disability services and schools across the UK, Ireland, and Canada for over two decades. She has contributed to the development of several awareness programmes aimed at promoting the rights of disabled people to access and participate fully in services.
Dr. John Nutekpor
Dr. John Nutekpor is an Adjunct lecturer at the Irish World Academy of Music snd Dance, University of Limerick, Ireland. He is a percussionist, performing artist, event curator, and cultural activist. He is widely recognized for his commitment to promoting cultural dialogue and community integration through artistic expression. His work bridges academia and performance, using the arts as a powerful tool for social change and intercultural understanding.
Dr. Nutekpor holds a PhD in Arts Practice and has built an academic career centered on exploring the intersections of art, identity, and decolonization. His teaching and research advocate for “decolonizing the mind” through the arts—encouraging the rediscovery of self and heritage as means of empowerment and healing.
As both scholar and artist, Dr. Nutekpor integrates music, particularly percussion, with cultural education to foster community engagement. He believes in the transformative power of rhythm and performance to inspire dialogue across cultures and generations.
He Collaborates actively with institutions across the globe promoting African arts within international contexts
Dr Bruno Obialo Igwe
Dr Bruno Obialo Igwe is a Senior Legal Researcher at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in Ireland. He specialises in policy development and governance within the justice and security sectors. His research focuses on contemporary issues, including personal and public safety, law enforcement and national security.
Dr Igwe holds an LLM and a PhD in law from Maynooth University, as well as an LLB in Law from Nottingham Trent University, UK, and Griffith College Dublin. He completed his barrister-at-law (BL) degree at the Honourable Society of King’s Inns in Dublin. Before his current role, he lectured on international law to postgraduate students at Griffith College Dublin and taught at Arden University’s Manchester campus in the UK.