Africa Innovates

Celebrating the creative power of African innovation

Africa Innovates is a conference that aims to promote internal collaborations between Africa-focused Science, Policy and Education initiatives at Imperial and build bridges with external partners, focusing specifically on STEMB (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Business). Africa Innovates cultivates an interdisciplinary dialogue for key researchers, shapers, and decision-makers to explore innovative ideas of how to address some of the grand challenges that African societies are facing today. This conference will showcase some of the Africa-focused activities currently taking place at Imperial.

Our 2025 speakers

Leading Imperial Academics from STEM and Entrepreneurship will give a series of talks about their experiences, findings, and innovations within the African research sector. Discover the full programme for Africa Innovates Conference 2025.

Professor Faith Osier
Professor Faith Osier is a globally recognised immunologist working to “Make Malaria History” through vaccination. She led the development of KILchip©, Africa’s first custom protein microarray, and conducted the continent’s largest malaria vaccine study. As President of the International Union of Immunological Societies—the first African and second woman in the role -she’s earned accolades like the Royal Society Pfizer Award. A TED Fellow and SDG3 advocate, she champions African scientists driving health innovation across the continent.
Professor Washington Ochieng
Professor Washington Ochieng, CBE, EBS, is Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Chair in Positioning and Navigation Systems at Imperial College London. He is Interim Director of the Institute for Security Science and Technology and a Trustee of the Science Museum Group, appointed by the UK Prime Minister. A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, he is also President of the Royal Institute of Navigation and contributes to UK-Kenya innovation and urban development initiatives.
Professor Casper Nyamukondiwa
Professor Casper Nyamukondiwa is a visiting scholar from Botswana International University of Science and Technology and Provost Visiting Professor at Imperial College London. He specialises in insect eco-physiology, focusing on thermal biology, pest management, and climate change impacts on ecosystems. His work supports sustainable agriculture and pest control strategies. He also holds an Honorary Professorship in Entomology at Rhodes University, South Africa, and plays a key role in advancing agroecological research across Africa and globally.
Mary Adeturinmo
Mary Adeturinmo is a founding member and Research Project Manager of the Imperial Sickle Cell Group. With a multidisciplinary background in healthcare and design, and personal lived experience with Sickle Cell, she brings a unique perspective to the group’s work. She works on research that combines design thinking and patient-centred approaches to advance understanding and care for those living with sickle cell. Patient and Public Involvement Engagement is embedded throughout, ensuring that the voices and experiences of those affected guide and shape the research.
Dr Onesmus Mwabonje
Dr Onesmus Mwabonje is an Advanced Research Fellow at Imperial College London, specialising in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for bioenergy and biochemicals. He leads the environmental impact work on a major NIHR project in South Asia and co-leads research on integrating African science fiction into methodologies. He previously managed the BEIS 2050 International Calculator Programme and now heads the Network of Excellence in Sustainability at Imperial. He is also a visiting researcher at Strathmore University, Nairobi.
Professor Anthony Bull
Professor Bull’s research is focused on the basic mechanics of joints (including the tissues of joints and the mechanics of joints within the whole musculoskeletal system) and the application of this knowledge and technologies developed to the diagnosis and treatment of pathologies and performance parameters. These are applied to Sport Biomechanics, Injury Biomechanics (focusing on Blast), and the Biomechanics of Ageing including Osteoarthritis.
Professor Aubrey Cunnington
Professor and Head of Section for Paediatric Infectious Disease, and Honorary Consultant at St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. His research focuses on host–pathogen interactions in severe infectious diseases, particularly malaria, aiming to improve diagnosis and treatment through clinical studies, transcriptomics, and laboratory models.

Register below to join us for Africa Innovates on Wednesday 16th July, from 15.00 – 19.00 in room G16 in the Sir Alexander Fleming Building at Imperial’s South Kensington Campus.

This event will be held both in person and online. If you plan to join us virtually, we’ll send you the access link closer to the date.

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Download Our
2024
Programme

Discover more about our past conferences with profiles on our previous speakers.

→ Download the 2024 Programme

The Africa Innovates team

The Africa Innovates team works to foster collaboration and amplify Africa-focused research, education, and policy initiatives at Imperial College London. Through convening events like the Africa Innovates conference, the team connects researchers, students, and external partners across STEMB (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine, and Business). Their mission is to strengthen interdisciplinary dialogue, promote impactful partnerships, and showcase innovative approaches to addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing African societies today.

Dr Onesmus Mwabonje
Advanced Research Fellow, Centre for Environmental Policy - Faculty of Natural Sciences
Dr Onesmus Mwabonje leads the environmental impact work on a major NIHR project in South Asia and co-leads research on integrating African science fiction into methodologies.
Dr Sunday Popo-Ola
Research and Teaching Fellow, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Sunday Popo-Ola, Research and Teaching Fellow at Imperial, specialises in Concrete & Steel Structures and Environmental Systems. Winner of Imperial’s inaugural Equality and Diversity Award, he founded Creative Futures – Achieving Your Potential, inspiring young learners to excel.
Dr Tim Weiss
Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
His research focuses on the rise of start-up entrepreneurship, particularly in Kenya and the US, and building scalable businesses in contexts where there is no established blueprint for successfully commercialising innovation. Tim is also the editor of an open-source book on the digital revolution in Kenya.
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