Postdoctoral Research Fellows (PDRFs)

Dr Chinegbonkpa Hope Nwakanma

Dr Chinegbonkpa Hope Nwakanma studies under the mentorship of Prof. Mondli Hlatshwayo. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Sociology from the internationally renowned University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She serves on the International Journal of Home Economics, Hospitality and Allied Research editorial board and as a reviewer for several international journals. Dr Nwakanma has over eight years of teaching and research experience at the university level, and has held some relevant academic positions at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria, including College Representative, Course Coordinator, Course Adviser, and Level Examination Officer and has served in different committees in different capacities in higher education in accreditation and curriculum development. With her experience as an online tutor and trainer for the Global Labour University, she has formed and trained course circle groups comprising people from academia, medical and health practitioners, environmentalists and union leaders on issues of labour and environment and has led sensitisation programs on Effective Waste Management in Nigeria in collaboration with Global Labour University and Abia State Environmental Protection Agency. She has convened and facilitated several workshops, including “Just Transition in Nigeria: The Role of Labour” in 2021; “Environmental and Labour Activism Towards a Just Transition in Nigeria in 2022; and “Labour Activism Towards Achieving Equity and Inclusion in Nigerian Public and Private workplaces” in 2023.  

Dr Hope’s course circle group has metamorphosed into an Advocacy group, Vanguard for Labour and Environmental Sustainability (VALES), to advance the course of protecting labour as well as the environment.  

She is a member of professional bodies and research groups such as the Nigeria Anthropological and Sociological Practitioners Association (NASA), Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM), Forum for African Women Educationist Nigeria (FAWE Nigeria) and Global Team of Online Tutors and Trainers (GTTT).   

Her research interests cover human resource management, employment relations, industrial sociology, and gender studies, on which she has authored and co-authored many peer-reviewed scholarly papers in reputable journals internationally and locally, as well as book chapters.  

Dr. Opesemowo Titilope Rachael 

Opesemowo obtained her Ph.D in Tests and Measurement from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. Her research interest is in Educational Assessment and Practices and Indigenous Education. She is a member of related academic and professional societies which includes the Association of Educational Researchers and Evaluators of Nigeria; Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria; Association of Behavioural Research Analysts and the Psychometrician and American Psychological Association. She is pursuing her post-doctoral research in indigenous education with Professor June Bam-Hutchison.