Dr Musangi is currently the Head Librarian at Amref International University. She holds a PhD in Information Studies, a Masters in Library and Information studies as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Information sciences specializing in Information Technology.

She is a recipient of the coveted IFLA/OCLC Fellowship Award in the information and knowledge management field in 2016. Dr Musangi has been instrumental in the development and implementation of institutional repositories and open access (OA) policies in various universities in Kenya through an EIFL/Spider project 2015-2020.

The success of this project saw an increase in the number of institutions with institutional repositories rise from 13 in 2015 to 43 in 2021, as well as an increase in OA policies from 7 to 15. Dr Musangi’s research interests are aligned to open science practices evidenced by several articles published in the area. She is also involved in teaching in library schools course units around open access initiatives.

Tom Kwanya is an associate professor in the Department of Information and Knowledge Management at the Technical University of Kenya. He is currently also serving as the Director of the School of Information and Communication Studies. Prior to joining academics fulltime in 2013, he worked as a consultant on public information and knowledge management. Some of the key consultancy positions he held include serving as a World Bank communication consultant seconded to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of Southern Sudan, Juba; knowledge management consultant for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women); public information specialist and team leader of the Public Sector Information Project for the Republic of South Sudan, Juba; communications consultant for the County Government of Bungoma; technical advisor on communication, documentation and knowledge management for Management Sciences for Health, Kenya; and a facilitator of a 5-day professional course on the fundamentals of organisational knowledge management on behalf of the African Advanced Level Telecommunications Institute (AFRALTI) in Kenya, Mozambique, the Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia. He holds BSc in Information Sciences (MU); MA in Communication Studies (UoN); and PhD in Information Studies (UKZN). He is an associate trainer for communications and e-resources management at the Training Centre in Communication (TCC).

Key Accomplishments

• Authored 31 articles in peer review journals; 2 university-level books; 4 edited books; and 17 book chapters;
• Presented 46 papers in international, regional and local academic conferences;
• Delivered 6 keynote addresses in international academic conferences;
• Supervised 5 PhD and 22 Master’s candidates;
• Examined 13 PhD and 23 Master’s theses;
• Served as external examiner for 6 Kenyan and 4 foreign universities;
• Serves as the Editor in Chief of the Regional Journal of Information and Knowledge Management, and as an editorial board member of 3 academic journals;
• Authored several articles in newspapers and magazines;
• Serves as a member of the Information Science Services Technical Committee, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS);
• Designed and/or reviewed several academic curricula; and
• Serves as the Lead Trainer, the Regional Institute of Information and Knowledge Management.

Nicholas Outa is a PhD student and part-time lecturer in Fisheries and Aquaculture at Maseno University, Kenya. He obtained a Master of Science degree (MSc) in Limnology and Wetland Management from UNESCO-IHE, Netherlands, BOKU University, Austria and Egerton University, Kenya. Mr Outa also holds a BSc. Applied Aquatic Science from Egerton University, Kenya.

As of now, Mr Outa has published over 30 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals (https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=P-mAhyUAAAAJ). He is a trainer in Scientific Writing and Communication at the Training Centre in Communication (TCC-Africa). He joined TCC after undergoing ToT training on content development and delivery which was conducted by senior trainers at TCC. He trains in the areas of Research Proposal and Thesis writing and Defense, Manuscript Preparation and Publication (including the use of AI in journal selection and the use of Preprints, Research Output and Researcher Visibility through Open Access platforms (including ORCID, Google Scholar, Publons, and Researcher ID). Mr. Outa also trains on Oral Communication and Presentation skills including Designing Posters and PowerPoint Presentations for talks, seminars and conferences. One of the highlights of his career at TCC is when he trained researchers and students at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria in 2019To help support and mentor junior researchers, Mr Outa founded WritingHub Africa (www.writinghubafrica.co.ke), which provides training and mentorship on Scientific Writing and Publishing, Data analysis and Open Science, especially for students transiting into postgraduate studies. He is also the Head of submissions moderation for AfricArXiv (www.africarxiv.org) and a reviewer in several scientific journals, including Frontiers in Aquatic Foods, the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), Lakes and Reservoirs Journal, Turkish Journal of Fisheries among others. His research interests include Fisheries and Aquaculture, Research Communication and Publishing and a passion for Community service and Teaching. Mr Outa is also a mentor for early career researchers at Eider Africa and an avid champion for Open Science.

Currently, Mr Outa is researching the potential of Freshwater Multi-trophic Aquaculture (FIMTA) in reducing the negative environmental effects of cage Aquaculture in Lake Victoria. He has also worked in several collaborative research projects in many Aquatic ecosystems in Kenya and Africa have been part of several consultancies on fisheries, aquaculture and the Blue Economy in Kenya and East Africa.

Outside academia, Mr Outa is a trained Peer Counselor with an immense passion for the youth. He founded the AQUITY Youth Group in 2010 to mentor and educate the youth in Obunga slums, Kisumu (where he grew up) on social issues including Drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, Relationships, Religion and violence as well as on matters education.

Mr Outa is an independent, open-minded scholar whose dream is to bring a change in the world through research and community service!! He also loves music, comedy and martial arts (tae-kwo-ndo).

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=P-mAhyUAAAAJ

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4085-0398

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-outa-01236846/

Twitter: @nichouta

Academic Qualifications

2015: Certificate in Science communication, Stellenbosch University, S. Africa

2015: Master of Information Science, Kisii University

2009: Master of Arts in Medical sociology, University of Nairobi

2001: Postgraduate Diploma in Gender and Development Studies, University of Nairobi

2000: Bachelor of Library and Information Science, Makerere University, Kampala

Career Objective

To utilize the knowledge I have gained from my experience and studies in empowering others to make the world a better place to live in.

Employment

Currently: University of Nairobi Institutional Repository Manager

Previously : E- Resources Librarian, College of Biological and Physical Sciences, University of Nairobi

·         My work involves training both students and lecturers on how to use online and electronic resources.

·         I am the lead trainer on issues of academic integrity, the use of plagiarism detection software and research communication in the university of Nairobi

·         College of Biological and Physical Sciences Chairperson of the Gender mainstreaming College Committee. My responsibility is to carry out bi-annual Gender mainstreaming training in the college, write reports and do annual evaluation of the gender parity progress in the college.

·         2000- 2012  National Secretary of the Kenya Library Association (KLA), Vice Chairperson as well as a member of  the organizing committee of the Maktaba Library of the Year Awards.

Consultancies

My main consulting areas have been on Academic integrity, Science communication, Information literacy, Automated Referencing & citing, Gender and information utilization, Gender mainstreaming and Gender and Health

Publications

Five publications which can be found in my ORCiD No. 0000-0002-2010-0784