Panel Sessions
Industry 4.0 Panel Session
December 7, 2020 (Monday) – Session: 6:00 – 7:30 pm – Room 1
Panel Chair:
Dr. William Msekiwa Goriwondo
Dean
Faculty of Engineering
National University of Science and Technology
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
A registered Professional Engineer with an MSc. degree in Manufacturing Systems & Operations Management as well as a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. Proven track record of technical, operational and strategic leadership, spanning over 20 years in Industry and Academia. Currently the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), a Senior Lecturer, Researcher and an Engineering & Management Consultant. He is member of the Institute of Directors Zimbabwe (IoDZ), Fellow and Board member of the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers (ZIE). Dr Goriwondo has won several Awards that include the ZIE’s Stevens Award (2019) for his work on training engineering practitioners on Project Management principles using computer software. He has also won the Global Engineering Education Award by the Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM) Society. An experienced Project Manager and team player with advanced strategic planning skills. Dr Goriwondo is a published researcher with over 25 peer reviewed journal papers and conference proceedings as well as several other technical newspaper articles. He is a passionate leader in engineering education, manufacturing excellence, resource utilisation and World Class Manufacturing (WCM). Prior to joining NUST in 2006, he held several engineering and management positions at BP and Shell Marketing Services as well as being Production Manager at Turnall Fibre Cement. Dr Goriwondo has been involved with many collaborative projects with national, regional and international partners. He has been engaged as an external examiner for postgraduate projects at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) , Tswane University of Technology (TUT) as well as Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT).
Panel Speake I
source – Wally Bizon
Ahad Ali, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director of Industrial Engineering
Director, Smart Manufacturing and Lean Systems Research Group
Coordinator, Siemens Electro-Matic Industrial Engineering Lab
A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical, Robotics and Industrial Engineering
Lawrence Technological University
Southfield, Michigan, MI 48075, USA
Executive Director – IEOM Society International
Ahad Ali is an Associate Professor and Director of Industrial Engineering Program and Director of Smart Manufacturing and Lean Systems Research Group, A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical, Robotics and Industrial Engineering at the Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan, USA. He earned B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh, Masters in Systems and Engineering Management from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Ali was Assistant Professor in Industrial Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez, Visiting Assistant Professor in Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Toledo and Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at the Bangladesh Institute of Technology, Khulna. He received an Outstanding Professor Award of the Industrial Engineering Department, University of Puerto Rico -Mayaguez, (2006-2007). He has published 50 journal and 121 conference papers. Dr Ali has conducted research projects with Chrysler, Ford, DTE Energy, New Center Stamping, Whelan Co., Delphi Automotive System, GE Medical Systems, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, International Truck and Engine Corporation (ITEC), National/Panasonic Electronics, and Rockwell Automation. His research interests include manufacturing systems modeling, simulation and optimization, intelligent scheduling and planning, artificial intelligence, predictive maintenance, e-manufacturing, and lean manufacturing. He has successfully advised seven doctoral students. Dr. Ali has involved with many international conference committees. He is serving as an Executive Director of IEOM Society International and Conference Co-Chair of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management and hold events in Dhaka, Kuala Lumpur, Istanbul, Bali, Dubai, Orlando, Detroit, Rabat, UK, Bogota, Paris, Washington, DC, Pretoria, Bangkok, Pilsen, Toronto, Costa Rica, Sao Paulo and Riyadh. Dr. Ali has visited 20 countries for professional events. He is a member of IEOM, INFORMS, SME and IEEE.
Panel Speaker II
Panel Speaker III
Global Engineering Education Panel Session
December 8, 2020 (Tuesday) – Session: 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm, – Room 2
Panel Chair:
Dr. Wilson R. Nyemba
Professor and Past Dean
Industrial and Mechatronics Engineering
University of Zimbabwe
Panel Speake I
Panel Speaker II
Panel Speaker III
Women in Industry and Academia Panel Session
December 9, 2020 (Wednesday) – Session: 8:15 pm – 9:30 pm, – Room 2
Panel Chair: Dr. Loice Gudukeya, University of Zimbabwe
Panel Chair
Dr. Eng. Loice K Gudukeya
Senior Lecturer
Mechanical Engineering Department
University of Zimbabwe
Loice is a Senior Lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Zimbabwe. She has previously held the post of Assistant Lecturer in the same department at University of Zimbabwe and at the Harare Institute of Technology, in the Industrial Engineering Department.
She is a holder of a PhD in Engineering, University of Johannesburg (2018), MSc in Renewable Energy, University of Zimbabwe (2012), BHon in Engineering: Industrial and Manufacturing, NUST (Bulawayo, 2004). Her PhD research title was: “Towards Green Manufacturing: Improving Environmental Sustainability in The Zimbabwean Steel Industry”.
Professionally Loice is a corporate member of the Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers. Under the same board she is a member of the National Student Award and the Congress Planning Committees. She is also registered with the ECZ. She also in different committees in the department and faculty and has published a number of journal and conference papers. Her research areas are Environmental Sustainability and Cleaner production.
Loice is passionate about promoting Science and Engineering to young girls in primary and high school. The hope is to invite them to the Engineering world and to make them stay in the field. She is currently chairing University of Zimbabwe Women in Engineering, which falls under the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers, Women in Engineering. The mandate is having a community of Women in Science at the university that holds different events that promote higher numbers of females in the field.
Panel Speakers
Dr. Fortunate Farirai, PhD (Pr. Eng.)
Chief Executive Officer
Sustenergy Zimbabwe
Fortunate is an experienced engineering professional in the field of renewable energy. She holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (Wits) and is a registered professional engineer with the Engineering Council of Zimbabwe. Before the PhD, she received an MSc in Renewable Energy from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and a BSc (Hon) in Chemical Technology from the Midlands State University, both in Zimbabwe.
From 2012 to date, Fortunate has contributed to various R&D projects within Southern Africa and regularly interfaces with the international energy community. The majority of this work was done in her capacity as a Senior Research Engineer at the Energy Technology Institute of the Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre (SIRDC) in Zimbabwe.
In collaboration with members of her network at Wits, UZ and other industry partners she has published various research articles in high-impact factor international journals and also presented at various technical conferences in Europe and Africa. She has also co-authored a book chapter. Even today, her research momentum remains as evidenced by the many articles she continues to publish.
Unique to her, despite the demanding professional and academic life, she is a proud and dedicated wife and mother to 3 energetic boys. She happily claims that her family is the greatest source of support and strength in her work. Due to her strong pioneering spirit, Fortunate is also an active entrepreneur. In 2015, she co-founded and is currently a director of Wise Petroleum, a company involved in fuel handling and distribution and which also owns a few fuel stations in Zimbabwe.
Also, in 2020, she founded and is the current chief executive officer of Sustenergy Zimbabwe, a company dedicated to a cause that is very close to her heart, renewable energy.
Lastly, Fortunate is highly passionate about the holistic growth of her community and thus dedicates a significant portion of her time to national and voluntary service. Currently, she is the H2Atlas Project Team Leader for Zimbabwe, an initiative by SASSCAL to determine the green hydrogen potential of Southern Africa which is very critical considering the importance of the resource in future energy scenarios. Also, she is the incumbent Chairperson of the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World, Zimbabwe Chapter. The work brings her much joy as she gets to help empower women in related career fields, assist in strengthening their professional network and facilitate activities that augment their competitiveness in the modern workplace.
Dr. Bupe Getrude Mwanza
Associate Director
Graduate School of Business
University of Zambia
Zambia
Dr. Bupe Getrude Mwanza has over 9 years of experience in the Higher Education Sector. She has practical experience in teaching and learning, academic administration and research, and quality assurance in the Higher Education Sector. Bupe has teaching and learning experience in Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. She has experience in Quality Assurance in the Manufacturing Sector. She worked for Best Oil Products and Konkola Copper Mines were she was designated in the Quality Assurance Departments. Bupe has a Bachelor of Science in Production Management, Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Systems and Operations Management and PhD in Engineering Management.
Bupe has published and presented a number of papers on Waste Management, Operations Management, Manufacturing Systems and Engineering Management. She has presented in countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Ghana, Colombia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Macao, Thailand and India. She has contributed to the Research Output of the University of Johannesburg, University of Zambia, Copperbelt University, Cavendish University Zambia and Harare Institute of Technology. Because of her passion in research, Bupe has won best paper awards in Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Malaysia.
Bupe is a mentor to a number of young ladies. Her profile has been used to mentor young ladies pursing their careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programmes. Bupe is the Chairperson of the Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Chapter in Zambia. She is also a Visiting Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg. She is permanently employed by the University of Zambia, where she serves as the Associate Director and Senior Lecturer in the Graduate School of Business.
Glory Oguegbu
Founder
Glow Initiative for Economic Empowerment
Nigeria
Glory’s goal is to be a positive part of people’s lives and make good impact. She’s passionate about the economic development of Nigeria and work in the field of renewable energy and environmental sustainability to promote Nigeria’s economic growth through job creation and education. She’s the founder of Glow Initiative for Economic Empowerment under which their environmental arm – Climate Smart Nigeria – is promoting Climate Change Education in Nigerian institutions and provide capacity building on renewable energy technologies. Noticing an increase in investments into Africa’s renewable energy sector, she established the Renewable Energy Technology Training Institute (RETTI) to train the next generation of efficient installers and entrepreneurs who will serve as a competent workforce pool for the renewable energy industry and provide solutions to Nigeria’s prevalent energy problems as entrepreneurs.
In eighteen months, RETTI has trained 137 individuals including women who then receive after training support to enable them set up own businesses. 25 alumni have been recruited in solar jobs. To ensure that trainees hone their acquired skill, RETTI launched the Growth Support Plan (GSP) – an after-support platform for the alumni at no extra cost. Thirty-five members of the alumni have started their own viable renewable energy businesses and have employed 70 new employees. They have collectively provided more than 5000 KVA of renewable electricity to over 1053 homes and businesses and offset 60,000T of C02. Under her leadership, RETTI created a tech platform – REEN Connect (Renewableenergy Engineers and Entrepreneurs Connect) to provide mentorship, business advisory, webinars, hands-on installation engagement for budding renewable energy entrepreneurs. At this time, REEN Connect has membership strength of 400 solar engineers and entrepreneurs.
In April 2019, Glory was selected and sponsored by the US Mission to the African Union (USAU) as one of fifteen African female business leaders to speak during the United States Government’s launch of the OPIC 2X Africa and meet with advisor to President of USA – Ms. Ivanka Trump and the Ethiopian
President – Ms Sahle-Work Zewde. In June 2019, she received a sponsored invitation by the IEA and USAU to contribute during the IEA and African Union Ministerial on the future of Africa’s Energy. In august 2019, she received a special invitation from the IEA to contribute to the World Energy Outlook Special Report – The Africa Energy Outlook. In December 2019, she received a sponsored invitation to
Paris by the IEA to contribute during the roundtable ministerial on Energy for a Continent of 2 Billion. In November 2019, She was nominated as one of four high achieving youths by the Nigerian Government to participate as a delegate in the United Nations COP 25 in Spain. Glory recently received the Lights on Women Global award by the Florence School of Regulation as one of four women doing outstanding work in the energy sector. The award offered her a scholarship to study a Master Level Course – Electric Vehicles.
Glory has authored four books to promote climate change and renewable energy literacy for children in primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions – (Bit.ly/rettiM) and sold 2000 copies. She is the recipient of the following awards; (a) Nigerian Star from the US Mission in Nigeria (2019), (b) The Nigerian Energy Champion Prize,(2015), (c) Mandela Washington Fellowship Award (2015), (d) The Young Energy Professional of the Year Award by Nigeria Energy Awards (2018), (e) A Foremost Woman in Renewable Energy award recipient (2017) Leader &Mentor Award by US Consular General (2017) Enel Foundation Recognition as outsanding Young African in Energy (2020). In the course of her work she has met with the following global leaders; President Barack Obama, US Senator Chris Coons, Ms Ivanka Trump, US Undersecretary for Energy – Mr Mark Menezes, Ethiopian President – Ms Sahle-Work Zewde.
Dr. Olawumi O. Sadare
Post-doctoral researcher
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Pretoria
South Africa
Olawumi is a Post-doctoral Researcher in the Department of Chemical Engineering, at The University of Pretoria, South Africa. She holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from The University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. She is a registered member of South African Institution of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE) and member of Institute of Chemical Engineers, United Kingdom (IChemE).
She has wide-ranging interests in Chemical Engineering with a strong bias in Nanotechnology (carbon nanotubes, membrane materials and applications), Environment Engineering and Biochemical/Bioprocess engineering. This is reflected in the excellent co-supervision of students and quantity and quality of her research outputs over the years. She has published in some leading international peer-reviewed journals in Chemical Engineering and Applied Sciences. She has attended several national and international scientific conferences and has also contributed tremendously to the understanding in the field of Nanotechnology (carbon nanotubes, membrane materials and applications), Environment Engineering and Biochemical/Bioprocess Engineering through her writings, seminars/workshops and conference presentations. It is noteworthy to mention that ‘Wumi was one of the recipients of the famous L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science, Sub-Saharan African Fellowship in 2017, attesting to her promising research capacity and leadership in Chemical Engineering.
Olawumi has demonstrated her promising leadership and supervision skills in the field through co-supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as mentoring of students.
WEZI NYIMBILI, MSC (PEIZ, MRAes)
Lecturer and coordinator
Aeronautical engineering program
Copperbelt University
Kitwe, Zambia
Wezi Nyimbili is an Aerospace Engineer specialised in aircraft design and aircraft structures. She holds a B Eng Aerospace Engineering and an MSc Aerospace Engineering from Samara State Aerospace University (SSAU, Russia). She is a Professional registered engineer with the Engineering Institute of Zambia (EIZ) and a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS).
Wezi is currently lecturing at the Copperbelt University and coordinates the aeronautical engineering program at the university. She is also a coordinator of Education Technology at the Copperbelt University’s Centre for Academic Development, a role that promotes the use of technology for effective teaching and learning at the university.
In collaboration with her network and members of other universities in Zambia, Wezi has been able to publish and present conference papers. Her research areas are Aerodynamics, aircraft structures and Engineering education.
Wezi is passionate about narrowing the gap between male and females in Science and Engineering starting with young girls at primary and tertiary level .The aim is to introduce them to STEM, mentor them and later develop careers in STEM. Wezi is currently an active member of Zambia Women in Engineering Section (ZWES), which falls under the Engineering Institution of Zambia. She is also the chairperson of the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World Zambia Chapter. Wezi enjoys her work as it gives her a satisfaction of empowering women and girls in the field and it also gives her an opportunity to learn from other women through professional networking.
ENG. IRENE MASITHA
PhD Student
University of Pretoria
South Africa
MSc in Chemical Engineering (Wits 2020), PGD in petroleum engineering(Wits 2018)
PGDE (National University of Lesotho – NUL 2015), BSc in Chemistry and Biology (NUL 2008)
Former Deputy principal at Adventville High School in Lesotho. Following her 2 years’ tenure with the National University of Lesotho as a Laboratory Instructor in the Department of Science and Technology, Irene’s research work is based on clean fuel and nanotechnology. She is a versatile and talented professional; a mother of 2, with a passion to work with high school teen agers both boys and girls.With a long road still ahead of her career, Irene is already making a mark in the world of the Science and Technology; part of Lesotho Science and Technology Association who has been nominated as a judge in the Science and Technology fairs in Lesotho. She is committed to the advancing of knowledge and socio-economic development in Africa, and aspires to motivate women of all ages to become part of the engineering world.
Diversity and Inclusion Panel Session
Sponsored by Ford Motor Company
December 10, 2020 (Thursday)
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm (Zimbabwe Time)
11:30 am – 1:00 pm (USA Eastern Time)
Room 1
Panel Chair
Dr. Wilkistar Otieno
Associate Professor and Chair
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Faculty Mentor of Preparing Engineers and Computer Scientist NSF-STEM Scholarship PI. & WiscAMP
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Wilkistar Otieno is an Associate Professor and Chair of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She holds a Doctoral degree in Industrial Engineering and Masters in Statistics degree both from the University of South Florida. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Production Engineering from, Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya. Her research interests include sustainable manufacturing (remanufacturing), sustainable energy (solar power generation systems performance analysis), sustainable water systems reliability and overall systems optimization. She is has interests in Science Technology Engineering and Math education, particularly for female and underrepresented minority students. She is a member of IIE, IEEE, INFORMS, SWE and QSR.
Panel Speakers
Panel Speaker I
Mrs. Barbara Nhemachena
Quality Promotion and Development Officer
Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education
PhD Candidate Rhodes University, South Africa
Past, Lecturer Faculty of Engineering, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe
Panel Speaker II
Barbara Muyengwa
Head of Marketing and Public Relations
Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank
Barbara Muyengwa is a qualified Banker and a seasoned Marketer with over 15 years in management position within the Financial Industry. She began her career with ZB Bank 1990 and worked for Z B Finance and Trust Bank. She has a proven record in the Strategic Marketing Planning, Business Development, Selling and Sales Management, Customer Relationship Management Private Banking and Quality Service Training. She is a holder of Bachelors Administration Degree in Marketing, Diploma in Marketing London Chamber of Commerce Industry, Institute of Bankers (Zimbabwe) Diploma in Banking, and completed a Masters of Business Administration Degree with Management college of South Africa. Prior to re-joining Trust Bank, she was appointed General Manager at Julie Whyte a clothing manufacturer where she contributed immensely to fashion trends. She has immense passion for women empowerment and was instrumental at the setting up of Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank. She is a member of the Institute of Directors Zimbabwe.
Panel Speaker III
Pamela R. McCauley, Ph.D., CPE
Associate Dean for Academic Programs, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Professor | Department of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management (TATM)
Wilson College of Textiles
NC State University
Panel Speaker IV
Ms. Sebonkile Thaba
Lecturer in Transport and Supply Chain Management
University of Johannesburg
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
She is currently a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, holding Masters of Technology Degree in Operations Management. Ms Thaba serves at the Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management, lecturing 3rd-year students on Purchasing and 4th-year students on Logistics Processes and Practices. Ms Thaba’s research area are enterprise development, Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Cooperatives. She has so far published one book-chapter and 25 peer-reviewed international conferences papers. She has 25 Google Scholar citations with two h-index, and 1 I10- Index. She is awarded Academic Doctorate Advancement Project towards Transformation (ADAPTT) Scholarship, which is the collaboration of University of Florida (USA) and South Africa Higher Education (SA-HE) Network (UJ). Sebonkile received three global prestige’s awards from Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM)-International Society, Best Track Paper Award, Outstanding Service Award and Teaching & Learning Award in Supply Chain Management. She is a Track Chair for Waste Management and Supply Chain Management, Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management.
Ms Thaba currently is working on two projects, on Enterprise Development, which is Sustainable Supply Chain Management on Agricultural Farming Industry and Social Value Chain Economy within Local Community Enterprises. She currently a PhD candidate at University of Johannesburg, with a proposed title: Deconstructing the Social in Sustainable Supply Chain Management for African Farmers.
Panel Speaker V
Professor Donald M. Reimer
Director of Membership and Chapter Development – IEOM Society
President, The Small Business Strategy Group, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Adjunct Faculty – A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical Engineering
Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan, USA
Donald M. Reimer is an adjunct faculty at the A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical Engineering in College of Engineering at Lawrence Tech in Southfield, Michigan. He coordinates the Certificate of Entrepreneurial Engineering Skills. Mr. Reimer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Lawrence Technological University and a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from University of Detroit/Mercy. He is a Certified Management Consultant with over 35 years of experience in working with closely-held businesses. He has taught courses in entrepreneurship, strategic management, corporate entrepreneurship and innovation for engineers. Mr. Reimer is a member of the Lawrence Tech Kern Campus Committee, Coordinator of the Lawrence Tech Innovation Encounter. He is faculty Advisor of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization. Mr. Reimer serves as a Kern Fellow of The Kern Family Foundation, Co-Direct of the Coleman Fellows Program, member of the National Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization Faculty Advisory Council and is a member of the American Society of Engineering Education. He has operated his own consulting company – The Small Business Strategy Group for 23 years. He published numerous articles on small business, entrepreneurship and strategic thinking. He has received several awards and recognition by local, state and federal agencies for his work in entrepreneurship and minority business development. Mr. Reimer served as member of the Minority Economic Development Committee of New Detroit. Mr. Reimer is member of the Small Business Advisory Council of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Reimer is a member of Advisory Board of the Milwaukee Junction Small Business Assistance Center. He is also a member of the Applied Innovation Alliance. Mr. Reimer serves as a KEEN Fellow for The Kern Family Foundation and is a member of United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.