"The most exciting part of what I do is that it has a direct impact on people. I get to mentor students and contribute to shaping their future paths. I also get to develop and contribute to technology that can improve people's health. These are the things that motivate me."

"“It’s hard to learn about something that you have no data on.”"

"All mountains are surmountable simply by taking one step at a time."

"I chose academia because I learned that through research I could push the boundaries more in academia than I could in industry. In academia I am free to ask any questions that I think are important or potentially beneficial."

"Third, persist. All mountains are surmountable simply by taking one step at a time. I believe the main thing that has paid off in my journey is persistence."

"Getting to the people in the hard-to-reach areas and rural communities that lack amenities and drugs is an effective way of curtailing malaria in the country."

"The Nigerian government should implement the home management of malaria scale-up plan. Health care interventions are feasible at the community level and laypersons, if trained and supervised, could contribute to the health care of their communities."

"We need more research to understand why the control measures put in place have not reduced the burden and why interventions are not deployed as well as how they can be deployed"

"If we have the community people doing it correctly themselves, it would go a long way in reducing the burden of malaria."

"Role models are critical for anyone, including Black women in STEM in academia."

"Good health is fundamental to living a fruitful life, and although I don't contribute to people's health as a doctor, a nurse or a clinical personnel, I contribute with technology-based solutions."

"One of the hurdles that I have and continue to encounter is being a minority in various circles in my field, this includes being a young Black woman in male-dominated spaces. This made it particularly difficult for me to find role models."

"Finally, ask for help. I learned early in my academic journey not to be afraid to ask for help. It doesn't matter how you learn whether it be a concept or skill, what matters is that you learn even if it takes many tries."

"Many important lessons stand out to me. First, do not underestimate yourself. I have done and am doing more things than I ever thought I was capable of."

"Crowdsourcing is a powerful way to build datasets that can support research."

"I am still learning ways that my presence will impact the institution. However, one thing that I have noticed is that I am an important resource for women and people of color in engineering and computer science."

"The overwhelming majority of people who contracted COVID-19 have journeyed through their illness in self-isolation. These people have been suffering and recovering in silence. What we learn from them can help society at large understand the different facets of COVID-19."

"If every home does this and does not have to go to the hospital to treat uncomplicated malaria, it would go a long way to reduce the burden of malaria."

"Second, understand that failure is part of the journey. We often hear about people's successes but not so much about their failures. Many prominent people have had their own share of failures, which were necessary to their success."

"Let me take a few minutes to stress why we are here in offering this heartfelt goodwill message. Ndi banyi, taa bug boo. We have come a long way since the days of the Missionaries. Nsukka boasted of many scholars and philanthropists that emerged during that era. Fast forward; we have fought a civil war, rebuilt Nigeria and the University of Nigeria remains in our back-yard. When we take stock, we cannot say we didn’t do okay. But in the grand scheme of things, more could be done."

"While teaching in the nursery school, I felt I was doing less than I should be doing and there was a time a classmate of mine came with her sister to pick her children. She saw me teaching and I was ashamed. She greeted me and told me she was going to London that night. You can imagine how I would feel but later I sat down and psyched myself up that there was dignity in labour and started enjoying myself. I discovered that my little students like me. I made myself enjoy that place until I left and went for my master’s. After my master’s, I went for my PhD. I was lucky I got a fellowship for my PhD so money was not a challenge."

"Q: What will you say is the secret of your success? A: It is God. He is the one that gives you favour. When you apply for a grant, it is God that inspires you to write the proposal. Apart from God, my husband is a great inspiration to me, he motivates me. When he sees me slowing down, he encourages me to do more and keep me on my feet. Determination and the fact that I attended a lot of training gave me an edge over my peers. I have been exposed to a lot of things but I have learnt to be humble with my success."

"Let us look within ourselves and utilize especially the potentials within our youth. They graduate in hundreds every year. We must figure out a way to become reliant on them. My hope and wish is that we find ways to develop incubator-centers where young graduates from all schools can spend time and serve our people."

"Q: What advice do you have for career women? A: My advice to women is that as their husbands progress, they should progress too. If not, their husbands would relegate them. That is why so many politicians don’t parade their first wives, they parade the appointment wives. So, as your husband is developing, develop too. Make up your mind that as you grow in your career, you won’t lose your home. When a woman is growing in her career, she must be humble. Your humility can make a way for you. Be submissive and wise. Finally, a woman does not jump at every opportunity if she wants to keep her home."

"Q: What were the challenges you faced at the beginning of your career? A: I was lucky to serve in a research institute as I said but after the service, my supervisor was interested in retaining us but there was a bottleneck. So when I finished service, because I didn’t just want to sit at home, I went to a nursery school and was teaching there."

"I recommend more collaboration between researchers and end-users of research outputs in the industry. The university is rich in intellectual resources and expertise and these should be used to solve problems identified by the industry and society as a whole."

"It is the desire of this research group to fast track development through human and infrastructural capacity building, consequently reducing the gap between the developed and the emerging economies."

"In my mind, I need to represent and not necessarily be loud as in yelling, but loud in my excitement, loud in my demeanor."

"It gives me great pleasure to be here today with my most esteemed brethren from far and near. I have not seen many of you for some time now. So, this event, being the first, calls for many more. It is my fervent belief that we can live up to that pledge."

"Although we are making little progress with the little or no facilities at our disposal, we strongly believe that given the right tools we will certainly perform better."

"That showed only 29 percent of the STEM workforce identifies as women and 56 percent of university educated women in STEM were born overseas."

"I partnered with Dr Ruwangi Fernando to co-found iSTEM Co, which aims to promote employment and retention for women in STEM, including women of colour and women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds."

"I’ve seen first hand the adverse effects of oil spillage."

"Through my work with WISE and WISA, I gained a deeper understanding of the barriers women in STEM face."

"I also realised that the conversations about gender equity often exclude the intersections of gender like race, ethnicity, and disability."

"Conversations about gender equity often exclude the intersections of gender like race, ethnicity, and disability."

"That’s really what worried me, and that led me to start looking into alternative forms of energy."

"I began engagements with Women in STEMM Australia (WISA), in 2018."

"To empower and support female STEM students and encourage girls to pursue STEM careers."

"I was appointed to the board as a director in 2019 which I still serve to date."

"My leadership journey in advocating for the diversity of women in the industry began during my PhD, when I realised the difficulties of being a woman in a male dominated field."

"As a woman from a minority background working in STEM, I have faced personal and professional challenges, whilst in pursuit of my career aspirations."

"WISA has created a diverse, inclusive network of STEMM professionals at all levels of academia, industry, education, business and government and includes all women in STEMM regardless of their discipline and profession."

"The discussion around diversity and inclusion has increased in recent times yet the dial has barely shifted for women in STEM."

"I’m one of those people that if there’s a problem, I try to fix it."

"What was more interesting was that 56 per cent of university qualified females in STEM in Australia are Australian women born overseas."

"The underrepresentation of female engineering students led me to co-found the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Club at Victoria University."

"As a scientist, engineer and passionate advocate for women in the field, I have advocated and worked across various STEM/NFP organisations to create change."

"They experienced over four times higher unemployment."