Name: Ugwoke Blessing Onyeche Profession: Researcher Industry: Renewable energy and off-grid energy systems Years of service: 3 years plus (as a researcher) Education: Ph.D. Energetics (Energy Engineering) in view; MSc. Petroleum Engineering, B.Eng. Electrical and Computer Engineering Country of residence: Italy Feature:
Ugwoke Blessing Onyeche is a PhD candidate with the Energy Department at the Politecnico di Torino, Italy and a Junior Research Staff at the Energy Center Lab Torino, Italy where she pioneered the development of the Integrated Rural Renewable and Sustainable Energy Planning (IR2SEP) framework for low-income countries to support energy-based economic development. She was also a Visiting Research Scholar at Michigan Tech’s Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) Lab, Michigan Technological University, USA.
Blessing holds a First-Class Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Master of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering. She is a member of the Global Energy Prize international expert community and a winner of the Eni Award 2017 Debut in Research: Young Talents from Africa. She is a corporate Member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and a Junior Fellow of the Pan-African Scientific Research Council (PASRC).
Blessing is a co-founder of the Young Guru Academy (YGA) Italy, a non-profit organization invested in cultivating role model leaders with volunteers from all around the world to furnish transformative social impact by leveraging on technology and make learning science fun for young children. She is a board member of Next Professionals Services Limited, an innovative start-up working on improving the quality of research and innovation from universities in the sub-Saharan African region. She volunteers as a Programs officer for the African Women in Energy Development Initiative (AWEDI Network). She is also a huge proponent of sustainable energy for all particularly passionate about championing initiatives that drive energy security, energy equity, justice in energy access and energy efficiency.