FUTO alumnus Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua becomes first black woman to hold a PhD in Cybernetics

A Nigerian Professor of Engineering, Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua has become the first black woman in the world to earn a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Cybernetics. Ekeng-Itua earned the degree from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom under the supervision of her first PhD supervisor, Prof. Kevin Warwick and the first human Cyborg in the world.

Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua is currently an Engineering Professor at Ohlone College in Fremont, California where she has served for six years. There, she prides herself on providing leadership in the Engineering and Engineering Technology Departments while simultaneously maintaining teaching and mentoring responsibilities. 

She’s also the Founding Program Lead of the College’s Smart Manufacturing Technology Program. In January, the program collaborated with Tesla to expand the electric automaker’s Employee Education Assistance (EEA) Program. The program is meant to help upskill Tesla workers in smart manufacturing.

More on Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua

Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua hails from Cross River in Nigeria. She discovered her love for engineering and technology in her days growing up in Nigeria. She loved to explore how things worked and what could make them better. Although the culture didn’t encourage much education for women, especially in such male-dominated spaces as engineering, she nonetheless pushed herself on.

She first bagged a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Telecommunications), from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO). She followed this with a Master of Science (MSc) in Mobile and Satellite Communications Engineering from the University of Surrey in England.

She would obtain a Certificate in Disruptive Strategies from Harvard before finally bagging her history-making degree, a PhD in Cybernetics from the University of Reading. 

It was not an easy road to this point for the revered Doctor who has faced numerous challenges as a woman of colour in a male-dominated field. Gender biases and a lack of readily available role models are some of the challenges she faced. But despite this, she refused to let these obstacles define her. 

Speaking about challenges encountered in achieving success in a recent interview, Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua said, “Every challenge became fuel for my determination. I realised that my success would not only open doors for myself but would serve as an example for other women and girls who might otherwise doubt their capabilities.”

Today, she is described as a pioneer educator, administrator and engineer championing leading roles in Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) challenges in Africa, and paving the way for the African youth, especially girls. 

She is also a multi-award-winning professor of engineering with over 20 years of experience in Engineering and STEM Education cutting across the USA, Europe and Africa. She has led the creation of innovative programmes in STEM, whose fascination with technology took root in her childhood in Nigeria.

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