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

Grace Mureithi is a Kenyan based science communications and advocacy expert; with more than a decade of experience. She is a writer, a university lecturer and a consultant.

Mureithi is currently pursuing candidate at the University of Nairobi; where she also earned her MA in communication and honors in Bsc. Agriculture.

Her wealth of experience in the corporate world spans through three international NGOs; the INADES International, AHBFI international and Caritas; where she held various positions in the field of communication, networking and media liaison. During her term, Grace EXCEPTIONALLY delivered in multi-million dollars worth projects and earned herself five promotions, several awards and accolades.

Mureithi is currently a lecturer at the University of Nairobi and also at Saint Paul’s University. She also writes for the standard newspaper, a leading Kenyan daily; where she publishes on weekly bases.

Grace is also a consultant at Brits communications; where she specializes in matters agriculture, health and nutrition. She has successfully delivered multiple million dollar projects and earned several awards. She also doubles up as Brits’ media liaisons and networking advisor.

Mureithi is also engaged in social advocacy, where she has founded one social advocacy movement; a national initiative and participated in various advocacy calls.

She is the founder and patron of the True Brotherhood Movement, which advocates for the total inclusion and welfare of students with special need at the University of Nairobi. She also leads the Amani_Kwanza initiative, which advocates for peaceful coexistence and ethnical tolerance in Kenya.

Grace has also lead numerous social advocacy campaigns at national level; including the youth for change campaign, which run from 2007-2009.

Grace is not only a communications professional, but also a life coach, who has mentored several youths. She continues to do so through her job as a lecturer.

Mureithi dedicates her free time to the running and support of the Lilian Foundation; a children’s home she has been supporting with the proceeds from her writing since 2012.

Florence Sipalla has worked in communication in different capacities as a trainer, communication officer, tutor and freelance writer.  In the field of science communication, Florence has worked with organizations working agricultural research and development such as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD).

At CIMMYT, Florence implemented communication strategies for two projects, the Drought Tolerant Maize in Africa (DTMA) and the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project. This work entailed video production, where she wrote and voiced some of the scripts, writing success stories, generating content for the projects’ websites and CIMMYT’s internal newsletter and blog.  She also helped to raise the organization’s visibility through media coverage, coordinating field visits for journalists to expose them to the organization’s research outputs.  She also collaborated with communication colleagues to leverage the media coverage through sharing on social media platforms in addition to organizing media training sessions for researchers.

Currently, Florence is working as a communication consultant providing writing, editing and rapporteur services. She also provides communication support to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of Kenya (MS-Kenya) on a voluntary basis. Working as a trainer with the Training Center in Communication (TCC), Florence is also involved in training scientists on how to communicate with non-science audiences which include the media, policy makers and the public. The training sessions cover oral communication and poster presentations for scientific conferences.

Florence holds a postgraduate degree in African Literature from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Language and Literary studies from Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.