Series 5 Episode 3: A journey into academia and using social media with Dr Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood

Careers in Your Ears

Dr Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, is a lecturer in sustainable development at the University of St. Andrews and gained her PhD from the African Leadership Centre at King's College London in 2019. Her research focuses on maritime threats, governance and security in the Gulf of Guinea. Ifesinachi has consulted for different international and regional organisations on issues relating to ocean governance, peace, and security in the African continent. She is the lead author of the Stable Seas: Gulf of Guinea report, and a contributing author to the Blue Paper 16, titled: Organized Crime in the Fisheries Sector, commissioned by the High-Level Panel on Sustainable Blue Economy, a global initiative led by 14 Heads of Governments.

In this episode of the podcast, we learn how Ifesinachi discovered this research area and why she wanted to become an academic. She shares what helped her to get to where she is now, and how her presence on LinkedIn and Twitter has been crucial to her public engagement work and to diversify the narratives and expertise in her field of research.

Ifesinachi is a co-host of AfriCan Geopardy '....a fun, witty, and authentic way of talking about the ocean, and African geopolitics, with an added twist of bursting stereotypes about Africa.' Do check it out!

If you're a member of research staff or a PGR student at King's College London, you can book a 1-1 careers appointment (for application reviews and focused conversations about your career thinking) via King's CareerConnect. Search for 'PhD and Research Staff' under appointment type.