Benard Ungadi Akala

BENARD UNGADI AKALA Education and Human Resources Management Specialist Route du Boiron, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland - |- www.linkedin.com/in/benard-ungadi-akala-b/ CAREER VISION To touch the lives of as many people as possible as an academician, teacher, trainer, consultant, and researcher in addition to human resource management and development. I plan to achieve this career vision through further research, training, coaching, mentorship, teaching, participation in management and researching on issues in education, inclusion, and diversity and worker management and working as a consultant. AIM Inspire and motivate others to attain their educational coordination, management, teaching, training, and human resource management potentials, reflecting, employment, sensitivity to diversity, inclusion, and equality. Build trust and confidence based on performance in organizations that I work for. SUMMARY An innovative, and strategic educational specialist with proven experience across education, educational management, coordination, teaching/training, interdisciplinary issues in education, research in education and human resource management. Enhance organizational communication and teamwork, and organizational skills, which are critical when collaborating. EXPERTISE Teaching | Education | Training | Research Skills | Sustainable education practices| Academic Writing skills| People Management | Program Management | Coordination |Collaboration | Leadership |interdisciplinary issues in education| Human Resources Management | Data Collection |Stakeholder Management | Written Communication EDUCATION AND TRAINING University of JohannesburgPhD in Education. Moi UniversityMaster of Educational Administration, Planning, and curriculum Development (M.Phil.). Moi University Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management (Credit). Kenyatta UniversityBachelor of Education Degree (Bed Arts): English and Literature Marist International University College (Kenya): Certificate of Participation in a workshop onTeaching methodologies and Test Development. Marist International University College (Kenya): Strategic Plan Development Workshop: Trained and gained skills and knowledge in strategic development and planning processes. Pert International (Kenya): Programme Evaluation, Research and Training Consultants: The value of working as a team, goals setting in teams, the social nature of a team, identification and importance of individual strengths and weaknesses in a team. Training as a tutor between 2013 – 2015. CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS Trained and taught hundreds of trainees and students who are now participating in economic activities. Assisted honours and masters’ students to write educational research proposals. Managed and coordinated supervision of student's research projects and teaching practices. Carried out research and wrote research reports that were significant to diverse and numerous educational policy managers – see RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS page 3 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2015 – presentCareer Break coursed by illness. During my recovery, I have pursued personal development, including completion of a PhD as well as researching, writing publishing papers as well as peer reviewing academic articles for the Social Science and humanities open Journal and Research journal of education studies and review. 2012 -2015University of Johannesburg: Postgraduate Fellow as a PhD candidate and a tutor in education department (part-time) Academic Development Centre Provided academic support/supervisory assistance of up to 100 % to undergraduates, honours and masters students in writing education research projects and building students’ research, reading, and writing capacity. Most of the students passed their exams. Tutor - Department of education Courses: Academic Literacy for Education and Curriculum Understanding and Policy. Responsibilities Provided academic support in reading, and teaching selected course text, course assignments and identification of weak students. Planned, prepared, and presented academic arguments/assignments and evaluated and allocated grades to students’ assignments. Achievements Successfully provided academic atmosphere with the required support to enhance text understanding. Using samples of academic writings, undergraduate and honours students’ capacity to develop effective academic writing skills was enhanced. Identified weak students and recommended remedial activities for them. Students came up with good educational research proposals. Marist International University College: A constituent of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa: Lecturer in Education Department: Training/teaching responsibilities Teaching and Examining Education courses including Curriculum Development, School Management, History of Education, Research Methods, and Academic Communication Skills. Supervised educational research projects and coordination and management of educational research projects and teaching/training in education. Teaching English academic communication skills. Achievements practical and observable school managerial and curriculum development issues. Prepared and provided evaluation tools in various education courses. Effectively coordinated, led, and provided managerial support to lecturers and undergraduates to the satisfaction of university management. Research projects Supervision. Key skills taught: Critical thinking skills, analytical skills, skills in conducting a literature review, research topic selection and preparation of data collection tools, data analysis, and writing research reports. Skills and knowledge in evaluating work in line with the standards and evaluation policy requirements. Achievements Successfully supervised dozens of educational research projects. I established good and lasting relationships between/among various educational research projects academic supervisors, students, and university management. Managed and coordinated university administration, the finance office, academic staff, and students in the department of education to achieve their goals. Education research administrator/Manager/ Coordination Management of over fifteen (15) lecturers, management of conflicts, and provide guidance to academic staff members. Established good and persistent public and personal relationships between lecturers and students. Coordination of their research supervisor activities. Financial responsibilities: Budgeting for resources needed for activities and financial claims for the participating members of academic staff. Identification of employees’/students’ needs/problems, discussion, and provision of solutions/taking disciplinary measures. Coordination and allocation of supervisors to adult students, and compilation of students’ grades. Provided support and ensured positive cooperation with high school principals/ deputy principals by members of academic staff as they supervised undergraduates and oversaw curriculum implementation. Achievements Managed to coordinate and link academic supervisors to students and placement of undergraduates in various schools/created a good relationship between various high schools and university. Diligence and commitment derived from management skills resulted in trust from the immediate managers, undergraduates, and academic staff members. Successful teaching practice, management of academic staff members and creation of a good working relationship with high school principals/ deputy principals and cooperating teachers during curriculum implementation. Enhance/exacted disciplinary measures where necessary among academic staff and undergraduates. Disciplinary actions laid the foundation for better supervision, teaching and learning of future practices. Development of course: I participated in a team that helped in developing and implementation an academic communication skills course. Certificate of review 2024: Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science Certificate of Excellence in Reviewing. CONFERENCE ATTENDED The South Africa Educational Research Association (SAERA) conference 10 – 12 November 2021 JOURNAL REVIEWER Review articles for peer review journals: Research Journal of Educational Studies and Review and Social Sciences & Humanities Open. COMPUTER SKILLS Email, MS Office Suite, PowerPoint, internet explorer, SPSS software and PDF. RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS 2023: How can doctoral supervision be improved? Views from doctoral students in two faculties of education at South African universities. https://www.journals.ac.za/sajhe/article/view/-: Inclusivity and the remote doctorate supervision experience of a student with disability in a South African university. https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/ajote/article/view/7285/-: BRAIN TUMOUR: Telling the surgical experience laughingly. Kindle Published Book, Available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BCX2Q2HZ). 2021: Challenges in Doctoral Supervision in South African Universities: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Challenges+in+Doctoral+Supervision+in+South+African+Universities&btnG= 2020: Pedagogies in doctoral education in South African universities. A PhD research project in the Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg: https://www.proquest.com/openview/39a7185c09ee943eb5ea17d4348d1599/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y 2015: “They can’t even agree!” Student conversations about ‘complexity/intricacies/variety’ in supervisor views of the PhD (a paper co-authored with Professor Michael Cross, my PhD supervisor and Professor Pamela J. Backhouse, The University of Witwatersrand: https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/-/EJC-: Factors affecting resource centres in implementation of English curriculum: A case study of Uasin Gishu District. A master’s thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education, Moi University, Kenya. 2002: An Investigation into the Extent to Which Job Enrichment Model of Motivation is Applicable at Moi University. A Study of Administrative Assistants in Moi University. A research project was submitted to the Department of Human Resource Development, Moi University, Kenya.