Ijuptil K. Joseph, a Nigerian, has made a significant academic breakthrough by successfully defending his Ph.D. in the Theory of Active Fluids, a field yet to be fully explored in Africa.
His academic journey led him to the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, where he achieved this remarkable feat.
The Adamawa-born scholar who secured two scholarships back to back in Ghana, where he did his Master’s programme, and the Russell Group University in the UK has vast teaching experience, as a Graduate Research Assistant at the same institution where he has been teaching Mathematics 1C, Introduction to Calculus Mathematics 2D, Mathematical modelling, Mathematics 1, Introduction to calculus II, Mathematics 2B, Linear Algebra, and Mathematics 1G from September 2022 to present.
The Applied Mathematician describes himself as “a highly motivated and energetic person with a logical and intellectual approach to any task I undertake.” About his area of expertise, he noted, “I am broadly interested in the mathematical modelling of real-world problems and applications, and data science.”
The First Class student in Mathematics from Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria, held the position of Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant from October 2019 to September 2020 and taught Mathematical Methods of Physics.
While in Nasarawa, he cultivated close working relationships with students, teaching staff, and parents, working collaboratively to achieve examination success. Dr. Ijuptil served as an assistant to a professor, teaching and grading over 50 undergraduate students while undertaking the noble task in his home country.
Aside from his academic pursuits, Ijuptil K. Joseph has also applied his skills in the real world. He worked for ActionAid in Gwarimpa, Abuja, Nigeria, from July 2019 to October 2019. During this time, he undertook the Microsoft Excel, Analytical Skills (MATAI) Project, which aimed to mobilize action towards the abolition of infanticide. His hands-on experience in this project further honed his data analytical skills.
During his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) duty to his country, the scholar worked at the Central Bank of Nigeria from June 2018 to June 2019, where he was involved in preparing the financial statements of both financial and non-financial corporations in the West African nation.
He has been involved in data gathering, balancing assets and liabilities of financial statements, as well as aggregating, consolidating, and evaluating data. His research interests include continuum modelling, fluid mechanics, numerical solutions of ODEs and PDEs, epidemiological modelling, data science, and data analysis.
The latest Doctor in town (in Nigerian parlance), who combines intelligence and humility, is a devout Catholic. Dr. Ijuptil defied the lazy youths’ stigma, which the Nigerian elite often use to discourage young people from becoming rising stars.
Dr. Ijuptil, in his early thirties, embodies the unwavering spirit of Nigerian youth. He is a testament to the fact that the leaders of tomorrow are those who have prepared themselves today to change the fortunes of their beloved country.