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First ITC PhD graduation


Dr Joseph Olusola Akinyede, born (1952) and living in Nigeria, is a very special man: he is ITC’s first PhD student ever. “ITC is one of the best educational institutions in the world,” he immediately replies to my question concerning his considerations on continuing education at ITC. “It was a great privilege. ITC is unique.”

Joseph got the opportunity to conduct research at ITC through a four-year scholarship granted by the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1986. A year earlier, an EEC scholarship had enabled him to follow a postgraduate course in applied geological survey − also at ITC. In February 1990, Joseph received a PhD degree for his thesis Highway Cost Modelling and Route Selection Using a Geotechnical Information System from the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. ”My PhD research equipped me with the skills to independently understand a problem and quickly define ways of solution,” says Joseph. 

Read full interview with Joseph here