By Hussaini Garba Mohammed
Oluwatosin Babasola is a Nigerian scholar who started his academic journey in Nigeria and obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Ilorin, where he graduated with an impressive first-class degree in Mathematics. He then proceeded to earn a master’s degree, also with distinction in Numerical Analysis from the same department.
His academic journey continued with the acquisition of another master’s degree from the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in South Africa, followed by a master’s degree in financial mathematics from the Pan African University, Institute for Basic Science, Technology, and Innovation (PAUSTI).
Thereafter, Dr Babasola enrolled into the University of Bath where he read for his Master of Research (MRes) degree and finally a PhD; bagging a total of four master’s degrees from four different countries.
As a result of his interest in addressing climate crises, particularly in agriculture, and his commitment to improving food security in Nigeria, while reading for his PhD, he collaborated with the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) to develop a mathematical model to forecast the behaviour of cocoa crops in the country under the influence of climate change, earning recognition for the impactful work.
Throughout his academic journey, Dr. Babasola won numerous awards and scholarships, right from undergraduate through to his PhD studies. In total, he secured four scholarships: MTNF scholarships during his undergraduate programme; the Next-Einstein Initiative scholarship for his programme at AIMS South Africa; African Union Commission scholarship at the Pan African University in Kenya; and the EPSRC SAMBa scholarship for his programme in the UK.
Some of the awards he won during his PhD programme at the University of Bath include the Doctoral Recognition Award. He was a three-time participant in the Heidelberg Laureate Forum – a platform where young outstanding researchers are invited to spend time with field medalists and prestigious award winners.
Also, presently, Dr. Babasola has won several travel grants for research visits to over 15 countries and he will now be embarking on a new chapter at the University of Georgia in the United States. There, he will contribute to developing a mathematical model for controlling infectious diseases, continuing his impactful journey in the academia.
