Pamela Ngugi, Kenya

• Current position: Senior Lecturer and Head of Department for Kiswahili and African languages, Kenyatta University Nairobi
• Scholarship: North-South-Dialogue Scholarship APPEAR – financed by the Austrian Development Cooperation; Ernst Mach -Follow-up Grant
• Duration: 04/2007- 02/2010; 05-07/2015
• Motto: "Make the place better than you found it"

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Pamela Muhadia Ngugi is a Senior Lecturer and HoD at the Department of Kiswahili and African languages, Kenyatta University, Kenya. She holds a PhD in Kiswahili Literature ( Children`s Literature) (2010) and a Post - Doc Degree (2015) from the University of Vienna, Austria. Her main research interests include Children‘s Literature, Kiswahili Language and Sociolinguistics. She teaches at the university’s department of Kiswahili having students from both, undergraduate and postgraduate level. She is also an author of Children‘s story books in Kiswahili. She is currently in the team that is working towards establisheing the National Kiswahili Council in conjuction with the Ministry of Culture and Sports in Kenya. She is a member of the Kiswahili Global Association ( CHAUKIDU), East African Kiswahili Association- Kenya (CHAKAMA) and the National Kiswahili Association (CHAKITA). She has published widely in the area of Children’s Literature and has presented at international conferences in the country and abroad. She is a mentor to undergraduate and Post graduate Students.

Reflection

The OeAD scholarship I received to study for my PhD at the Department of African Studies in 2007-2010 and later a Post-doc in 2015 in Vienna was very important for my scientific career. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Dr. Norbert Cyffer, who was my academic supervisor during this scholarship and all the Faculty members who who were so receptive, very kind and helpful. I attended lectures and seminiars in other related departments that were interesting for me not only in view of the discipline subject but also because of the teaching methods that can be borrowed for my own teaching activity. Every contact I had with my colleagues and researches from my area of interest, contributed in improving my work, my skills and my personality. I found very many interesting books and papers from the university library that were useful for me in preparing my dissertation, an area that had received little interest in my home country. I have since gained new ideas and new experiences that I share with my students both at undergraduate and postgraduata level. Indeed my stay in Austria came with life transforming experiences both in academic and cultural interactions. I loved the numerous interesting meetings and the different excursions organised by the OeAD. The blending of people encountered during the learning time induced the critical paradigm of team work, respect for others and displine . Thanks to OEAD TEAM.