Shaping the future of energy use

A graduate of ARU, Norbert has established himself as a leading voice in energy governance and industrial efficiency.

Norbert's PhD, which he undertook with our Global Sustainability Institute (GSI), explored Nigeria's energy transitions.

After graduating in 2018, he returned to Nigeria to join Pan-Atlantic University as a postdoctoral researcher. In just a few years, he rose to become an Associate Professor (Reader) and Head of Electrical/Electronic Engineering.

With expertise spanning energy security, electricity market planning, and the political forces that influence energy systems in developing African nations, Norbert has served on advisory boards for the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and is a Fellow of the Pan-African Scientific Research Council. His recent Routledge book, Electricity and Energy Transition in Nigeria, is the first major work to map the nation’s energy system across historical, policy, and future perspectives.

Norbert’s impact extends beyond academia. He has built strong international collaborations, including co-authoring a GSI policy brief on energy access and gender in Nigeria. He helped secure a €360,000 European Commission grant for the GreenVETAfrica project, developing green skills training programmes in Nigeria and Ghana. Even more notably, he is joint Principal Investigator on a £1.33 million ESRC-funded study, Energy Democracy and the Politics of Energy Transition in African Countries, partnering with leading universities across the UK, Lesotho, and Zambia to explore how local forces shape energy decisions.

In just six years, Norbert has become a significant figure in Africa’s energy transition – driving research, shaping policy, and leading multinational projects that support a more secure, inclusive, and sustainable energy future.

In 2025, Norbert won the Sustainability Champion Award at our Vice Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumni Awards.