Prof.Irene Sitawa Wattanga

Prof. Irene Sitawa Wattanga is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the Open University of Kenya with extensive experience in university teaching, research, postgraduate supervision, academic leadership, curriculum development and institutional capacity strengthening. She holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Botswana and specialises in Applied Mathematics, with research interests in mathematical modelling, differential equations, optimisation, computational mathematics, data science, and applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

She teaches and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students, including research in mathematics, data science, predictive modelling and related computational fields, and her scholarly work applies mathematical and computational approaches to real-world problems. Beyond teaching and research, she contributes to institutional and national initiatives in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), research and innovation management, intellectual property, technology transfer and research commercialisation. Her professional service includes academic leadership, policy and strategy development, curriculum review, quality assurance, research capacity strengthening, multidisciplinary grant development, postgraduate mentorship, and promotion of STEM education and innovation.

Research Interests

• Applied Mathematics

• Mathematical Modelling

• Differential Equations

• Numerical and Computational Mathematics

• Optimisation

• Data Science

• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Applications

• Mathematical Epidemiology

• Digital Learning Analytics

• STEM Education Research

Ongoing Research Projects

• Data Science and Machine Learning Research: Supervision of postgraduate research applying machine learning, predictive analytics and data-driven methods to real-world problems.

• Mathematical and Computational Modelling: Research and postgraduate supervision involving mathematical modelling, optimisation, differential equations and computational methods.

• Research and Innovation Systems: Institutional initiatives strengthening STI, intellectual property management, technology transfer and research commercialisation.

• Digital Education and Innovation: Research and capacity-development initiatives exploring digital technologies, online learning and innovation in higher education.

• Collaborative Research and Grant Development: Participation in multidisciplinary national and international research and innovation initiatives.