CoMSIRU graduate scoops prestigious Swiss Govt. Excellence scholarship

Alice Titus Bakera, a Civil engineer from Tanzania, has had a remarkable academic journey filled with achievements and honours. After graduating from the University of Dar es Salaam in 2015 with a BSc in Civil Engineering, she joined the Concrete Materials and Structural Integrity Research Unit (COMSIRU) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) for her master's degree. Alice graduated with distinction, winning the best dissertation award and attaining prestigious honours at the 72nd RILEM week in the Netherlands in 2018.

In 2019 Alice embarked on her PhD journey within the research unit through collaborations with Lafarge Holcim and LMDC in France. Her research focused on developing a tool that can assist engineers in designing durable sewer structures. Alice successfully defended her research, and her degree will be conferred in the July 2023 graduation ceremony.

Alice has no plans to stop her academic progression, and her next chapter has already begun. In May 2023, she was selected as a recipient of the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship 2023/2024, where she will carry out her post-doctoral research at EFPL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) in Switzerland. In a recent interview with Alice, she expressed her excitement at working with Prof Karen Scrivener, a leading limestone calcined clay cement expert at EFPL, whom she has always admired and sought mentorship. What is more, Alice will be part of an institution with a vast network of partner universities, with more than 350 laboratories and research groups on its various campuses, all at the forefront of science and technology. Alice views her latest chapter as an opportunity to discover new horizons, which she hopes will widen her perspectives and enable her to reach the summit of her academic accomplishments. Alice’s post-doctoral research at EFPL will explore clinker reduction potential to partially replace limestone with cementitious materials locally available in Tanzania.

Undoubtedly, Alices’ academic journey has been marked by her determination, achievements, and strong support. She expresses her heartfelt gratitude to Prof Mark Alexander, Prof Hans Beushausen, Prof Pilate Moyo, and CoMSIRU at large for supporting, encouraging, and pushing her outside her comfort zone. As a parting message, Alice encourages her peers and other academics to build and nurture connections and networks, as she believes her dreams have been made possible largely by the strong connections she has built over the years.