“A transformative experience that strengths research and deepens appreciation for collaborative, Africa-centred scholarship”

I was fortunate to participate in the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Early-Career Research Fellowship, funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, during the first six months of 2026. As an ACEIR postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cape Town, the fellowship provided a unique opportunity to spend time at the ACEIR node at the University of Nairobi.

It was a valuable opportunity to experience a different academic environment, engage with leading researchers, and broaden my understanding of inequality research within the African context. It was also a memorable personal experience going back to my home country, allowing me to live and work in Nairobi, often referred to as the “Green City in the Sun.” 

The fellowship was a great networking opportunity with fellow early-career researchers (ECR). One of the highlights of the programme was attending the ARUA networking ECR workshop in Accra, Ghana, in January. The workshop covered diverse topics, including proposal writing, grant applications, identifying funding opportunities, and academic writing. These sessions provided practical skills that are essential for building a successful research career, particularly at the early-career stage.

Equally valuable was the opportunity to interact with fellows from different African universities and disciplines. Through these engagements, I developed professional relationships that will continue to shape my research journey beyond the fellowship period. Another important aspect of the fellowship was the opportunity to work closely with senior researchers who mentored me throughout my stay. 
 

The mentorship I received strengthened my confidence as an emerging scholar and encouraged me to think more critically about the impact and policy relevance of my work.

The fellowship was a valuable opportunity for my professional growth. My research focused on gender differences in leisure time consumption, a topic that sheds light on important but often overlooked dimensions of inequality.

In many contexts, gender norms continue to shape how men and women allocate their time, particularly with regard to unpaid care and domestic responsibilities. Understanding these patterns is important because access to leisure is closely linked to well-being, social participation, employment, and quality of life. 

The study contributes to the literature because it uses data from Kenya’s first national time-use survey, one of the few comprehensive datasets of its kind in Africa. The availability of this survey data provides a unique opportunity to examine how gender influences time allocation and leisure participation.

My stay in Kenya also opened new avenues for future research using the time-use survey data. The experience reinforced the value of rigorous empirical analysis to produce research that is both academically relevant and socially meaningful.

Overall, the ARUA fellowship was a transformative experience that strengthened my research capacity, expanded my professional network, and deepened my appreciation for collaborative, Africa-centred scholarship. I am grateful to ARUA, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and ACEIR, the University of Cape Town, and the University of Nairobi for making this opportunity possible.