Meet ETH4D Doctoral Mentee Harriette Adhiambo Okal
We talked to doctoral researcher Harriette Adhiambo Okal at Rhodes University, South Africa, about her Doctoral Mentorship stay at ETH Zurich. Through the ETH4D Mentorship Programme she consulted with Prof. Peter Molnar, Department of Hydrology and Water Resources Management, on her research on integration of satellite data in reducing hydrological modelling uncertainty for sustainable water resource management in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Harriette, you are a Doctoral Researcher at Rhodes University, South Africa, and have just completed your Doctoral Mentorship Programme at ETH Zurich. Please tell us a bit more about your background.
I am 29 years old, born and raised in Kenya. I am in the 3rd and final year of my PhD journey at the external page Institute for Water Research, Rhodes University. I am under the Africa Water Resources Mobility Network (external page AWaRMN) project funded by the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme of the European Union and the African Union. I have a Master of Science in Land and Water Management from the University of Embu, Kenya, and a Bachelor of Science in Water Resource Management from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
I found myself in the water sector after being selected by the Government of Kenya to pursue my bachelor's degree in this field given my academic strongholds in natural sciences. My passion grew and I decided to pursue the water discipline further. This path has since been the fundamental part of my career goal of ‘Being among the few women in my country and region championing for sustainable water resource management, assessment, and decision-making at all levels: local to international.’ During my time at Rhodes University, I have become passionate about increasing capacity in the field of hydrological modelling in Africa and have focused my work on promoting investment in building African water expertise.
What is your main research focus at Rhodes University, South Africa?
The title of my research is «Integration of Satellite Data in Reducing Hydrological Modelling Uncertainty for Sustainable Water Resource Management in Sub-Saharan Africa». The major argument is that, in data-scarce regions within Sub-Saharan Africa, the data required to make water resources decisions are not always generally available and therefore, some form of estimation approach is required. Data scarcity is the key point addressed by the research, therefore, seeking to
- (a) Use regional constraints to facilitate the setting up of hydrological models in data-scarce regions
- (b) Make models more accessible to people by providing a local database (website) with reliable data and outputs.
How did you learn about ETH Zurich and why did you decide to come to Zurich for your research?
Interesting story. I would say I was at the right place at the right time when I met Dr. Darcy Molnar during the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal, for a youth session at the Swiss pavilion. We chatted, and she got interested in my work. As she is also in the water field, she made mention of the ETH4D doctoral mentorship programme citing that it is the best platform to seek collaboration between my institute and the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources Management at ETH Zürich.
After further consultations with the Chair of the Department, Prof. Peter Molnar, who is well respected within the hydrological modelling society given his expertise, he agreed to be my supervisor/mentor for my stay at ETH, as well as beyond the stay. Therefore, I would advise researchers to always put themselves out there and network as much as possible, because you may never know who holds the key to your destiny and goals.
Did anything surprise you during your stay in Switzerland? How did you like it?
Cultural shock hit me hard. The first meal I ate as a welcoming meal to Switzerland was Fondue, and never in my life have I ever eaten that much cheese in one sitting. Then the snow… we have no winter in Kenya, and South Africa’s winter doesn’t get below 10 degrees in my town of residence. Having to endure temperatures of less than 5 degrees practically the whole time in Switzerland was a big shock to me. I remember my colleagues at the department laughing at how I’d be layered up in clothes with only my eyes visible most of the time.
Overall, being in Switzerland and particularly in Zurich, made me appreciate water resources and nature more as it was interesting seeing how such a complex landscape is modelled not only hydrologically but also engineering-wise.
What are your future plans?
I am grateful that ETH4D is funding my external page European Geoscience Union (EGU) 2023 conference attendance in Vienna, Austria. Additionally, Prof. and Dr. Molnar, together with my research supervisors at IWR have agreed to hold at least a monthly meeting throughout the year to ensure the work I started at ETH Zurich is well on track and hopefully leads to a series of scientific publications and other collaborations.
If you are an ETH professor interested in hosting a doctoral researcher from a low- or lower-middle income country, please see our Doctoral Mentorship Programme. There are four application deadlines per year: 30 April, 30 June, 31 October and 31 December.