Dr. Chika Ogochukwu Yinka-Banjo is an accomplished scholar, researcher, educator, and STEM advocate who has risen to national and global prominence through her groundbreaking work in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Data Science, and Technology-Driven Entrepreneurship. She currently serves as  Associate Professor and Head, Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Lagos.

Dr Yinka-Banjo is widely recognized as one of the leading female voices shaping the future of intelligence systems and STEM innovation in Africa.

A graduate of the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa, where she earned a PhD in Computer Science (AI & Robotics), she has contributed significantly to the advancement of intelligent autonomous systems. Her doctoral research involved building machine-learning-driven models for robot‐guided safety inspections in underground mines, a pioneering solution demonstrating her expertise in adaptive learning, perception systems, and robotic navigation.

Over the course of more than two decades of academic excellence, Dr. Yinka-Banjo has demonstrated exceptional leadership, research productivity, and commitment to human capital development. At UNILAG, she established a vibrant Robotics Research Group, bringing together undergraduate and postgraduate students to engage in advanced robotics research. Under her leadership, the team achieved a milestone by representing Nigeria at an international robot soccer competition in Ethiopia (2018). She also coordinates the UNILAG Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory (AIRLAB), which has become a training hub for emerging African innovators.

Beyond academia, Dr. Yinka-Banjo is deeply invested in corporate social responsibility, particularly in democratizing access to digital skills. She leads impactful interventions that introduce children and youth in the UNILAG community to coding, robotics, and computational thinking, recognizing early exposure as a catalyst for technological transformation in Africa.

Dr. Yinka-Banjo’s academic distinction is reflected in her numerous awards, recognitions, and competitive international grants. She received the Abuja National Mathematical Centre Award for Best Mathematics Student (1997), a 3-year PhD scholarship from the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD, Italy), and the prestigious L’Oréal-UNESCO Fellowship for Women in Science (2013). She later won the MIT-ETT Outstanding Performance in Teaching Award, further cementing her status as an exceptional educator.

A prolific researcher with over 50 publications, she has authored and co-authored influential works in top-tier journals and conferences across Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Intelligent Robotics, Human-Centered Computing, and Data Science. Her scholarly visibility earned her selection among the 200 most qualified young researchers worldwide by the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation (2018). In 2019, she deepened her pedagogical and research expertise through a four-month Postdoctoral Graduate Teaching Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Dr. Yinka-Banjo has secured and participated in multiple high-impact international research grants, including:Meta (Facebook) Ethics in AI Research Initiative for Africa – Co-Investigator (2020), IDRC/SIDA Innovative Education Artificial Intelligence (EduAI) Hub – Co-PI (2021–date), USAID/DAI Global Equitable AI Gender-Aware Auditing Tool – Lead PI (2022–2023), and RAINCA/RUFURUM-IDRC AI for Climate Action – Lead PI (2023–date). She recently presented her work on Gender Inequality in Healthcare Systems using NLP at PyCon US 2024, highlighting her growing influence in the global AI ethics and inclusion landscape.

Her professional affiliations reflect her strong commitment to advancing computing standards and industry practice. She is a Fellow of the Computer Professionals of Nigeria (CPN), and an active member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), International Society for Knowledge Organization (ISKO), and the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS).Her technical certifications include the Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist (MCTS) – SQL Server 2008, Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) – Visual C# .NET, Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) – Windows Server 2003, and Oracle Certified Professional (OCP).

A passionate STEM ambassador, Dr. Yinka-Banjo has initiated and supported numerous youth-focused technology programs, including the UNILAG Coding and Robotics Summer Schools (2021, 2022), Youth Coding Program (YCAD), Girls Coding Club (2019), UNILAG Robotics Competition and Workshop (2018), CodeTheCurve Hackathon for COVID-19 (2020), and the FLL Robotics National Competition, where she led students to represent Nigeria internationally in Greece (2021). She also contributed to global discourse as part of the 36th Annual NeurIPS Conference (2022) in New Orleans, USA.

A visionary researcher, dynamic educator, and passionate community builder, Dr. Chika Ogochukwu Yinka-Banjo stands at the forefront of Africa’s AI and robotics renaissance, shaping both the present and future of technological innovation across the continent. In 2024, she was a recipient of the prestigious Woman of Merit Gold Award by People & Power.

Harmonising a thriving professional career with a joyful family life, Dr. Yinka-Banjo is happily married and blessed with three children—Victory, Ruth, and Joseph Yinka-Banjo—who continue to inspire her work as a mentor, educator, and champion for empowered African youth.

It was in recognition of her Sterling Contribution to Nation Building in the Sphere of Development of Information and  Communication Technology that Dr. Chika Ogochukwu Yinka-Banjo was deemed worthy to be conferred with the Nigerian Achievement Award.