DOCTOR ANDRE BATAKO
(PhD, MSc, BSc, CEng PGCert HE)
Education Adviser / Conseiller de l'Education
Member of Board of Directors / Membre du Conseil d'Administration
Dr Andre DL Batako is a full-time employee of Liverpool John Moores University, where he teaches and carries research in Advanced Manufacturing Technologies. However, he devotes his private time to causes that are close to his heart, i.e. philanthropy and altruism.
Dr Batako is a well-travel person with keen interest in inter-cultural harmony. Having studied in Africa, Russia and in the UK, he has travelled extensively covering Africa, Europe, Asia, the Himalayas and Australia. He has published two books, one on the social problems of post-Soviet time in Ukraine and the other on the application of vibration in oil-gas exploration drilling. He has over hundred scientific and technical publications along with three book-chapters including one in Chinese and one monograph.
Dr Batako after his master’s degree with distinction (mention Excellence) had worked about 10 years in automotive industry before returning to research activities and obtained his PhD in Dynamics of vibro-impact system at Loughborough University (UK). He has a strong link with industry and Universities in Eastern Europe, China and in Africa. He has successfully supervised several PhD doctorates and numerous master’s dissertations including one dissertation on online teaching. Dr Batako hold a professional certificate of teaching and Learning in
Higher Education in the UK and a certificate of teaching Russian language and has worked for couples of years in Social Sciences.
Dr Batako is a chartered Engineer for over 30 years and he is member of the Manufacturing steering committee for the IET (Institute for Engineering Technology) for Merseyside and Cheshire branch. He is member of the board for the Global Congress of Manufacturing and Management, member of the editorial board for several journals and reviewer for a few printing houses such as Elsevier, Wiley, InTech etc. He is fluent in French English and Russian, which set his international profile in conducting research and collaborating with others researchers worldwide.
With 10 years in the industry and 20 years in academia in advanced countries, Dr Batako sees the education as the main drive to put Africa onto the path of sustainable economic development. The lack of basic schooling facilities in rural areas in such a fast-growing population is serous hamper to the development of the content. The colonial inherited selective teaching, i.e. teaching for grade has left a great majority of youth dumped in what Dr Batako called the “Death valley” of Arica’s greatest potential. This Death Valley swamps youngsters somewhere in between the age of 15-25 years, desperately suspended in the vacuum of nothingness with no trade skills, no qualification. The vision of Dr Batako is to mass-educate Africa, bilingually from primary schools for the African nation is gifted in languages and every child in Africa speaks on average three languages therefore, education must capitalise on this natural asset. High schools and further education must focus on vocational, trade skills and, apprenticeship that are fully personalised or partially tailored training in applied engineering. This mass-education in applied engineering practice and entrepreneurship will provide the continent with the much-needed workforce and trade skills for industrial development.
Therefore, to follow his vision, Dr Batako devotes his private time and effort in promoting education in Africa and elsewhere because education is prerequisite to good health and prosperity in any nation.
