She Helped an East African University Improve its Research Program

Academics Without Borders (AWB) chose Dr. Anna Koné from applicants across the globe to go to Kenya in 2026 and boost the research capacity of Karatina University.

"I'm always looking for ways to contribute to social justice, and I wanted to give back," says Dr. Koné—an associate professor in the Department of Health Sciences and the first Lakehead University faculty member to volunteer in Kenya with AWB.

"I'd never been to Kenya before, and it was a new place to discover for me," she adds. "It also felt a bit like going back home since I'm from Ivory Coast."

"My background is in statistics, and my work is centred on access to care, health disparities, and social determinants of health," Dr. Koné says. "It's crucial that policymakers have accurate information to make evidence-based decisions. This is especially true when it comes to marginalized communities, who are often overlooked. In the public health field we say: 'If you are not counted, you don't count.'"

AWB is a non-profit organization that describes its mission as helping "people in low and middle-income countries realize their dreams through higher education because education is the key to a flourishing society and a sustainable world."

When Lakehead University joined AWB in October 2024, Dr. Koné was quick to respond to a call asking for faculty members willing to offer their time and talents to AWB initiatives. She became Lakehead's second AWB volunteer, following in the footsteps of former Research and Innovation Vice-President Andy Dean who volunteered in Uganda in 2025.

For their part, Karatina University and AWB were keen to harness Dr. Koné's expertise as a statistician, epidemiologist, and public health researcher.

Before travelling to Kenya, Dr. Koné developed an online course specifically for Karatina University faculty members, which she taught during the winter 2026 term.

Then, in May 2026, she spent almost two weeks in Kenya presenting workshops to the 15 course participants, who she was delighted to meet in person.

"I worked with faculty from across Karatina University, including the health, agriculture, and languages programs, because statistics and data analysis applies to every field of study," she explains.

Supporting East Africa's Economic Hub

The Karatina University project—called "Reigniting Research Excellence at Karatina
University"—was designed to strengthen the university's research capacity, enhance data-driven decision-making, and integrate emerging technologies into academic practice.

Karatina University asked Academics Without Borders for assistance with training in data analysis, data management, and machine learning. Above, Dr. Koné (far right) presents a workshop called "Concepts and practice of data analysis and modelling" to Karatina faculty members.

"I think that everyone should have educational opportunities wherever they are," Dr. Koné says. "Education has had a massive impact on my life. I was able to immigrate to Canada in 2000, and succeed, because of my education."

Dr. Koné earned a Bachelor of Engineering from the École Nationale de Statistiques et Économie Appliquée in Ivory Coast. Later, scholarships and awards enabled her to earn a Master of Science in Community Health and a PhD in Public Health and Epidemiology at the Université de Montréal.

"Thanks to my varied training and performance, I was able to start teaching and conduct research at a relatively young age," she says. "For instance, I was the only graduate student/non-faculty member involved in a training program offered by the Université de Montréal in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine in Haiti."

Visiting the Horera Forest Edge Tea Factory—a tea plantation near Karatina—was one of the highlights of Dr. Koné's time in Kenya. "The gentleman who owns it is in his 80s, but he's still passionate about tea farming," she says. "He also dries and packages his teas for sale."

Her passion for learning and sharing knowledge made the prospect of working with Karatina University an exciting one. She was also intrigued by Karatina's history and geography. Located in the foothills of Mount Kenya, the university initially operated as the Karatina Tea Training Institute.

"Tea farming is a big industry in Kenya," Dr. Koné says. "Many tea varieties are grown there including purple tea—a rare tea that's low in caffeine and extremely high in beneficial antioxidants."

Karatina's agricultural programs still support the tea industry, but it has been steadily expanding to give students many more educational paths to choose from, including the health sciences.

Empowering Transformative Research

Dr. Koné familiarized herself with each faculty member's project so that she could help them carry out their research more effectively.

Their projects, while diverse in nature, are aimed at making the lives of everyday Kenyans better.

"There was a PhD student trying to improve infant well-being by offering new mothers nutrition and food education training to keep their babies as healthy as possible.

Another faculty member was investigating factors that affect food production and supply in urban areas, while a third participant wanted to apply statistics to help tea farmers more effectively manage their crops."

Dr. Koné had been hoping to go on one of Kenya's famous safaris, but her jam-packed schedule didn't give her much time for sightseeing. Above, elephants gather at a river near Mount Kenya, which is only a few kilometres from Karatina University. (Photo Credit: Unsplash/Leon Pauleikhoff)

Dr. Koné's collaboration with Karatina University helped further Academics Without Borders' fundamental purpose—sharing expertise where it's needed and doing so in a way that allows this expertise to be sustained once AWB volunteers leave.

"I didn't go to Kenya as a saviour," she says.

"I helped Karatina, and they helped me. I was able to challenge myself and develop my skills as a statistician, and the faculty were incredibly open to learning and wonderful to work with.

I even picked up a few words of Swahili, Kenya's national language."

The AWB Network is a consortium of Canadian post-secondary institutions that support AWB's mission to work with higher education institutions in low and middle-income countries on capacity building initiatives to drive development and improve the quality of life in communities around the world. AWB coordinates volunteer expertise to work with colleagues at institutes of higher education on priority initiatives in academic disciplines, teaching and learning, research support, and administrative functions. Lakehead University joined the AWB Network in 2024.

Dr. Kone's work addresses the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.