Dr. Idorenyin Augustine Etukudo, a native of Ikot Akpa Edem, Afaha Obong, Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria was born on September 22, 1962. He attended St. Patrick’s College, Ikot Ansa, Calabar where he obtained General Certificate of Education (GCE) in 1982 and proceeded to School of Basic Studies, Akamkpa and bagged Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) ‘A’ level certificate in 1985 having passed with distinction, Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry being the required three subjects and obtained the best student award in the first two.
The University of Calabar played host to this exceptionally brilliant chap from 1986 where he studied assiduously at various times to obtain B.Sc (Hons) Mathematics/Statistics in 1990, M.Sc (Statistics) in 2002 and Ph.D (Statistics) with a bias in Optimal Designs of Experiment and Operations Research in 2008. During this period, Dr. Etukudo’s breadth taking excellence earned him several numerous scholarships and prizes. He won the best graduating student awards in Mathematics/Statistics in 1990 from Chief Don Etiebet, Prof. Isa B. Mohammed and Engr. (Dr.) Edet J. Amana. He also won the Akwa Ibom State Postgraduate Scholarship for 2004/2005.
Before settling at the citadel of learning, Dr. Etukudo had a flourishing career in the banking industry for about half a decade after his National Youth Service Corps program. He joined the services of University of Calabar in October, 1997 as a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Mathematics/Statistics and Computer Science. His dedication to duty cum excellent service delivery earned him several promotions to the position of a Senior Lecturer in 2012. Over the years, Idorenyin has taught several undergraduate and postgraduate courses. In order to assist the young University grow, Dr. Etukudo transferred his service from University of Calabar to Akwa Ibom State University in 2015 and after completing his assignment there, he moved to Global Institute of Planning & Sustainable Development in December, 2018 as the Provost & Vice President, Academic Affairs where he has been serving till now. Over the years, Idorenyin has helped to impart knowledge very excitedly both at the Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels.
Outside of the lecture rooms, he has not been less impactful. He has discharged so effectively all the responsibilities entrusted to him by the university community. He has been an Assistant Examination Officer, Chairman, Departmental Projects Co-ordinating Committee, Faculty of Science Representative in the Institute of Education, Departmental Postgraduate Coordinator, Coordinator, Introduction to Computer Science and Computer Applications, Centre for General Studies and Member, Faculty Result Vetting Committee, Head of Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Akwa Ibom State University and currently, Chairman, Governing Council, Mainland College of Technology, Anyanganse.
Dr. Etukudo’s name equally rings a bell outside of the academic environment. His leadership prowess has never been in doubt. For instance, he is the current Editor of a religious magazine, “Sirs, Is This The Time?”, President, Kindredseed International, Calabar, President, Royalseeds MPCS Ltd, Chairman, Institute of Operational Research and Management Science of Nigeria, South-South Zone as well as Editor-In-Chief, PIIRI Journal of Interdisciplinary and Innovative Research (PIJIIR).
The erudite scholar expectedly subscribes to the membership of several learned societies. He is a member of Nigerian Statistical Association (NSA), Member, Nigerian Mathematical Society (NMS), Member, Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS), U.S.A, Member, Optimization Group, Nigeria, Fellow, Institute Operations Research and Management Science of Nigeria (IORMS) and a Principal Officer, Peace Interdisciplinary and Innovative Research Institute.
A prolific author and conference speaker, Dr. Idorenyin Etukudo has written more than 26 well researched papers, published in reputable national and international journals. He has also attended and presented papers at national and international conferences including the 11th INFORMS Computing Society Conference, South Carolina, USA in 2009 and INFORMS 2012 International Conference at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. His area of specialization is basically on using optimal designs methods to solve operations research problems. A computer software, known as, “Optde Solver” for use in solving problems by these methods has already been developed and could be found at www.optdesolver.com.
He is happily married and the union is blessed with a daughter and a son.
