Amaka Ifeduba, Ph.D.

As the Founder and Lead Coach of ScholarUP Mentoring Academy, I empower professionals, entrepreneurs and students to build bold personal brands, grow with clarity, and position themselves for global opportunities. Through our flagship LinkedIn Elevation Program and mentoring initiatives, I’ve coached hundreds of individuals—including CEOs, doctors, engineers, researchers, and career changers—on how to clarify their message, show up authentically, and unlock doors through intentional visibility. Key Highlights: - Convened The Ascension: ScholarUP Global Conference 2025 - a 2- day virtual event featuring 29 speakers from 14 countries and participants from 20+ countries, delivering a cohesive global narrative and transformative experience for attendees. - Led end-to-end planning and fundraising for the AI & Tech Business Pitch and Public Speaking Contest held during the Ascension, successfully raising funds for cash prizes and driving measurable impact for youth innovation and professional development. - Built a global mentoring community with 1,000+ members across 20+ countries. - Designed and led coaching programs on personal branding, graduate school applications, and career strategy. - Helped mentees secure graduate school admissions and fellowships across top institutions in the U.S. and Canada. - Hosted global events and masterclasses with high-impact thought leaders from academia and industry - Created a supportive ecosystem rooted in excellence, empowerment, and intentional growth. At ScholarUP, we don’t just teach branding or grad school mentoring—we help people take back the pen, rewrite their stories and soar.

Role Overview: As Founder and Global Programs Director, I lead the vision, strategy, and execution of ScholarUP AI & Tech Academy, a global learning platform designed to equip young professionals with practical AI, digital literacy, and technology skills for the future of work. Key Responsibilities: • Developed the Academy’s mission, curriculum framework, and long-term strategic direction. • Designed practical, beginner-friendly AI and tech-skilling programs to help professionals future-proof their careers. • Built and managed cross-functional teams responsible for curriculum development, operations, community engagement, and digital delivery. • Led global program launches, enrollment strategies, and learner engagement initiatives across multiple regions. • Created learning pathways that simplify complex AI concepts into clear, actionable, real-world applications. • Oversaw program evaluation, learner success metrics, and continuous improvement processes. • Established partnerships with educators, industry leaders, and technology experts to enrich the Academy’s offerings. • Championed digital literacy and career readiness, ensuring accessibility for diverse learners.

- Lead content publishing, audience engagement, editorial coordination, and operational support across a technology-focused organization. - Create multi-channel content including newsletters, articles, social storytelling, scripts, and case studies tailored to diverse technical and non-technical audiences. - Manage CRM pipelines, contributor communication, scheduling workflows, and publication calendars. - Coordinate cross-functional messaging across engineering, IT, research, sales, and leadership teams to ensure brand and narrative alignment. - Produce email campaigns, segmented outreach, and promotional assets for events, product updates, and stakeholder engagement. - Support event logistics, host webinars, demos, and live communication coverage. - Build relationships with customers, partners, external contributors, and collaborators across industries.

- Manage social media handles across different platforms - Write posts to promote the NAPB grad student activities.

• Team lead coordinating research initiatives on regenerative organic farming, soil health, and crop resilience to promote sustainable agriculture. • Supervised training efforts for 200 farmers through the Beginner Farmer and Agricultural Empowerment Programs. • Developed culturally responsive agricultural curricula focused on sustainability, soil health and organic farming. • Led community workshops and designed instructional print and digital materials. • Built cross-sector partnerships to support program outreach and equity. • Podcast host - Seeds for Change Podcast • Produced short videos, blog posts and newsletter for social media promotion across platforms.

- I represented the program at professional meetings, engaging with stakeholders and building collaborations that advanced shared goals. I also initiated research partnerships and maintained communication with other laboratories and programs with common interests. - I managed day-to-day laboratory operations, from tissue culture and clone bank maintenance to DNA extraction, potato seed extraction, and ELISA testing, ensuring experiments ran smoothly and accurately. - I oversaw growth chamber and greenhouse activities, including selections, planting, transplanting, harvesting, pollination, and data collection and analysis, blending technical precision with hands-on plant science. - I coordinated field operations such as field layout design, mechanized planting and harvesting, grading, selection, and data analysis, while also mentoring undergraduate and aspiring graduate students to develop their research skills.

- I supported scientific communications and outreach by helping create video interviews with seed industry experts and contributing to content planning for ASTA’s social media channels. - I drafted articles, blog posts, and newsletter content while also connecting with key online influencers to expand ASTA’s reach and visibility. - I worked on student engagement by gathering company and student spotlights for the newsletter and keeping university contact lists current. - I assisted with ASTA conference logistics and marketing, provided on-site support, and joined student programming that focused on leadership development and advocacy.

- I taught over 700 undergraduate students in courses such as General Biology, Seed Plants, and Plant Breeding Technologies, aiming not just to deliver content but to inspire curiosity about the role of plants in our world. - In the lab, I guided students through hands-on experiments, helping them translate theory into practice with confidence. - I also led logistics for the team that established the University of Jos Botanical Garden — turning a vision into a living resource for teaching, research, and community engagement.

- I taught Agricultural Science to over 200 high school students each year, making complex topics practical and relatable. Watching their understanding grow and seeing the improvement reflected in their assessments was one of the most rewarding parts of the role. - Outside the classroom, I coordinated the school’s journal club — leading lively discussions, editing student articles, and managing logistics. It became a platform for students to exchange ideas, build confidence, and sharpen their communication skills.

- In the lab, I carried out daily tasks like tissue culture and DNA extraction, building both technical skills and attention to detail. Each routine experiment became an opportunity to deepen my understanding of plant science in practice. -Beyond the lab, I was introduced to agribusiness modules and the dynamics of research teamwork. Those experiences showed me how science, business, and collaboration come together to create real-world impact.

Gained knowledge of business fundamentals, including: - Operations, - Strategy, - Finance, - Technology, - Accounting, - People management, and - Marketing.