Celebrating talent, SSA successes and African perspectives 

In April, the jury selected the winners of the SSA BA, MA, and PhD Thesis Awards. With several excellent submissions for the BA Thesis Award, the MA Thesis Award, and the PhD Thesis Award, we are pleased to announce this year’s winners.

The winner of the SSA PhD Award of 2025 is Dr. Emilia Come Zebra (FSE) with her thesis "Optimizing the deployment of hybrid renewable energy systems for developing countries: A framework approach to analyze the social, technical, economic, and environmental sustainability, demonstrated for Mozambique", supervised by Prof. Faaij and Dr. van der Windt.

Here is what the jury had to say about Emilia’s PhD thesis:

"Dr. Emília Inês Come Zebra’s PhD thesis meets and exceeds the aim of the sub-Saharan Africa Thesis Awards, which is to recognise excellent research that contributes to scientific knowledge production about, from and for this region. Her thesis underscores the critical need to advance energy sustainability and expand access, particularly in rural and peripheral regions of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The thesis compellingly demonstrates the importance and considerable potential of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES) as viable pathways toward delivering reliable and cost-effective energy solutions. Drawing on empirical insights from Mozambique, the study offers a valuable foundation for informing and refining strategies aimed at scaling sustainable energy provision in underserved rural communities across SSA and the broader Global South.

The jury was particularly impressed by the thesis’s exceptional accessibility, noting that its arguments are presented in a clear and engaging manner that remains approachable even to readers outside the field. Furthermore, Dr. Come Zebra’s careful attention to layout and visual presentation enhances the overall quality of the work, resulting in a polished and aesthetically coherent scientific contribution."

Join us on 19 june

Join us on 19 June for our end-of-the 2025-2026 academic year SSA networking event! Together, we will celebrate our new SSA Theses Award Winners, hear from inspiring keynote speakers, reflect on our achievements and select the winner of the African perspectives video competition! A detailed programme will be confirmed shortly, but we warmly invite you to reserve your slot ASAP.