Dr. David Onen is a Visiting Professor of higher education at SIMAD Graduate School in Somalia. A distinguished Ugandan educator and scholar, his career spans over two decades of teaching, research, and policy engagement across East Africa. He holds a PhD, Master’s, Postgraduate Diploma, and bachelor’s degree in education—all from Makerere University, where he also served as Senior Lecturer and held key leadership positions, including Editor-in-Chief of the Makerere Journal of Higher Education, Dean, Senate Representative, and School Coordinator.

Widely celebrated for his mentorship, Dr. Onen has supervised over 70 master’s and 18 doctoral candidates to completion and authored more than 65 peer-reviewed publications. Recognised since 2021 as Uganda’s most cited education scientist by the AD Scientific Index, he remains active in consultancy, curriculum innovation, and community initiatives, including the Dero Kwan Scholarship Scheme in northern Uganda. He is also an International Affiliate of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and a member of the African Network for the Internationalisation of Education (ANIE).