Rita Orji is a Nigerian-Canadian computer scientist who is a Canada Research Chair in Persuasive Technology and the Director of the Persuasive Computing Lab at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

. Her work is in the area of

human–computer interaction Human–computer interaction (HCI) is research in the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and computers. HCI researchers observe the ways humans interact with computers and design tec ...

with a major focus on designing interactive systems to achieve health and well being objectives. She has won over 70 awards and recognitions from both national and international organizations. She has addressed a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

panel about the status of women and at the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

Early life and education

Orji grew up in

Enugu State Enugu State ( ig, Ȯra Enugu) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the south, and Anambra State to the west. T ...

Nigeria. She is

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

by tribe. She was raised by parents, Maria and Okonkwo Orji, who never attended school, in a remote town called Owelli with no electricity and pipe-borne water. She is one of nine siblings and her parents supported the family through peasant farming. Orji did not have access to a computer growing up, and was admitted to study Computer Science at

Nnamdi Azikiwe University Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, also called UNIZIK or NAU in short is a federal university in Nigeria. It consists of two campuses in Anambra State. Its main campus is in Awka (the capital of Anambra State), while its other campus is in Nnewi. ...

without having used a computer. She graduated top of her class with First Class Honours. During her secondary education, she entered the

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

team for the

International Mathematical Olympiad The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except i ...

. In 2002, she launched "Education for Women and the Less Privileged in Nigeria", a nonprofit organisation that provides mentorship and scholarships for women in education. Orji joined a master's program at Middle East Technical University, where she was the only African student in class. She completed her master's in 2009 and moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

as a graduate student. In 2012, Orji presented at the

, where she spoke about health promotion and disease prevention. She was awarded a Vanier scholarship from the

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada, CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering rese ...

. Orji earned her PhD at

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in 2014. She was the first woman from her town of 50,000 people to earn a PhD. She joined

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

as a postdoctoral fellow, where she worked on technological interventions that can effect behavioural change.

Career

Orji joined the Games Institute at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

as a Banting Fellow in 2016. She is interested in persuasive technology and how to design technologies that can promote health and wellness and technologies for promoting social and public goods. Orji joined the Faculty of Computer Science at

as an assistant professor in 2017. She designs interactive systems and persuasive technologies, particularly to benefit under-served populations. She has studied how culture and age influence the efficacy of persuasive technologies. She analysed how reward, competition, social comparison and social learning differ between men and women in collectivist and individualist cultures, finding that in collectivist cultures, men are more susceptible to reward and competition.

Advocacy and engagement

Orji is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) diversity ambassador, working towards increased participation of women and minorities in computing, including using herself as a practical example. She is passionate about youth empowerment and women's access to education. She was honoured by ''hEr VOLUTION'' as one of the top 150 women scientists in Canada. She attended the

UN Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main United Nations System, UN organs within the United Nations. CSW has been described as the U ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She spoke at the 2018

Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) Panel: It is Up to Me.

Awards and honours

*2013

Research Excellence in Science Award/ *2017

Award of Excellence in Recognition of Scholarly Achievement and Contributions to Advancement of Education *2017

Award of Excellence in Recognition of Contribution for the Advancement of Knowledge in Computer Science. *2017 Top 150 Canadian Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) *2018 Women Leaders in the Digital Economy Award, Digital Nova Scotia. *2019

President's Research Excellence Award. *2019 International Society for Research on Internet Interventions Rising Star Award. *2020

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Persuasive Technology. *2020 Inducted into the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. *2021 Top 100 Canada's Most Powerful Women *2021 Top 100 Leading Nigerian Women *2021

Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards The Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards is an annual campaign by ''Canadian Immigrant'' magazine that recognizes outstanding work by immigrants who "have come to Canada and have made a positive difference living in the country." Overview First ...

*2021 Outstanding Young Computer Science Researcher Awards *2021 Nova Scotia Discovery Centre Emerging Professional Award *2022 Admitted into the

Global Young Academy The Global Young Academy is an international society of young scientists, aiming to give a voice to young scientists across the globe.... Membership strength is capped at 200, and the membership tenure is 5 years. Organization and membership Th ...

*2022 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orji, Rita Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian women computer scientists Nigerian women computer scientists Canadian computer scientists Nigerian computer scientists Nnamdi Azikiwe University alumni Middle East Technical University alumni University of Saskatchewan alumni Academic staff of the Dalhousie University Human–computer interaction researchers Nigerian expatriate academics Nigerian expatriates in Canada 21st-century Canadian women scientists 21st-century Nigerian women Nigerian women scientists People from Enugu State Canada Research Chairs Royal Society of Canada Black Canadian women Black Canadian scientists