Naomie Kayitesi

Biography

Naomie Kayitesi holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil engineering (2011- 2015) from the University of Rwanda, and a master’s degree in Water Engineering, specialization of Land and Water Development (2017- 2019) from the Institute for Water Education, IHE Delft, the Netherlands.
She is currently a PhD candidate in the Geostatistical Algorithms & Image Analysis (GAIA), Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics (IDYST) in the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Her research focuses on Modeling River hydro-morphological responses to Land Use Land Cover Change in Tropical Regions, using Remote sensing methods and hydrological models.

KEY QUALIFICATION

  • 4 years’ experience in research using remote sensing and modeling approaches to understand the impacts of land use and climate change impacts on water related aspects.
  • 2 years’ experience in conducting projects on Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), using statistical and GIS-based methods.
  • 4 years’ experience in water and civil engineering, including design and implementation of construction works of buildings, irrigation infrastructures and water supply schemes.

EMPOYMENT RECORD

  • October 2021- Present: Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne/ Switzerland- IDSYT Assistant
  • May 2019- September 2021: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN/ ESARO) -Monitoring & Evaluation and Barometer, Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) program in East and Southern Africa Region (ESARO)
  • January-February 2019: UNESCO-IHE/ Delft, Netherlands- Lecturer assistant/ Tutor in “Irrigation and Drainage Main System Design” course.
  • June 2016-October 2017: Ministry of Agriculture- Rwanda/ SPIU LWH/RSSP/FRDP/RCSP Project Engineer in a World Bank project aimed to increase productivity and commercialization of agriculture sector in Rwanda.
  • May-June 2016: Water for People (NGO)- Water Engineer in charge of Designing rural water supply networks
  • July 2013- May 2016: ARDE/KUBAHO (NGO)- Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) Program assistant
  • February-April 2015: Star Construction Ltd/ Rwanda Housing Authority- Junior consultant for the development of the Rwanda building code.

GRANTS AND PROGRAMS

  • Recipient of the Netherlands Fellowship Program (NFP) scholarship for MSc studies from 2017 to 2019.
  • Awardee of the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship for PhD thesis from 2021 to 2024.
  • Awarded a Faculty for the Future fellowship under the Schlumberger foundation, for a PhD program from 2021 to 2025.
  • Selected as one of the 2022 TechWomen Emerging Leaders, a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
  • Selected as one of the 2023 African Women in Science (AWIS), a program of the International Institute of Sustainable Development-African Center for Aquatic Research and Education (IISD-ACARE).

PUBLICATIONS

  • Kayitesi, N. M., Guzha, A. C., & Mariethoz, G. (2022). Impacts of land use land cover change and climate change on river hydro-morphology- a review of research studies in tropical regions. Journal of Hydrology, 615, 128702. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128702
  • Kayitesi, N. M., Guzha, A. C., Tonini, M., & Mariethoz, G. (2024). Land Use Land Cover Change in the African Great Lakes Region: A Spatial-Temporal Analysis and Future Predictions for the Lake Kivu catchment, Rwanda.
  • T., Gouott, B. S. B., & Armstrong-Altrin, J. S. (2024). Assessment of heavy metals and radionuclides (U and Th) contamination, and source identification of the Lékié Watershed sediments, Cameroon. Geosystems and Geoenvironment, 3(1), 100249.
  • Kayitesi M, N., & Mariethoz, G. (2022). Modeling River hydro-morphological responses to Land Use Land Cover Change in Tropical Regions: the case of Sebeya catchment, Rwanda. AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts,
  • Kayitesi Manishimwe, N. (2022). Modeling River hydro-morphological responses to Land Use Land Cover Change in Tropical Regions, case of Sebeya catchment, Rwanda. EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts,
  • Manishimwe, N. K. (2022). Modeling River hydro-morphological responses to Land Use Land Cover Change in Tropical Regions, case of Sebeya catchment, Rwanda.
  • Assessing Land Use Land Cover change using historic Landsat satellite imagery in Google Earth Engine: case study from Nile Delta, Egypt. http://www.secheresse.info/spip.php?article92831

CONDUCTED RESEARCH

  • Land use land cover change detection and future prediction using remote sensing and land use model. Case of Lake Kivu catchment, Rwanda.
  • Impacts of Land use Land Cover Change and Climate Change on River Hydro-morphology- A review of research studies in tropical regions.
  • Assessing Land Use Land Cover change using historic Landsat satellite imagery in Google Earth Engine: case study from Nile Delta, Egypt.
  • Tracking progress under Bonn Challenge initiative in Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Madagascar, using BC Barometer.
  • Restoration Opportunity Assessment Methodology for Regional FLR Hub-IUCN. I was part of the team that conducted the restoration studies in Madagascar, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Comoros.

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

  • English (Fluent)
  • French (Fluent)
  • Kinyarwanda (Native)

CONTACT

Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics (IDYST),
UNIL-Mouline
Geopolis building, Office 3247
University of Lausanne,
1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

naomie.kayitesi@unil.ch