The Story of Dr M C Mtumbuka
 | |  | |  |
| Dr Matthews Chinombo Mtumbuka |
| | | | |
Dr Mtumbuka is a recipient of numerous academic awards. While in secondary school, at St. Patrick’s Seminary, in Rumphi, he
received the Old Mutual Mathematics Award after he came second in a national Mathematics Olympiad in 1995. The next year in
1996, Matthews received the Science Teachers Association Award when he came first at national level, with his project on the
design, construction, experimentation, and optimization of a battery charger for locally-available non-chargeable dry cells.
During his undergraduate studies at the University of Malawi’s Polytechnic, Matthews grabbed every award that came his way,
including the Mobil Award and Stansfied Award (several times) for coming first in his class – he sustained distinctions and first
position throughout his five year Programme, except during the one year period when he was very active in student politics in a
year that was extra-ordinarily busy for union leaders because of a 3,000% fee hike. He was also nominated for the National Bank
Award when he scored the highest marks in the entire Engineering Faculty (beating approximately 350 engineering students) in
1998. Matthews also received the Stansfield Memorial Prize for graduating top of his class (with Distinction) in 2002.
In addition to his outstanding academic performance, Matthews was a renowned successful student leader. As a second year
student, he was elected to lead the Student Engineering Society, a post that was hitherto traditionally held by fourth and fifth year
students. And in his third year, he was entrusted with the position of Chairman for the Catholic Students Organisation (CSO). His
achievements in the two positions above enabled him to gain a landslide of 80% votes for the post of President of the Polytechnic
Student Union (PSU).
Just weeks into his job as PSU President, the Malawi Government raised University fees by 3000%. Although the UMSU President
accepted the rise, Matthews refused and fiercely led students at his campus and many others at other campuses in the fight against
this prohibitive fees. By championing this cause, Matthews won the praise of many across the country and was a regular on both
the local and international news, including a live interview on BBC. As part of the Commission set up by the then State President to
review University fees, Matthews traveled to several universities in five Southern African countries. Eventually the fees was
reduced by half.
Dr. Mtumbuka also achieved many feats as PSU President including improving the credibility, authority and visibility of the Union,
achieving a record of no single student being expelled or suspended during his term of office as President. It was no surprise
therefore, that acting on the recommendation from the student body of the Polytechnic, the then Vice Chancellor of the University
of Malawi and the College Principal jointly attended Matthews’ retirement function and named him “the best Student Union
President of his time and generation”. Additionally his College honoured him with an unprecedented accolade as “the 2002
Distinguished Scholar”. Dr. Mtumbuka was also voted “the most successful student on campus” during a campus awards
Programme.
While in his final year at the Polytechnic, Matthews also ventured into retail business when he owned and managed a student tuck-
shop, which sold most of the required groceries and fast foods by the students on the campus and the neighbouring Malawi
College of Accountancy.
Prior to his leaving the Polytechnic, Matthews was awarded a fellowship to attend the first International Youth Summit on
Sustainable Development in Hong Kong. Upon returning from this Summit, and realizing that only 4.5% of Malawians have access
to electricity, Matthews founded the Polytechnic Rural Electrification Project (POREP) and worked as its first Executive Director.
He remains Chairman for the Board of Trustees. In this capacity he has helped raise MK250,000 from the Rhodes Scholars for
Southern Africa Forum (RSSAF) at Oxford University and another MK300,000 from Malawi’s National Research Council – the
first time the Council has funded a student-driven research project. One milestone for POREP was the successful design,
experimentation, construction and optimization of a solar-driven water heater which was later donated to Madziabango Clinic in
Southern Malawi.
Three months before completing his degree programme, Matthews was elected Rhodes Scholar for the Southern African
Constituency that comprises five countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland) – this scholarship funded his
Doctorate in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. Dr. Mtumbuka completed his Doctorate in 2005 with a thesis on
MIMO Techniques for Future High-Speed Wireless Communications. During his doctoral studies at Oxford, Matthews authored
and co-authored more than ten publications in refereed journals and gave more than five presentations at conferences and
universities in North America, England, Scotland and his native Malawi. During his second year at Oxford, Matthews was selected
by the American Academy of Achievement as one of the 250 Outstanding Students from across the Globe to attend the 2004
Achievement Summit.
Even at Oxford University, Matthews was very active in extra-curricular activities. He was elected Representative of 200
Postgraduate students of his Hertford College to the Oxford Student Union, where in turn he was appointed Delegate to the
University Information and Communications (ICT) Committee. In this role, he successfully negotiated for a change in the anti-virus
policy with the aim of protecting the interests of the 20,000 Oxford University students. He also served as President of the Oxford
Africa Society (with approximately 300 members) from June 2003 o June 2004. In this position, his main achievements included
inviting and hosting the then Malawi Head of State for a Public Lecture in Oxford and restarting the annual African Cultural Event.
In 2004, Matthews became the first black person ever and the first non-British national in at least 30 years to be elected President
of the Oxford Speakers Club (part of toastmasters international, a network of public speaking clubs in the world).
Dr. Mtumbuka now works with Shell Exploration and Production Europe, as an Information Technology (IT) Portfolio Analyst. He
continues to grow professionally and is a registered professional member with both the Institution of Engineering & Technology
(MIET) and the British Computer Society (MBCS). He has also acted as a reviewer for several IET and IEEE Journals. Dr.
Mtumbuka was recently elected Chairman of ConnectIT, a network of 80 early career IT Professionals in Shell across ten
European countries.
In his part-time, Dr. Mtumbuka plays Volleyball for the team at Shell and a local Aberdeen Volleyball Club. He also enjoys time in
the Gym. And, he is still committed to toastmasters. In March 2007, he excelled in the Speech Evaluation Contest, winning at club
level in Aberdeen, and then getting number one in the whole of Scotland and went on to represent Scotland at the Divisional
Contest in Birmingham where he was unfortunately beaten. In June 2007, he was elected President of the Aberdeen Toastmasters
Club. In October 2007, he once again emerged best speaker in Scotland in the Table Topics (Impromptu Speaking) Competition
and emerged third best speaker in UK and Ireland at the Grand Finals in November 2007. Dr. Mtumbuka also does volunteering
work. As Executive Director of Malawian Initiative for National Development (MIND), Dr. Mtumbuka champions a cause aimed at
formalizing and supporting the volunteering work of Diaspora Malawians in the UK.
Matthews is married Nancy. Together with their one-year-old son Thumbiko they reside in Aberdeen, Scotland.
September 2008.
received the Old Mutual Mathematics Award after he came second in a national Mathematics Olympiad in 1995. The next year in
1996, Matthews received the Science Teachers Association Award when he came first at national level, with his project on the
design, construction, experimentation, and optimization of a battery charger for locally-available non-chargeable dry cells.
During his undergraduate studies at the University of Malawi’s Polytechnic, Matthews grabbed every award that came his way,
including the Mobil Award and Stansfied Award (several times) for coming first in his class – he sustained distinctions and first
position throughout his five year Programme, except during the one year period when he was very active in student politics in a
year that was extra-ordinarily busy for union leaders because of a 3,000% fee hike. He was also nominated for the National Bank
Award when he scored the highest marks in the entire Engineering Faculty (beating approximately 350 engineering students) in
1998. Matthews also received the Stansfield Memorial Prize for graduating top of his class (with Distinction) in 2002.
In addition to his outstanding academic performance, Matthews was a renowned successful student leader. As a second year
student, he was elected to lead the Student Engineering Society, a post that was hitherto traditionally held by fourth and fifth year
students. And in his third year, he was entrusted with the position of Chairman for the Catholic Students Organisation (CSO). His
achievements in the two positions above enabled him to gain a landslide of 80% votes for the post of President of the Polytechnic
Student Union (PSU).
Just weeks into his job as PSU President, the Malawi Government raised University fees by 3000%. Although the UMSU President
accepted the rise, Matthews refused and fiercely led students at his campus and many others at other campuses in the fight against
this prohibitive fees. By championing this cause, Matthews won the praise of many across the country and was a regular on both
the local and international news, including a live interview on BBC. As part of the Commission set up by the then State President to
review University fees, Matthews traveled to several universities in five Southern African countries. Eventually the fees was
reduced by half.
Dr. Mtumbuka also achieved many feats as PSU President including improving the credibility, authority and visibility of the Union,
achieving a record of no single student being expelled or suspended during his term of office as President. It was no surprise
therefore, that acting on the recommendation from the student body of the Polytechnic, the then Vice Chancellor of the University
of Malawi and the College Principal jointly attended Matthews’ retirement function and named him “the best Student Union
President of his time and generation”. Additionally his College honoured him with an unprecedented accolade as “the 2002
Distinguished Scholar”. Dr. Mtumbuka was also voted “the most successful student on campus” during a campus awards
Programme.
While in his final year at the Polytechnic, Matthews also ventured into retail business when he owned and managed a student tuck-
shop, which sold most of the required groceries and fast foods by the students on the campus and the neighbouring Malawi
College of Accountancy.
Prior to his leaving the Polytechnic, Matthews was awarded a fellowship to attend the first International Youth Summit on
Sustainable Development in Hong Kong. Upon returning from this Summit, and realizing that only 4.5% of Malawians have access
to electricity, Matthews founded the Polytechnic Rural Electrification Project (POREP) and worked as its first Executive Director.
He remains Chairman for the Board of Trustees. In this capacity he has helped raise MK250,000 from the Rhodes Scholars for
Southern Africa Forum (RSSAF) at Oxford University and another MK300,000 from Malawi’s National Research Council – the
first time the Council has funded a student-driven research project. One milestone for POREP was the successful design,
experimentation, construction and optimization of a solar-driven water heater which was later donated to Madziabango Clinic in
Southern Malawi.
Three months before completing his degree programme, Matthews was elected Rhodes Scholar for the Southern African
Constituency that comprises five countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland) – this scholarship funded his
Doctorate in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. Dr. Mtumbuka completed his Doctorate in 2005 with a thesis on
MIMO Techniques for Future High-Speed Wireless Communications. During his doctoral studies at Oxford, Matthews authored
and co-authored more than ten publications in refereed journals and gave more than five presentations at conferences and
universities in North America, England, Scotland and his native Malawi. During his second year at Oxford, Matthews was selected
by the American Academy of Achievement as one of the 250 Outstanding Students from across the Globe to attend the 2004
Achievement Summit.
Even at Oxford University, Matthews was very active in extra-curricular activities. He was elected Representative of 200
Postgraduate students of his Hertford College to the Oxford Student Union, where in turn he was appointed Delegate to the
University Information and Communications (ICT) Committee. In this role, he successfully negotiated for a change in the anti-virus
policy with the aim of protecting the interests of the 20,000 Oxford University students. He also served as President of the Oxford
Africa Society (with approximately 300 members) from June 2003 o June 2004. In this position, his main achievements included
inviting and hosting the then Malawi Head of State for a Public Lecture in Oxford and restarting the annual African Cultural Event.
In 2004, Matthews became the first black person ever and the first non-British national in at least 30 years to be elected President
of the Oxford Speakers Club (part of toastmasters international, a network of public speaking clubs in the world).
Dr. Mtumbuka now works with Shell Exploration and Production Europe, as an Information Technology (IT) Portfolio Analyst. He
continues to grow professionally and is a registered professional member with both the Institution of Engineering & Technology
(MIET) and the British Computer Society (MBCS). He has also acted as a reviewer for several IET and IEEE Journals. Dr.
Mtumbuka was recently elected Chairman of ConnectIT, a network of 80 early career IT Professionals in Shell across ten
European countries.
In his part-time, Dr. Mtumbuka plays Volleyball for the team at Shell and a local Aberdeen Volleyball Club. He also enjoys time in
the Gym. And, he is still committed to toastmasters. In March 2007, he excelled in the Speech Evaluation Contest, winning at club
level in Aberdeen, and then getting number one in the whole of Scotland and went on to represent Scotland at the Divisional
Contest in Birmingham where he was unfortunately beaten. In June 2007, he was elected President of the Aberdeen Toastmasters
Club. In October 2007, he once again emerged best speaker in Scotland in the Table Topics (Impromptu Speaking) Competition
and emerged third best speaker in UK and Ireland at the Grand Finals in November 2007. Dr. Mtumbuka also does volunteering
work. As Executive Director of Malawian Initiative for National Development (MIND), Dr. Mtumbuka champions a cause aimed at
formalizing and supporting the volunteering work of Diaspora Malawians in the UK.
Matthews is married Nancy. Together with their one-year-old son Thumbiko they reside in Aberdeen, Scotland.
September 2008.