Kagonya Awori
- HCI professional
- Kenya
- Member since 2022
Dr. Kagonya Awori is a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) professional based in Nairobi, Kenya. She has led User Experience and Design teams and projects in various companies around the world including Microsoft, iHub Kenya, Safaricom and National Australia Bank.
Motivated by her passion for African research and design, Kagonya received the Google Anita Borg award in 2014, and the Microsoft Research SocialNUI Human Computer Interface Award in 2016. In 2012, Kagonya co-founded the iHub UX Lab, which was the first Design lab in East Africa dedicated to UX. She then went on to found WananCHI, an ACM SIGCHI local chapter, and co-hosted the first Tajriba, an annual UX workshop for students and entrepreneurs. She has also authored and co-authored over 20 papers in HCI.
She holds a dual Masters in HCI from Carnegie Mellon University (USA), a Bachelors in Business Information Technology from Strathmore University (Kenya), and a PhD in Computer Engineering from the University of Melbourne (Australia).
Outside work, Kagonya greatly enjoys travelling, open water swimming, archery, and mentoring the youth - especially women. During the pandemic, she curated and hosted a YouTube show about Technology Design in Africa called ‘Designer’s Craft KE'.
Contact Kagonya.
