Mr. Essien Oku Essien is currently a Doctoral Research Fellow at Drexel University, a position he has held since 2023. In this role, he authored a successful research proposal for the AAAS and secured funding from both Drexel University’s Office of Research and Innovation and the Ph.D. Travel Grant from the College of Arts and Science. He has delivered nine presentations (eight solo and one collaborative) at various conferences and guest lectures at Drexel University. His contributions to academia include 12 journal articles, two special studies, two books, two abstract collaborations, one folio, and one book chapter. Additionally, he chaired and moderated a virtual session at the 7th International Media and Communication Conference at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and peer-reviewed four research manuscripts for journals published by the Common Grounds Research Network at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Previously, Mr. Essien served as a Research Consultant at Real Plexus Education Consults from 2022 to 2023, where he provided research consulting, methodologies/analytics training, and course tutorials for social science and interdisciplinary students. He also offered technical writing and content proofreading services for emerging brands and organized research interviews involving over 50 participants, managing teams and matching interviewees with researchers.

From 2016 to 2022, Mr. Essien was a College Research Assistant at the University of Cross River State. There, he conducted data collection and analysis to develop high-impact communication plans for political campaigns. He was recognized with the SDGs Student Ambassador Award for his applied communication studies in international sustainable development and established partnerships with charity foundations and consultancy firms for research projects.