Dr. Fidelis Udo: A Journey of Purpose and Impact at Max Planck Institute, Germany

Dr. Fidelis Udo

From the flood-prone townships of South Africa to the prestigious halls of Germany’s renowned Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, a Nigerian researcher, Dr. Fidelis Udo, is redefining the global climate conversation. With a commitment to frontline knowledge and lived experiences, Dr. Udo is demonstrating that the voices of those most affected by climate change deserve a central place in shaping global policy and discourse.

In the quiet academic corridors of Göttingen, a Nigerian scholar is helping reframe how the world understands climate adaptation, not from satellite data or policy briefings, but through the lived strategies of those most at risk and least heard.

Dr. Fidelis Joseph Udo, a rising researcher in global climate justice, was appointed in June 2023 as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, one of Europe’s most respected centers for interdisciplinary social science research. His presence at Max Planck marks not only a significant personal milestone but a growing recognition of the intellectual leadership emerging from African scholarship.

Educated entirely in South Africa, Dr. Udo earned a BA in Philosophy from St. Joseph’s Theological Institute, followed by Honours, Master’s, and PhD degrees at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, completing each with distinction. His doctoral research focused on the intersections of displacement, gender, and climate injustice, an inquiry that has continued to shape his academic path.

In 2024, Dr. Udo co-authored a widely cited article in Sustainable Development, detailing how women in Durban’s informal settlements, often excluded from official climate policy, devise localized strategies to withstand devastating floods. Using frameworks from feminist political ecology and intersectionality, his research explores how these women create informal drainage systems, organize community alerts, and pass down environmental knowledge rooted in cultural continuity and survival.

Rather than treating these acts as informal or peripheral, Dr. Udo elevates them as essential innovations, forms of everyday climate engineering that challenge top-down models of adaptation and sustainability. His work has made a strong case for rethinking whose knowledge counts in shaping resilient cities and communities.

Throughout his academic career, Dr. Udo has received competitive support from leading institutions. These include a CODESRIA College of Mentorship Research Award, a Rick Turner Foundation Scholarship, and a Research Fellowship through the Durban Research Action Partnership. He also served as a Research Associate at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, contributing to cross-institutional projects on social transformation.

Now at Max Planck, Dr. Udo continues this trajectory, working alongside scholars from around the world to integrate African climate knowledge into broader discussions on migration, inequality, and global justice. His research doesn’t just amplify marginalized voices; it reorients the spotlight, positioning African women’s knowledge systems as indispensable to the climate future.

For Nigeria, Dr. Udo’s appointment is a powerful example of global impact rooted in local experience. At a time when African scholars are still underrepresented in international decision-making spaces, his role at one of Europe’s top institutes affirms the rising value of perspectives shaped by frontline realities.

As the world confronts intensifying environmental instability, Dr. Fidelis Udo is helping ensure that solutions are not only scientifically sound, but socially just, locally grounded, and globally inclusive.