We recently spoke with Anas Yazid, a graduate of the MSc in Environmental Engineering (2009) and, later, a PhD (2025) under the supervision of Professors Stephen Smith and Sue Grimes. After his MSc, Anas returned to Nigeria, where he built a career spanning academia, entrepreneurship and public-sector innovation, before coming back to Imperial a decade later to complete his doctorate. Today he runs his own engineering consultancy, Certis, and leads the MIT REAP Global Cohort 12 initiative in Kano and Jigawa. He shares how a coursework assignment on anaerobic digestion shaped the direction of his career, why persistence mattered more than perfect timing, and his vision for building an African hub for science, culture and innovation.
What inspired you to pursue a career in civil and environmental engineering?
My inspiration is rooted in my upbringing. My father was a water engineer, and because he managed the operations of various water treatment plants, our family moved frequently between towns across Kano. From an early age, I had a front-row seat to watch him tackle complex projects, from designing urban sewerage systems to developing water and sanitation infrastructure for rural communities.
Seeing the tangible impact of his work left a lasting impression on me. I witnessed firsthand how engineering could transform lives by providing access to clean drinking water and essential sanitation services. I was equally fascinated by the stories and photographs from his time studying Water Quality and Management in the UK in the early 1980s.
While my father dedicated his career to solving critical local and regional challenges, I found myself drawn to the possibility of addressing environmental problems on a much larger scale, one that could influence industries, communities and ecosystems beyond national borders. Pursuing that ambition required exposure to world-class research and global perspectives, which ultimately led me to Imperial.
What led you to study an MSc in Environmental Engineering at Imperial, and how did it shape your career?
Graduating as the overall best engineering student during my bachelor's degree in Civil and Water Resources Engineering at the University of Maiduguri gave me the confidence to pursue postgraduate studies abroad. Finding myself at Imperial was somewhat of a happy accident; my options were largely determined by available funding, and Environmental Engineering was the programme that best matched my academic background and the scholarship I received. I applied, secured admission, and found myself at one of the world's leading engineering institutions.
The most profound impact of the programme was teaching me something far more fundamental than engineering itself: I learned how to learn anything. That shift in mindset changed the trajectory of my life, giving me the confidence to move beyond disciplinary boundaries and tackle problems that initially seemed far outside my expertise.
"I witnessed firsthand how engineering could transform lives by providing access to clean drinking water and essential sanitation services."
One assignment in particular shaped what came next. As part of a coursework project led by Professor Stephen Smith, we were asked to write a paper on anaerobic digestion, the process of converting organic waste into renewable energy and valuable fertiliser. What began as an academic assignment quickly became an obsession. The more I learned, the more convinced I became that the technology held enormous potential for addressing waste management and energy challenges in Nigeria, a country that generates vast quantities of agricultural and industrial waste, much of it underutilised. That assignment was the beginning of a journey that continues today through the commercialisation of my research.
What brought you back to Imperial for a PhD, and what was your research about?
Returning to Imperial for a PhD was a deliberate goal from the moment I finished my master's. I approached Professor Smith about pursuing doctoral research in anaerobic digestion, and he believed in the idea enough to offer me admission even before I had secured funding, allowing me to defer my place while I pursued scholarships. It took ten years of persistence, professional growth and scholarship applications before I could return, but that period of waiting ultimately strengthened my experience and clarified my purpose.
The most transformative part of that return was the mentorship I received from Professor Stephen Smith and Professor Sue Grimes, who by then had become my doctoral supervisors. They instilled an uncompromising commitment to critical thinking, scientific rigour, intellectual independence and attention to detail, and their supervision challenged me not only to ask better questions but to pursue genuinely novel answers.
My PhD addressed two environmental challenges at once. Globally, tanneries generate billions of litres of highly polluted wastewater each year, while farmers often dispose of agricultural residues through open-field burning. My research explored how one waste stream could be used to solve the other. I developed a process that converts tannery wastewater into an active pretreatment reagent for agricultural straw, which significantly improves the effectiveness of solid-state anaerobic digestion, allowing agricultural residues to be converted into renewable compressed natural gas and nutrient-rich fertiliser. The technology has since become the foundation of Symbiocle, the venture I founded to translate the research into real-world industrial application.
"That shift in mindset changed the trajectory of my life, giving me the confidence to move beyond disciplinary boundaries and tackle problems that initially seemed far outside my expertise."
What advice would you give to prospective and current students?
Be prepared to be persistent. If there is a problem you genuinely care about solving, don't let temporary setbacks define your journey; opportunities don't always arrive on your preferred timeline. It took me ten years to return to Imperial for my PhD, but I stayed committed because the challenge still mattered to me.
For those about to graduate, remember that your greatest asset is not a specific technical skill; it's the ability to think critically about complex problems. That analytical toolkit can be applied far beyond traditional engineering roles, whether you choose policy, consulting, entrepreneurship, research or industry. The world increasingly needs engineers who can bridge disciplines, connect stakeholders and translate technical knowledge into meaningful impact.
Can you briefly outline your career journey since graduating?
My career hasn't followed a straight line. It has been driven by a single focus: translating rigorous research into practical impact, across academia, entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem development.
I anchored myself in academia at Bayero University Kano, teaching everything from undergraduate fluid mechanics to postgraduate environmental pollution control. I later attended MIT Bootcamps to build entrepreneurial skills, which led to Yoda Box, an educational technology venture delivering offline video learning solutions. It earned a Nigerian patent and the British Council Alumni Award for Entrepreneurship, and its content was later adopted by UNICEF.
Alongside this, I founded Certis, a consulting firm that has spent more than fifteen years supporting sub-national governments through engineering and strategic advisory services. I also served as Special Adviser on Commercialisation and Efficiency at the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), helping establish systems that facilitated over $100 million in technology-transfer investments.
Today, I serve as Project Manager for the MIT REAP Global Cohort 12, representing Team Kano-Jigawa, connecting government, universities, entrepreneurs, industry and investors around shared economic opportunities. Although the sectors have varied, the underlying mission has stayed the same: transforming knowledge into practical, sustainable impact.
What has been a highlight experience or project that stands out in your career so far?
One of the most rewarding experiences of my career is my current work with MIT REAP, which brings together leaders from government, academia, industry, entrepreneurship and investment to strengthen the innovation ecosystem across Kano and Jigawa States. What makes it particularly exciting is that success depends not on any single technology, organisation or individual, but on building effective connections between all of them. I have always enjoyed solving technical problems, but helping align institutions, talent, capital and policy around a shared vision for economic development is a different kind of challenge, and one that feels both professionally rewarding and personally meaningful.
Tell us about your current role; what does a typical day look like for you?
No two days are exactly alike. My work sits at the intersection of academia, consulting, entrepreneurship and ecosystem development, so a typical day may involve teaching engineering students, meeting government stakeholders, supporting startup founders, or coordinating regional innovation initiatives. Much of my role involves connecting people and ideas across different sectors, guiding research projects, developing strategy with my teams, and engaging clients and partners. The variety is demanding, but it's also one of the aspects of the work I enjoy most.
"My goal is not to be the most visible person in a project, but to help build teams and systems that continue delivering results long after my direct involvement."
What's a part of your work or mission that people don't often see, but means a lot to you?
Much of the visible attention naturally focuses on projects, investments or programme outcomes. What people often don't see is how much of my energy goes into empowering others. I believe strongly in creating environments where talented people can take ownership of their work and succeed independently. My goal is not to be the most visible person in a project, but to help build teams and systems that continue delivering results long after my direct involvement. Some of my proudest moments come when team members receive recognition for achievements they've worked hard to earn.
What do you want to do next, and what excites you about the future of your field?
My ultimate goal is the full realisation of the Zero Bola ecosystem ('bola' means waste in Hausa). The physical anchor is the Zero Bola Foundation, an advanced eco-campus and open-air laboratory set within a botanical garden. It is deeply connected to our Hausa-Fulani cultural heritage, creating a true nexus of science, nature, and culture that will operate on the same gold-standard lab protocols I learned at Imperial. From this foundation, we operate the Zero Bola Engine: a tough-tech venture refinery designed to spin out scalable, commercial engineering solutions. We've already begun this journey through Symbiocle, and my hope is that it becomes the first of many ventures to emerge from this platform.
What excites me most about the future of my field is the growing opportunity for African innovators to develop solutions that are designed, built and scaled within Africa. Frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area create new possibilities for collaboration, manufacturing and technology transfer across the continent. For decades, many engineering solutions have been imported from elsewhere; increasingly, I believe we'll see African researchers, entrepreneurs and engineers creating technologies tailored to local realities while competing on a global stage. In many ways, I'm still following the example I first saw in my father's work, just applying those same principles of service and problem-solving at a continental scale.
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