As the head of the micro department at EPRC, Ibrahim has spearheaded a wide range of education research such as examining the schooling of orphans in Uganda as well as the impact evaluation of education interventions in Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools.
The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the African Development Institute (ADI/AfDB) in collaboration with the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) inaugurated the Education Research in Africa Awards (ERAA) in 2012 to encourage and support Africa-based researchers and their institutions to produce and disseminate rigorous and relevant research that stimulates innovative policy-making for Africa. The ERAA awards were designed to promote excellence in educational research in African universities, research institutes and networks and also among Africans in institutions in other parts of the world. The awards seek to identify, reward and foster outstanding accomplishments in educational research in Africa.
Only individuals who are under the age of 40 are eligible for the Emerging Education Researcher Award and the selection for 2011/2012 was through a rigorous two tiered evaluation process of hundreds of candidates.
Ibrahim will receive his award at a ceremony to take place in Paris, France on the 14th of May 2013. The award includes: a certificate; a cash reward; and a study trip to the University of Seoul, South Korea. During the ceremony, Ibrahim will join researchers from other African countries who are working to impact global education challenges. The other three awards to be offered at the same ceremony to other scholar are:
- Accomplished Educational Researcher;
- Outstanding Mentor of Educational Researchers; and
- Enabling Institutional Environment for Educational Research.