Dr. Conrad-Joseph Wuleka Kuuder is a senior lecturer in tourism management. His main research interests include wildlife tourism, tourism livelihoods and poverty reduction, ecotourism development, service quality management in tourism. He also has scholarly interest relating to the gaming industry (gambling) in addition to the impact of the accommodation sector on the environment.

Dr Kuuder was appointed HoD of the department of Ecotourism and Hospitality Management in January, 2021. My role as HoD is to liaise with the dean (Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment) to provide the needed leadership for the administration of the department in the areas of research, teaching and community service. The department desires at all times to be an epicenter of excellence where students can graduate as higher achievers.

As a lecturer and HoD, my goal in academic circles is to help students of my department develop skills and abilities that are tailored towards the needs of the tourism/ecotourism and hospitality industry. It also behooves on the HoD to provide students counselling regarding their performance in their courses of study been pursued. It is also my aspiration to assist students in reaching their potential by ensuring that the learning environment is appropriate and positive through allocation of courses to lecturers with the requisite expertise within the ambit of the university. Senior members are also assigned to supervise project works/dissertations to enable students develop appropriate analytical and thinking skills.

As head of department, the greatest achievement is my attempt at rendering students studying ecotourism and hospitality an opportunity to be acquainted with industry practices both during trimestral and holiday sessions. Another has to do with the instillation of discipline in our students through lessons and education thereby enabling them to be conscious of the fact that the industry is desirous of trustworthy personnel in its operations.