Yau & Gobe Podcast
Yau&Gobe is a weekly podcast founded in 2023. The podcast is hosted by Dr. Abdulmalik Yusuf, an Engineer at Rolls-Royce Plc, UK.
Episodes include discussions and interviews with friends and guests who share their inspirational stories. Topics can vary from careers, personal growth, development, science, technology, life struggles, hustling, lifestyle, and business.
The Host
Growing up in Nigeria (1993-2010)
My passion for what I do is what has led me to this moment. I was born in Kano, Nigeria. Grew up at the hands of my grandmother (Hajiya Babba) in Tudun Wazirchi (Old Kano City). Thanks to my mother's tutelage, I developed a strong academic background during my primary school education. I gained a scholarship to study at one of the top schools in Nigeria ( Nigerian Turkish International College) at the age of 10. At the age of 15, I represented Nigeria in an International competition in Georgia winning a Gold Medal for Nigeria. This success led me to be selected among a group of students that were hosted by late President Umaru Musa Yar'adua in the State House. This visit was televised across Nigeria's main News Networks like NTA, Channels TV, and the print media.
Moving To Turkey (2010 - 2017)
At the age of 17, I was sponsored by my late mother, to study Turkish Language and Chemistry at Fatih University, Istanbul. I later gained a scholarship at the same university to study a second major in Environmental Engineering. I graduated from Fatih University in 3.5 years, as the best-graduating student in the Chemistry Department - 2014 with a GPA of 3.79 out of 4.00. I also completed my second engineering degree with a GPA of 4.00 out of 4.00.
Short Stay in the UK (2013)
In 2013, I worked as a visiting researcher at the University of Westminster, in London, UK sponsored by the European Commissions Erasmus Program. I travelled across the UK to many cities including Birmingham, Coventry, Worcester, Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh (Scotland), and Cardiff (Wales).
Return to Turkey
In 2014, I enrolled in a Master's degree program in Bio and Nanotechnology Engineering. I was awarded the TUBITAK scholarship and Fatih Univerisity's Graduate scholarship for my Master's degree studies. During my master's I jumped into entrepreneurship launching "trafric.com," an international trade web-based agency promoting trade between Turkey and Africa. During my business activity with Trafric.com, I was approached by a leading Turkish Car paints, and autocosmetics manufacturer, Sintas, to become its Sales and Marketing Manager for Africa. Based in Istanbul, I travelled to African countries including my country Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Algeria. I led the market share expansion from zero to 6 countries with record sales of nearly 300,000 USD in the first year.
I enrolled in a PhD program in Turkey in 2016 but was forced to drop out of the program due to the impact of the 2016 Turkish Failed Coup Attempt. The situation got worse and was forced to leave Turkey in 2017 to Nigeria.
A brief return to Nigeria (2017)
I stayed in Nigeria for about 9 months serving my Mother, and also enrolled briefly into the NYSC Scheme. During my brief time, I also enrolled in the Technology Incubation Centre in Kano as an entrepreneur to pursue various entrepreneurship activities including Detergent Manufacturing, and Car Wash Services.
In July 2017, after a short conversation with an old friend in Kaduna and taking action on a Google keyword search. I got offered a Predoctoral Researcher Position at IMDEA Materials Institute in Madrid Spain.
Notably, during this brief return I survived three accidents, the first one was during my trip to Lagos from Kano by train (the old locomotive train). The trip ended in Ilorin, Kwara State when the train collided with a van after 28 hours of travel. The second was a car accident in a public transport vehicle on my way to Katsina from Kano ( the driver's view was obstructed by a dust storm). The third was on my way from Abuja to Kano in the evening and I slept immediately after I boarded the vehicle at Jabi Motor Park at 6 pm, only to find myself after about 30 minutes under the vehicle after it fell off the road (the driver had no functioning lights).
Journey to Spain (2017 - 2022)
In December 2017, I moved to Spain and enrolled in a PhD program in Materials Engineering. I graduated in April 2022 with a CUM LAUDE mention and in 2023 my PhD Thesis titled "Quest for Fire-safe lithium-ion batteries" got recognized with the Technical University of Madrid's Extraordinary PhD Thesis Award. I am a co-inventor of two patents and I have authored/co-authored about 20 academic papers on energy storage in top-ranking journals such as Nano Energy, Small Methods, Chemical Engineering Journal, and Advanced Materials Technologies.
Following my PhD, by Allah's mercy I got multiple job offers from industry and academia from Volvo Cars in Sweden, Rolls-Royce Plc in the UK, and IMDEA Materials Institute in Spain.
Return to the UK (2022 - Present)
In July 2022, I moved to the UK with my family to work for Rolls-Royce Plc. I am currently leading the Energy Storage Systems Materials Technology Development Activities at Rolls-Royce Electrical for the Advanced Air Mobility Markets ( Electric Aircrafts).
My current role has provided me the opportunity to gain experience in the Aerospace Industry and particularly provided the possibility to contribute my expertise to the new era of aviation (electrification of aircrafts). This involves balancing the tough safety requirements of the aerospace industry with demanding performance metrics and requirements.
This role has also provided me the opportunity to spend more than one year as part of the Rolls-Royce Engineering Team on-site at the world-renowned Energy Innovation Centre of the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), Warwick University working with the High-Value Catapult Battery teams.
Other Things to Know
I enjoy traveling around the world and meeting new people. In my free time, I enjoy reflecting on the essence of life and the beauty of creation. I like to generate ideas, but I do understand well the limitations of execution.
I speak 6 languages including Hausa, English, Arabic, Turkish, Spanish, Pidgin. I have been learning my 7th language Amharic for about 10 years but not made a lot of progress.
Abdulmalik Yusuf, PhD
Founder / Host @ Yau & Gobe Podcast
Engineer @ Rolls-Royce Plc
Content Creator @ Batterials Platform (www.batterials.co.uk)