Dr. Pouirkèta Rita Nikiema holds a Bachelor of Economics from Université Norbert Zongo (formerly Université de Koudougou), an MSc in Human Resource Economics from the Université Thomas Sankara (formerly Université Ouaga II), and a PhD in Applied Economics from the Université Cheikh Anta Diop. She is a development economist from Burkina Faso. She is currently a Lecturer and Researcher at the Université Norbert Zongo (formerly Université de Koudougou) in Burkina Faso. Dr. Nikiema's research interests included education economics, health and nutrition, gender and development, youth employment, financial inclusion, and impact evaluation.