Education
TWELVE female students sponsored by the African Capacity Building Foundation, ACBF, to study for postgraduate degrees in science and technology at the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, AUST, are expected to give a shot in the arm of Africa’s drive towards transformation as they join 86 others to graduate on Saturday, December 9, during AUST’s seventh commemencement ceremony to be held in Abuja.
The students, from Republic of Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, who enjoyed full scholarships provided by ACBF in the 2016/2017 academic year, have successfully completed the Master of Science degrees in Computer Science, Materials Science and Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Pure and Applied Mathematics, and Theoretical and Applied Physics. Upon graduation, they would bring to 69, the number of post-graduates rigorously trainied as some of Africa’s most innovative scientists and engineers, with scholarships from ACBF mounting to over US$1 milllion since 2013. Fifteen of those have graduated with PhDs.
All 12 ACBF beneficiaries graduating on Saturday were selected under the The Foundation’s scholarship programme for young African women to propel Africa to actively support skills building in the critical fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, in order to enable the continent achieve its own development.
And to attest to the quality of the programme, one of this year’s scholars supported by ACBF has won a prestigious “Debut in Research: Young talents from Africa Prize” instituted by the Italian energy and engineering giant Eni to promote and reward research and technological innovation in the fields of energy and environment. The winner is Blessing Onyeche Ugwoke who just completed her M.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering. She was formally presented with the prize by the Italian President on October 5.
Ugwoke credited her success in winning the Eni Award to ACBF’s scholarship which enabled her to benefit from a world class program offered at AUST. “The ACBF study grant paved the way for me with respect to advancing my academic career. It is a wonderful initiative from ACBF and it is forever changing lives,” she said.
“With the research skills I have now gained that helped me get the ENI award and a PhD scholarship in Italy, I hope to further my research to proffer modern solutions to energy deficiencies especially in the rural parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.”
ACBF believes “Ms. Ugwoke’s success is a clear testimony to what ACBF-supported skills building programs can do for Africa’s transformation. It shows that now is the time for partners to support the Foundation to do more in this regard at a time when the continent is in dire need of the right people with the right skills and innovative drive in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, to join forces with those in development management to leverage continental plans such as Agenda 2063 as well as country development plans.” Africa would require 4.3 million engineers to implement all its flagship projects necessary to achieve its development goals by 2063.
– Dec 7, 2017 @ 18:52 GMT |
Tags: Abuja ACBF AUST produce 12 More Innovative Scientists Engineers to Leverage Africa’s Transformation Benin Blessing Onyeche Ugwoke Cameroon Chad Ghana Liberia Sierra Leone
