KAMPALA — The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), the Regional Facilitation Unit for the World Bank supported Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE II) Project, has Friday September 13 announced the recipients of the ACE Scholarship Program for 2019.
A Call for Applications for Masters Fellowships targeting female students in the nine project participating countries of Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Mozambique and Malawi was announced in March 2019.
The aim of the competitive scholarship is to enhance the participation of young African female scientists at postgraduate level, encourage regional student mobility and identify and cultivate future leaders in the region.
A total of 28 fellowships were awarded for the 2018/2019 academic year.
An Independent Selection Panel nominated from members of the Regional Steering Committee (RSC) of the ACE II Project selected and recommended 32 applicants out of nearly 500 applicants for the 2019/2020 academic year.
The selected candidates were found to have met all required conditions for the scholarship as specified in the Call.
For one to be eligible they had to be female and a national of one of the ACE II participating countries; be under the age of thirty five; be a holder of a Bachelor’s Degree from a reputable university at the level of at least Upper Second Class Honours in the relevant field; should have obtained admission to an ACE outside the applicants’ country of current nationality; and have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement as evidenced by academic awards and transcripts.
“Our Selection Panel was delighted to learn that the 28 women Fellows selected last year were making good progress in their studies. We were therefore determined to identify 32 additional Fellows who were the best from the very large pool of eligible applicants,” said Prof. Goolam Mohamedbhai, Chairperson of the Independent Selection Panel.
He added, “Sixty women Master’s graduates in Science & Technology fields could be considered a drop in the ocean, but they can really make a difference in the development of Africa. We need more of them and we hope resources will be available to award such additional women Fellowships.”
The selected students will study full time at some of the Africa Centers of Excellence (ACEs) in the priority disciplines of the ACE II Project, namely: (i) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) or Industry, (ii) Agriculture, (iii) Health, (iv) Education and (v) Applied Statistics.
The ACE II Project’s emphasis is on STEM to strengthen selected institutions to improve their quality and relevance of science and engineering education and applied research to address challenges in key priority economic sectors.
“The World Bank is committed to supporting expanded access for all students who wish to pursue tertiary education opportunities that inspire them and lead to bright and purposeful futures.
This program supporting women in science is one about which we are particularly proud and excited,” remarked ACE II project team lead, Dr. Roberta Malee Bassett.
“We appreciate the selection panel’s committed efforts in selecting this newest group of scholarship recipients, and we congratulate all of these amazing women on their accomplishments achieved and those still to come.”
The ACE Scholarship covers tuition, stipend, research, visa fees, laptop, books/stationeries and a round trip air ticket between the beneficiary’s home country and the study destination.
The names of candidates recommended for the award, areas of specialization and host institutions can be viewed on the list below. The Independent Selection Panel noted that they were overwhelmed by the number of highly qualified candidates that responded to the 2019 call for fellowships, yet only a limited number of Fellowships could be awarded.
