Jomo Kenyatta University Of Agriculture And Technology Scholarships, Thirty-two students drawn from various African countries will benefit from a 3-year full Government of China funded scholarships to study for higher degrees, eight of them at PhD levels, in selected areas of biodiversity in China. Under the programme, JKUAT alumni have bagged 14 of the 21 scholarships won by Kenyans, making JKUAT, the single institution to produce the largest number of scholarship recipients, expected to embark next month on Masters and Doctorate degrees at the Peking based University of Chinese Academy of Science.
The ceremony to hand over the scholarships was held at JKUAT, August 6, 2018 and jointly presided over by JKUAT Vice Chancellor Prof. Victoria Ngumi and Prof. Wang Qing Feng, Director, Sino-Africa Joint Research Centre, a branch of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Prof Ngumi was full of praise for the Chinese initiative for establishing at JKUAT the Botanical Garden and the Sino-Africa Joint Research Center to boost training and research in biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa; that she said was the source of the scholarships scheme. The vice chancellor, who was officiating at her first public official function since assuming office, August 1, 2018, applauded the joint enterprise for providing generous grants that she noted had benefited 88 Kenyans, 69 of them JKUAT alumni since its inception in 2013. ‘We in JKUAT are indeed most grateful for this opportunity offered to our graduates’.
Prof. Wang on his part congratulated the recipients drawn from Kenya, Ethiopia and Madagascar, among other African countries saying up to 122 scholars have since 2013 benefited from the project. Prof. Wang reaffirmed his Academy’s immense resolve to ‘strengthen this collaboration to support research in Africa’. He urged recipients to return back to Africa at the end of their studies.
The scholarships main thrust will be on diverse biodiversity areas including; wildlife conservation, water resources management, remote sensing, microbiology and molecular biology.
The ceremony was also witnessed by Prof. Bernard Ikua and Prof. Robert Kinyua, Acting Deputy Vice Chancellors in charge of Administration and Academic Affairs respectively.