February 2022 Kampala, Uganda: The British High Commissioner to Uganda, Her Excellency Kate Airey OBE held a reception this week to officially welcome back the 2020/2021 cohort of Ugandan Chevening scholars.
Chevening, is the UK Government’s international scholarship scheme which has been running since 1983 aimed at developing global leaders. Uganda has over 290 Chevening beneficiaries since the inception of the scholarship. For the academic year 2020/2021, sixteen Ugandans received the scholarship, which consists of a one-year fully funded master’s degree at Universities around the UK.
An important requirement of the Chevening Scholarship is that the scholar returns to Uganda afterward to ensure that Uganda benefits from the investment.
In her remarks to the scholars, High Commissioner Kate Airey said: “We are looking at the next generation of future leaders for this country, you have been supported and granted the skills to sharpen your tools and we have no doubt that you will make a huge impact in your respective sectors and contribute to Uganda’s economic development.”
The Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Education Ketty Lamaro was in attendance and added:“I want to congratulate the 2020/2021 Ugandan scholars for completing their studies in the UK and I look forward to your contribution to our countries economic development, based on the calibre of scholars Chevening has produced we can only expect great things from you. The Ministry will continue to support and applaud such scholarship initiatives, as we cannot do this alone and welcome bigger numbers of scholars who can go and study in first-class universities in the UK.”
The Chevening Scholarship is hugely popular with over 1000 Ugandan applications in the last application round. Last year twenty-four Ugandans were selected and they are currently in the UK completing their studies. The Chevening applications for the academic year 2022/2023 will open in August 2022.
Speaking on behalf of the 2020/2021 Ugandan Chevening scholars Silvester Bwetabure said, “As individual scholars, and as a cohort, we are grateful to the UK government for the Chevening Scholarship opportunity. The challenging experience of studying through the pandemic cannot come close to the immense opportunity this is for us. Evidently, from this cohort, Chevening has upheld Britain’s public diplomacy effort of selecting Ugandan professionals with great leadership strengths to study in the UK. And this will surely create lasting positive relationships within the cohort which consists of the best crop of future leaders, influencers, and decision-makers, drivers of positive national and global change.”
The 2020/2021Chevening cohort include:
Emmanuel Olal who studied Public Health for Development at London School of Health and Tropical Medicine;
Kidamba Denis Emojong who studied Applied Instrumentation and Control at Glasgow Caledonian University;
Charity Namara who pursued Gender Studies at University of Sussex;
Raymond Ayebare Ariho who pursued Civil and Water Engineering at Cardiff University;
Diana Stella Nasike who studied Global Health Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science;
Sandra Tuhairwe who studied Pharmaceutics at the University College, London;
Rhoda Nakungi who pursued International Human Rights and Development at the University of Bradford;
Mariyane Namugwe who studied Transportation, Planning and Engineering (Infrastructure) at University of Southampton;
Fiona Kamya Kunobwa who studied Audiology at University of Manchester;
Andrew Vivian Kirabo who studied Public Health at King’s College London;
Pascal Kwesiga who studied International Communication at University of Leeds;
Silvester Bwetabure who studied Global Supply Chain Management at Brunel University;
Joan Sseggane Nantaba who studied Environmental Engineering at Newcastle University;
Rodney Adriko who pursued Cyber Security at the University of Kent;
Persis Kiddu Nabyonga who studied Epidemiology at London School of Health and Tropical Medicine and
Eager Olyel who studied Public Health for Development at London School of Health and Tropical Medicine.
