On Thursday 16 March 2023, a conference was held to promote Commonwealth Scholarships in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The event was delivered by The Ministry of Education Science and Technology in collaboration with the British Council on behalf of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC).
The sessions aimed to create awareness about Commonwealth Scholarships at higher education institutions in Zanzibar. The higher education institutions included the Open University of Tanzania, University of Dar es Salaam, St Joseph University, Ardhi University, Joyland International School, and Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE).
Commonwealth Alumni share their experiences
The conference began with a welcome speech delivered by Professor Elifas Bisanda, Vice President of Open University. This was followed by further remarks from Professor Deus Ngaruko, Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic at the Open University and a 2004 Commonwealth Scholar. He encouraged students to take advantage of scholarship opportunities to advance themselves as well as their careers, and shared his experiences studying in the UK and the opportunities that arose following this time.
Dr Maulid Maulid (2013 Scholar), the Director of Links and International Affairs, and Lecturer at Open University, and Annamaria Mwamyalla (2014 Scholar), Investment Officer at Workers Compensation Fund, conducted further information sessions where they provided guidance on how to submit a quality application and prepare for the application process. Commonwealth Alumni were joined by Dr Evaristo Mutito, a representative from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, who highlighted common mistakes made by applicants during the application process.
Towards the end of the event, the Professor Bisanda, Professor Ngaruko, and Dr Mutito expressed gratitude to the British Council for organising the event and hope to delivery similar sessions in future. The conference closed with a Q&A session followed by a networking event where attendees had the opportunity to ask alumni questions about their application and scholarship experience and find out more about Commonwealth Scholarships.
