17 Ugandans selected for this year’s EU scholarships

State Minister for Higher Education John Chrysostom Muyingo and the EU Head of Delegation in Uganda Jaden Sadek have flagged off 17 Ugandans who have been selected to study in Europe under the Erasmus + scholarship programme.

The Erasmus Mundus scholarship, which is supported by the European Union, offers students a chance to undertake Master’s and Doctoral degree programmes in selected countries.

Speaking at the send-off function at the EU Ambassador’s Residence in Kololo, Kampala, on Thursday, Mr Muyingo, who represented Education Minister Janet Museveni, appealed to the beneficiaries of the scholarship to be Uganda’s ambassadors in Europe.
He also urged them to return to their country after acquiring the knowledge and skills.

“A lot of potential has been identified in you but after getting this opportunity, remember to be Uganda’s ambassadors. Carry our flag very high. When you finish your studies, please remember to come back; remember where you came from. It is fine to get a greener pasture but it is also cheating for you to have your capacity built and you don’t bring it back to share with your friends back home,” Mr Miyingo said.
The minister also hailed the EU for supporting Uganda’s development agenda.

“I wish to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the European Union for its unwavering support to Uganda in many fields, particularly education. This support has helped in human capital development in Uganda and we are really grateful,” he said.

“These scholarships are a blessing to Uganda because they provide the young graduates with an opportunity to gain international education experience, which gives them an advantage in the competitive job competition,” he added.

The Ugandan students applied and won scholarships to pursue graduate studies in several universities such as Austria, Greece, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Sweden.
In his remarks, Ambassador Sadek reiterated the EU’s commitment to support the government of Uganda in skilling its human resources for economic empowerment and fighting unemployment.
“This year, we have 17 Ugandan students that have a chance to extend their students in Europe, with 11 receiving direct scholarships from the EU,” he said.

“In addition to Erasmus, and as part of the global gateway Africa-Europe Investment package; and youth mobility for Africa global gateway flagship, EU wants to support African integration, providing learning opportunities within Africa to leverage investment in knowledge and innovation,” he added.

Ambassador Sadek said they are supporting several education skills development in Uganda, revealing that the EU recently launched a new Euros112 million (about Shs450b) programme geared at promoting education for adolescent girls in 200 schools in Uganda
He added that the EU’s launch of a youth sounding board in Uganda last year is part of their mission to foster a stronger dialogue between youth from across the country and the EU.