LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Twenty seven Malawians have been awarded scholarships by the Institute of International Education (IIE) under their Agricultural Transformation Initiative Fellowship and Scholarship Fund (ATI FSF).
The aim of the ATIFSF is to strengthen the capacity of researchers and professionals in Malawi in high-priority fields that will help the country transform its agricultural sector by reducing dependence on tobacco exports.
The ATI FSF is providing 19 scholarships for master’s study and eight awards for postdoctoral research in agriculture, business, data science, economics,ecology/environment, and engineering.
As the world moves away from tobacco use, the ATI FSF seeks to support the ongoing education of Malawian citizens who are dedicated to diversifying and transforming the agricultural sector in Malawi. Awardees pursuing master’s degrees under the ATI FSF Scholars program began their studies this January at higher education institutions in the United States.
The institutions including Michigan State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and the University of Arkansas. For the postdoctoral ATI FSF Fellows, most awards are being pursued in South Africa, primarily hosted by the University of Stellenbosch.
The Maravi Post understands that the ATI FSF Fellows and Scholars are some of Malawi’s most accomplished and promising individuals in the areas of academia and they will be addressing how to transform Malawi’s agricultural sector through multiple disciplines.
To participate in the program, the Fellows and Scholars submitted an application and were selected through an open and competitive process by an independent committee comprising members from academia and the public and private sectors.
The Fellows and Scholars will play a critical role in the future of their country. As Limbani Chikafutwa, Scholar at the Rochester Institute of Technology, noted,“these skills will go a long way to impact and bring positive change to people’s lives in Malawi.”
A peer in the cohort of Scholars, Takondwa Moyo,Scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, said,“I believe that agricultural transformation, like any transformation, is a result of good policy. Pursuing economics, particularly policy economics, will place me at the front line in helping make evidence-based policies.”
While COVID-19 has required the Fellows and Scholars to start their programs virtually from Malawi, it is expected that they may be able to continue their fellowships and scholarships in person starting in August.
Supported througha grant from the Foundation for a Smoke- Free World, the ATI FSF is administered by IIE, with general assistance from the Foundation’s affiliate, the Agricultural Transformation Initiative.
