JICA awards scholarships to five Sudanese to study in Japan
September 4, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Japanese Agency for International Cooperation (JICA) announced on Thursday that five Sudanese have been awarded scholarships to study for a masters degree in Japan.
The participants will also undertake internships in Japanese enterprises as part of the African Business Education Initiative for Youth, also known as the ABE initiative.
The winners are Abeer Saleh Mohammed (international economic policies), Afnan Abayazeed Muhammad (mining and environment), Aisha Gaily al-Imam (orchards), Hala Saadalla Malik al-Madani (corn productivity) and Nizar Omar Abdel-Majid Magbool (rice productivity).
According to a JICA bulletin, they will be dispatched to five different universities in the period from September 2014 to September 2017.
The objective of the ABE Initiative is to support young personnel who have the potential to contribute to the development of industries in Africa. Its expected outcome is a network of potential contributors to the development of African industries who will also lead Japanese businesses to engage further in economic activities in Africa.
The ABE initiative was announced by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) held in Yokohama in 2013.
Initially, only six African countries were allowed to participate including Sudan. All remaining countries will take part starting in 2015.
Magbool said he wants to study the effects of pesticide use levels on improving the productivity of rice and expressed his gratitude for this opportunity adding that he expects to improve the productivity of rice through his studies and contribute to the activation of the agricultural sector in Sudan.
The participants were invited to attend an orientation at the agency’s office in Khartoum with the JICA resident representative Seiichi Koike. They stressed their desire to take advantage of the program after returning from Japan.
Koike pointed to the need to benefit from the academic program and the expertise and experience of the Japanese private sector and get familiar with the Japanese culture as well.
JICA encouraged those wishing to apply for the second batch of the ABE initiative to review the website of the organisation, stressing that 30 September is the deadline.
(ST)