Kinyungu
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Wednesday February 24 2021
Tanzanian scholar Hulda Swai has won a prestigious scientific award in Africa.
Professor Hulda Swai
By Zephania Ubwani
IN SUMMARY
The Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) don will be awarded during a virtual ceremony on Friday.
Arusha. Tanzanian scholar Hulda Swai has won a prestigious scientific award in Africa.
The award has been given since 2008 by the African Union (AU) Commission as part of its drive to promote science, technology and innovation.
The professor of life sciences and bioengineering was declared the 2020 winner of AU Kwame Nkrumah Continental Awards for Scientific Excellence.
“It is sweet news but I’m not entirely surprised. Science has been part of my life since childhood,” she told The Citizen.
The Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) don will be awarded during a virtual ceremony on Friday.
The award goes with a $20,000 (about Sh47 million) cash prize for the 66 year old female scholar specializing in nanotechnology.
Prof Swai is the current leader of the African Centre for Research, Agricultural Advancement, Teaching Excellence and Sustainability at NM-AIST. AU Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology Prof. Sarah Anyang’Agbor said the Tanzanian scholar had been awarded for her excellence in science.
Last year, the NM-AIST senior lecturer was selected as one of the chair holders of the prestigious O.R Tambo Africa Research Chairs Initiative. She said although the continental award was open to all scientists, it deliberately focused on young researchers and women scientists.
The objective, she noted, is to give out scientific awards to top African scientists “for their scientific achievements and valuable discoveries and findings”.
