Government has advertised 50 postgraduate scholarships for eligible Zambians to study renewable energy and climate change related courses, in an effort to build the country’s capacity to respond to climate induced challenges.
Ministry of Technology and Science Permanent Secretary, Brilliant Habeenzu, says government wants to have a crop of specialists who will prepare the country in diversifying energy sources and make it resilient to the shocks created by the current energy crisis.
Dr. Habeenzu says the 2024/2025 Science and Technology Postgraduate Scholarships are in the fields of Mining, Agriculture, Health, Tourism, Renewable Energy, Climate Change and Manufacturing and they have been aligned with the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP).
“The Scholarships will prioritise research thesis (areas of study) that have potential to produce innovative products and services likely to have an impact on improving the livelihoods of the Zambian citizenry for socio-economic development,” said Dr. Habeenzu.
He disclosed that the Ministry of Technology and Science, in its efforts to promote female researchers at postgraduate level, has reserved 60 percent of the scholarships to female applicants while 40 percent of the scholarships will go to male applicants.
“I want to encourage females to apply in numbers for these scholarships as the government has deliberately given you an advantage,” said Dr. Habeenzu.
He said the successful applicants will study at public universities in the country.
By Eva Hatontola
