The UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Manufacturing & Innovation Technologies (UCoSMIT) team led by Associate Professor E. O. Olakanmi has hosted ten (10) young and talented African scholars through the Education for Laser-based Manufacturing (ELbM) initiative and BIUST Teaching Assistantship for the 2023/24 academic session. These scholars were awarded after undergoing rigorous competitive selective processes managed by leading academics and industrialists from across Africa including Botswana. This cohort comprises one (1) PhD scholar from Botswana and nine full-Masters degree seeking scholars from Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. These scholars will be mentored by seasoned BIUST academics including Dr. R. Prasad, Dr. K. Setswalo, Dr. T. P. Leso, Dr. B. Matshediso and Associate Professor E. O. Olakanmi who had actively supported UCoSMIT fund raising initiative. The UCoSMIT team welcomes our scholars and wishes everyone success in their academic sojourn at BIUST.

The Steering Committee (SC) of the Education for Laser-based Manufacturing (ELbM) mobility programme has awarded scholarships to four deserving scholars after a rigorous evaluation exercise carried out by a panel of international experts. The awarded scholars are as follows: 

Target Group 1  

Name and Surname	Nationality	Home University	Host University	Type of Mobility	Duration
Mr. Morake, Joseph Bophelo	Motswana	Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST)	Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya.	Full Masters Degree Seeking	24 Months
Mr. Gaone, Vincent Ntombela	Motswana	Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST)	Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun (FUPRE), Nigeria.	Full Masters Degree Seeking	24 Months

Target Group 2

Name and Surname	Nationality	Host University	Type of Mobility	Duration
Akintunde, Idris Babatunde	Nigerian	Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST), Botswana.	Full PhD Degree Seeking	36 Months
Lindsay, Emmanuel Efemena	Nigerian	Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST), Botswana	Full Masters Degree Seeking	24 Months

For more information contact the Project Manager, Ms Gadibotsile Chakandinakira at 4931306 or email: chakandinakirag@biust.ac.bw