What has surprised me is the way technology is emerging and affecting the current state of research. We are encountering a fourth industrial revolution that entails advances in computing power, quantum computing and artificial intelligence, which has already been shown to alter the way we conduct research.

After my postdoc, I will return to Syria and work to achieve my big dream, which is to establish a research center.

All this has broadened my knowledge for this domain of science, gave me an open mind and also allowed me to learn many things.

I wanted to show women that it was possible that when you do agricultural sciences, you can go on and do more for your career development.

I want to be in the boardroom. I want to be part of the policy mechanism. I want my influence to go higher than the classroom.

“Am very proud to say that I am encouraging other Cameroonian female scientists to apply for the OWSD fellowship programme and some of them have obtained the grant."

I’ve been working on reptile and amphibian biodiversity for 10 years, and I know that there are still new species that need to be described.

I intend to disperse my achieved knowledge as one of the leading researchers in my country in the domain of microbial biotechnology, to support sustainable and prosperous agriculture.

By creating links between food research and industry, she hopes to enhance food security both in Ghana and in Africa as a whole.

" I can boldly declare that OWSD rewarded my brilliance thus giving me recognition and confidence in my professional arena and placed me in national and international scientific communities.”

The fellowship has really impacted my career. I was working in a university as an Assistant Lecturer, but with the OWSD fellowship I am undertaking a PhD that will allow me to reach the grade of Senior Lecturer.

Winning this award opened many doors for me. It has led to success in acquiring local funding.

What fascinated me is that only 5% of microorganisms are harmful, and the rest are beneficiary.

I wanted to do applied physics, not theoretical physics… I really wanted to use all of the knowledge that I acquired at university to explain our environment.

There is no reproduction without science. There is no electricity without science. There is no water without science…Life is science, science is life.

In today’s scientific environment, in which most PhD scientists concentrate on a single specific discipline, I might shift toward a more systemic view to approach the challenge in infectious diseases.

If we do research, in addition to establishing connections with other researchers, we must also communicate and do a lot of outreach in order to share our science with the community.

OWSD fellowship represents a real empowering difference in my life and career

I found my niche, and I have not looked back.

Due to the war in Yemen, I had stopped studying for two years. This opportunity gave me the chance to complete my postgraduate studies.