Rotary Global Grant supporting young people

Rotary Global Grant Scholarship

                   How it benefitted a young student 

Thanks to the support of Rotary through a Global Grant Scholarship, I have spent the past two years completing an inter-university Masters programme between two universities in Belgium: Vrije Universiteit Brussel and KU Leuven. I just graduated this September with Great Distinction and an average of 84%. 

The programme was based on GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and Remote Sensing. In a nutshell, these are two powerful technologies that work together to offer tools for collecting, analysing, interpreting and visualising data about our Earth. They are invaluable to a huge number of fields, including climate change, natural disasters, agriculture, urban planning, navigation, and nature conservation.

As well as the classes, I was able to complete a two-month internship to gain professional experience. I worked with Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, a large research institute based in New Zealand which focusses on driving innovation in the management of terrestrial biodiversity and land resources.

In addition, I was selected to take part in a summer training programme organised by NASA and ESA in Prague which focussed on Remote Sensing of the Environment. The training was fantastic and I was able to meet so many incredible researchers working in the geospatial sector. 

Overall, I really loved the programme and found the classes, internship, and extra training challenging and engaging. I developed a strong knowledge base and skill set which I'm excited to bring to my next role. Currently, I'm looking for a position to start my career in geospatial science. 

Also, since graduating I've been keeping busy with some online training and volunteering roles. I have completed an online course focussed on GIS applications for Climate Action, I am taking part in a mentorship programme through the Women+ in Geospatial network, and I am contributing my geospatial skills to a research project titled 'Ecological and Land Use Classification at Kamiali wildlife Management Area, Papua New Guinea' through the UN volunteering platform.