I owe ‘what’, ‘who’ and ‘where’ I am in my career and professional practice today to OWSD because without the PHD Fellowship, all my achievements today would have been nothing but bleak.

When you are following your passion, people will always see what you are doing. People will see that you are doing something different, and they will help you.

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

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.

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.

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.

In the challenging socio-economic context of developing countries, knowledge should serve to solve the varied problems faced by our societies.

I really want to do something for my country. Being part of the Sudan national chapter has given me that chance.

I have to think of something that can help us, that we can use based on resources that we have. The lack of things is the biggest inspiration in my life. I want to help my country.

My dear girls in science: be strong, inquisitive, curious, assertive, resilient, and focused. Go for gold!

My position is that we should acknowledge what we are lacking of, so that we can keep working.

When I got my OWSD fellowship, it was an amazing feeling. Before getting the letter, my academic career was a dream, the letter made it possible.

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.

Dr. Shammi's research will help to fill a crucial gap in the the global understanding of carbon dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions by providing data on one of the world’s largest river systems.

The OWSD award helped me not only to become the researcher I am today, but also to become a leader in research.

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.

" 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.