The journey of a thousand miles!
The Chinese sage of old, Lao Tzu, quipped that “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step.” This sentiment cannot be truer for Lilian Wanyonyi, a beneficiary of JOOUST-VLIR IUC scholarship pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Economics at the University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics,Envcon Research Group.
Economics, Envcon Research Group. Lilian was a Tutorial Fellow in the School of Business and Economics at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology before fortune smiled at her.
“It was a great honour to have been specially selected to embark on a life-changing journey of education and research” she admits. Wiping her seemingly chubby face with a white handkerchief, she adds “it is a couple of months now since I started the first phase of my research stay in Belgium. Moving in and settling in a new country, city, and of course in a new environment with new people has been amazing!”
Lilian says that the University of Antwerp is a world-class university with a credible QS World University ranking. The university is cosmopolitan and boasts of students from diverse backgrounds, cultures and heritage. From its facilities and social amenities, the institution provides a serene environment that fosters a vibrant learning environment both inside and outside the classroom. To her, it is a home away from home environment for thousands of international students enrolled there. The university focuses on providing a broad foundation of knowledge across different fields to help students think critically and reason analytically.
Lilian reports that she has joined a vibrant and illustrious research team passionate about transformational and multidisciplinary research focusing on sustainable development. “I am under the mentorship of very inspiring, committed and experienced promoters who are sculpturing me into a change maker”, she gracefully says. She believes that their insightful guidance will greatly help in sprucing up her vision of helping communities around Lake Victoria Basin to develop climate change resiliency and have sustainable livelihoods.
From her current peers, she has learnt new and unique perspectives which have proved handy in firming her vision. “It has been fulfilling to learn and co-create ideas in a multicultural context and see the world through different lenses” she affirmed. To Lilian, having landed this scholarship has created a golden chance to use the intellectual opportunities available in Belgium, to think critically about big global challenges facing our society today and has geared her towards working to understand them so that one day she can be a vessel of change.
The doctoral student holds that learning can never be a dull moment in Belgium since the country is undeniably scenic with numerous sightseeing sites that can create a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend getaway for students. Not forgetting the amazing cuisines and hospitality of the Belgians! Lilian can hardly hide her joy as she reiterates,“I am so proud to be at the University of Antwerp and excited to turn a new page and start writing a transformational experience of this journey! “I am indebted to the JOOUST fraternity and VLIR UOS Scholarship programme for giving me an opportunity to spread my wings in a new frontier of life!” And Lilian’s journey continues.
