Team UNIMA wins trip to IAEA GC67 Conference

In the corridors where excellence dwells, students have consistently excelled and outperformed their peers in several local and global competitions. A few weeks back, we reported on the shortlisting of a team of UNIMA students in the in the IAEA Students’ Competition on the benefits of Nuclear Sciences – GC67 (https://unima.ac.mw/news/single-post/unima-students-harness-nuclear-science-19-06-2023). Unsurprisingly, the group, comprising Mr. Elias Seda (Bachelor of Education – Physics), Ms. Enita Ebiyamu (Bachelor of Science in Chemistry – Honours) and Mr. Grasswell Mkanda (Bachelor of Science in Physics) from the School of Natural and Applied Sciences, has emerged as one of the winning teams in the competition.

As their entry in the competition, the team developed an abstract and a video outlining their proposed use of nuclear energy in the agriculture and environment sectors. The proposal by the three students, titled ‘The Use of Isotopic Techniques in Quantification of Fertilizer Uptake in Different Crops in Malawi,’ stood out among many submissions, securing them a spot among the top three universities selected.

In an interview with the students, they expressed their appreciation for the support provided by their supervisor, Mr. Vincent Peheliwa, throughout the entire competition process. They also acknowledged Professor Ken Lipenga for editing their scripts. The students further expressed their joy at the rewarding outcome of their hard work and dedication in the competition

“Reaching this point fills us with extreme happiness. The knowledge we've acquired during our academic studies has been instrumental in our success in this competition. Above all, our team's strong coordination, teamwork spirit, and dedication contributed significantly to our success,” said Enita Ebiyamu.

The three students, are expected to represent UNIMA at the 67th IAEA conference, which will take place in Vienna, Austria, from September 25th to 29th, 2023. The team will be awarded certificates, and will participate in a panel discussion on their proposal. They will also be taken on a scientific tour of the IAEA Laboratories in Vienna and Siebersdorf.