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11 February 2022 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Supplied
Dr Yong Sebastian Nyam aims to contribute to solutions to alleviate food insecurity, poverty and inequality, community resilience, and disaster preparedness on the continent.

With a PhD in hand and a recent appointment as an African fellow to the World Bank, the sky is the limit for Dr Yong Sebastian Nyam, an alumnus of the University of the Free State. 

Dr Nyam, who also completed an MSc in Agricultural Economics through the University of the Free State and was named the best master’s student in the Department of Agricultural Economics in 2018, joined the World Bank’s Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice on 3 January 2022 for a six-month fellowship programme organised and managed by the Office of the Chief Economist, Africa Region (AFRCE). 

The programme equips African PhD candidates and recent graduates (less than three years) from different universities around the world with hands-on experience at the World Bank Group’s headquarters in Washington DC or its country offices.

Dr Nyam says: “Fellows will work on research, economic policy, technical assistance, and lending operations that contribute to the World Bank Group’s goal of eliminating poverty and increasing shared prosperity.”

During his time with the World Bank, Dr Nyam will be working on urban resilience projects, especially projects focused on urban food systems and disaster risk reduction.

Working with experts and policy makers across the continent, he says: “I am hoping to gain some hands-on industry experience while contributing to developing solutions to the continent’s most pressing problems, such as food insecurity, poverty and inequality, community resilience, and disaster preparedness.”

Through the fellowship programme, Dr Nyam hopes “to use this opportunity to become a useful tool for sustainable development in Africa and to advance mentorship programmes geared towards preparing and informing PhD candidates on different career options in the industry and how to transition from academia to the industry”.

Reaping benefits of hard work and determination

Looking back on his academic journey, Dr Nyam is grateful for his ‘determination and self-discipline’ traits that set him apart from his peers, despite the fact that he experienced ‘financial challenges’ at home.

“I was not the most intelligent student, but the most hardworking, and I have never let financial difficulties stop me.”

On obtaining his PhD degree, Dr Nyam says: “Like many people, I thought a PhD was very difficult and almost impossible to do. I think the impression people give about a PhD degree is wrong and it scares a lot of people away from doing it. I quickly realised after one year of my master’s research that it was possible to do a PhD.”

About his time with the UFS, Dr Nyam says: “Most of the things I know in my professional life I learned from the institution; the memories are all good. I am extremely grateful for all the lessons and maybe one day I will write a book about my journey at the UFS, because there are so many stories about my experiences as Resident Assistant at President Steyn Residence for five years and as Research Assistant for four years.”

News Archive

Kovsie students selected for prestigious study travel programme
2013-05-15

 

Golden Key International Honour Society members, Michael van Niekerk, Siobhan Canavan, Mpoi Makhetha and Cebolenkosi Sokhela, will travel to the USA and China, meeting the best in their career fields.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse
15 May 2013


They are amongst the top 15 percent of academic achievers at the university, and have been afforded the opportunity to travel abroad and meet with leading people in their fields of study.

Kovsie students Michael van Niekerk, Siobhan Canavan, Mpoi Makhetha and Cebolenkosi Sokhela, all members of the Golden Key International Honour Society, will travel to the USA and China. This trip is part of the International Scholar Laureate Program (ISLP) to learn how their career fields are practiced in another part of the world. The students are part of a select group of outstanding university students from across the world who will be given access to people, places and global perspectives in fields such as business, engineering, medicine, nursing, diplomacy and international relations.

Michael, a fourth-year MBChB student and SRC member of our Bloemfontein Campus, and Cebolenkosi, a third-year BSc Microbiology student will visit Washington, Philadelphia and New York in the USA. As part of the medicine delegation of the programme, they will visit clinics and hospitals to see how their study fields are practiced. Michael’s trip includes a visit to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he will meet representatives of the National Institute of Health, the largest source of funding for medical research in the world. He will also visit Harvard University in Massachusetts.

Mpoi, a third-year BSc Human Molecular Biology student, also forms part of the medicine delegation but will travel to China. "We will be exploring the ancient ways of healing versus the modern medical practices, exploring the medical systems of the country and meeting doctors and professors, visiting the rural areas, and of course, touring the best parts of China,” she said.

Siobhan, a third-year Media Studies and Journalism student, is part of the diplomacy and international relations delegation who will visit Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai in China. "To me it's such an honour to be part of this programme,” she said. “It will give me the platform to not only represent who I am, but also my university and the values that the university has instilled in me. It allows me to be a part of something great that will benefit me in the end."

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