The 18 awardees comprise of 14 males and 4 females. They will be pursuing Masters in the fields of Clinical Medicine, Public Health, Tropical Agriculture, Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Marine science, among others.
Addressing the students, Ambassador Shih congratulated them for securing the scholarship, adding that it is not easy to win a scholarship as in some cases the process is competitive. He however said that the credit should go to President Jammeh who, he added, has led the solid foundation and infrastructure for education in the country. The Taiwanese diplomat expressed his office's resolve in helping to develop the human resource base of the country. "We as partners, we learn from each other, we work together," referring to Taiwan and The Gambia. Ambassador Shih advised the students to be serious, work hard while in Taipei and be prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.He encouraged them to grab the opportunity to explore the entire Island of Taiwan. The students are scheduled to leave Taiwan between now and September.
Meanwhile, of the 49 scholarships, 5 Bachelor degree are awarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 25 by the Civil Engineering Elite Program, 1 award for Marine Studies offered by the Ministry of Education and 18 from the ICDF.
