Irene Kyomuhangi’s presentation, Superheroes and Aliens, was selected by judges as the best at the inaugural FameLab finale held at Kabira Country club, Bukoto, last Thursday.
The win means Kyomuhangi will represent Uganda and go head-to-head with other contestants from 30 countries at the International FameLab competition in the UK to be held in in June 2017.
Kyomuhangi, a graduate from Aston University in Birmingham, and with a master's from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in Immunology of Infectious Diseases, described the FameLab as a great platform to explain their passion and possibly recruit more people into the cause.
FameLab was set up by the Cheltenham festival in 2005 with a purpose of nurturing scientists with a flair for communication with public audiences. In Uganda, it is being positioned as a platform to increase the uptake of science subjects in secondary schools and also to nurture scientists with communication skills in order for them to be able to speak about their work and ultimately expose themselves to global opportunities.
“FameLab is meant to excite young people about science. We need to choose someone to be an ambassador for science in Uganda and we hope that person will play a role in developing enthusiasm for science in Uganda,” said Fiona Inci, director of British Council.
Some 70 Ugandans from different spheres of science applied. These were doctors, engineers and laboratory researchers, among others. These were whittled down to 10 finalists.
The judges Maurice Mugisha, Dr Dithan Kiragga, Phillipa Makobore, Sam Opio and Fiona Inci were looking for content, clarity and charisma in the presentations.
The Ugandan edition is organized by the British Council - the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities in partnership with Cipla Quality Chemicals Industries Limited.
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