Courtesy ASCU
The success of PhD student David Izuogu’s initiative to help African students apply for postgraduate programmes in Cambridge means more mentors are needed.
The Africa of our Dream Initiative, founded by David in 2018, aims to help students from Africa navigate Cambridge’s sometimes obscure postgraduate application process. Africa of our Dream have now teamed up with the African Society of Cambridge University to expand this support.
The success of the joint programme brings with it a need for more mentors, and both groups are calling on the wider university community for help. Mentors can be current postgrads, university staff or recent alumni. In fact, anyone familiar with the application system can help these potential students to overcome the many obstacles they face, from helping find funding steams to overcoming the myth that Cambridge is ‘not for them.’
David, a fourth-year theoretical chemist in the Thom group, is himself from Nigeria. He feels fortunate that he has received support from the Cambridge-Africa programme, Cambridge Trust and Islamic Development Bank to attend Cambridge, and that’s why he wants to give back. He says: “There are a lot of talents in developing countries that could thrive in Cambridge, but they face many obstacles. All they need is a little mentorship and direction, and the sky will be their starting point.”
“We are calling on anyone who is passionate about supporting minority students from Africa to please join us.”