Ms Justine Nasejje. Statistics PhD Student Receives DAAD Scholarship
A PhD candidate in the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science (SMSCS), Ms Justine Nasejje, has been awarded a prestigious scholarship by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), allowing her to spend six months at the University of Lübeck during her studies as well as funding her PhD work.
Nasejje says she hopes the scholarship will strengthen collaboration between UKZN and the University of Lübeck, enabling further research co-operation. She is also excited at the prospect of being connected to a network of DAAD scholars during her stay which starts next month.
Describing the scholarship as a gift from God, Nasejje said: ‘I am very excited to receive such a prestigious scholarship, and motivated at the same time. I have always wanted to build my career in scientific research and the DAAD scholarship was awarded to me just in time to fully explore my potential.’
Nasejje, who is busy completing her PhD in the field of Random Survival Forests, was drawn to studying Statistics while majoring in Mathematics during her undergraduate studies at Makerere University in Uganda, thanks to her passion for applying her mathematical skills to solving real-world problems.
‘I am specialising in Biostatistics, a research field which focuses on developing models that analyse data from public health. Developing methods to analyse such data helps to inform policy on public health and make the general public aware of their health risks so that they seek appropriate intervention in time, thereby improving their quality of life.’
Nasejje hopes her research will contribute to building up a body of knowledge about simple but powerful statistical models based on trees. She says these models guide clinicians in determining the type of treatment or intervention methods to be administered to patients based on the information about their health, surroundings, gender, and genetic makeup provided to the clinician on arrival at a health facility.
Nasejje joined UKZN to pursue her masters degree in Statistics after completing a postgraduate diploma in Mathematical Sciences through a scholarship provided by the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), in collaboration with the University of the Western-Cape. Nasejje chose to study at UKZN because of its reputation as a leading research institution in Africa and because of the alignment of the SMSCS’s research specialities to her research interests.
Once she has obtained her PhD, Nasejje plans to continue contributing to academic research in Africa in order to increase the continent’s scientific human capital. Her special interest is in empowering women in Africa to enter careers in scientific research.
Nasejje thanked God as well as to those who had given her the opportunity to excel, namely AIMS and her supervisor, Professor Henry Mwambi.
She also thanked her co-supervisor, Professor Andreas Ziegler, a visiting academic from the University of Lübeck, who will host her at in Germany.
Christine Cuénod