Following nearly four years of intensive studies at the prestigious Félix Houphouët-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute (INP-HB) in the Ivorian capital Yamoussoukro, 14 government scholarship students are currently in the country to undergo internship.
The students who returned home recently were part of the first batch of 21 students recruited and taken to Ivory Coast in November 2019 under the Joint Liberia and French Development Agency (AFD) Training Project.
Initiated by the Weah led-administration with funding from the government of France, the project aims to provide young Liberians the opportunity to specialize in various science and technology disciplines to become productive citizens.
Among the students are prospective civil, industrial and mining engineers; geologists; information and communication technologists and agricultural engineering specialists among others.
In a brief chat with reporters, the students thanked President George Manneh Weah for the golden opportunity afforded them to have studied and specialized in various science and technology disciplines.
They also expressed gratitude to First Lady Clar Marie Weah for her efforts in coordinating the training initiative along with other government agencies and ensuring their wellbeing while studying in neighboring Ivory Coast.
The brilliant Liberian scholars are expected to undergo a three-to-four-month internship while in the country before returning to defend their thesis and subsequently graduate.
On behalf of the Office of the First Lady, Director of Press Arthur T. Y. Douglas, Jr. congratulated the students for returning home with great success, in spite of the challenges in studying in a Francophone country.
Mr. Douglas conveyed the President and the First Lady’s delight over the student’s progress, noting that the students’ excellent performance brings pride to Liberia.
Director Douglas however admonished them to remain focused and stressing that Liberia depends on them to contribute to the ongoing national reconstruction and development processes.
The training project provides a fully funded four-year scholarship to young and brilliant students. Currently, there are three cohorts of students- totaling nearly sixty (60) candidates- most of whom are still undergoing their studies in La Cote D’Ivoire.
The project is one of the dividends of President Weah’s first state visit to Paris in 2018 where he sought the support of the French government through his counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, for youth capacity development in Liberia.
Youth development and empowerment is an integral part of President George Manneh Weah’s Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development, PAPD.
Through this scholarship program along with several major initiatives, the President wants to transform the lives of young people, enabling them to contribute to the development of their dearest country, Liberia.
