Wilson Sostern Kaumbata, Malawi

Curriculum Vitae

Wilson Kaumbata, a former special OeAD scholarship holder, currently works as a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Animal Sciences at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi, a public university responsible for building capacity in agricultural and natural resources sciences. Already as a student he was involved in one of the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) “Feed the Future” initiatives and worked for a community-based goat breeding programme, which was implemented in Uganda and his home country Malawi. This USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) funded programme was coordinated by the African Goat Improvement Network and by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) – the university from which he graduated with a Dr. nat. techn. in September 2019. Moreover, Wilson Kaumbata takes part in a number of regional programmes in East, Southern and West Africa as a junior scientist, dealing with grass root activity implementation, data collection and reporting.

Reflection

My PhD studies in Austria have been an eye-opener. During this period I have acquired knowledge that will have a lasting impact on my career and my work. Specifically, I have learned the techniques to independently scout for information. This enables me to further sharpen my skills, so that I might help finding solutions for current problems in today’s world.