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Nqobile Tshili, Bulawayo Bureau
VICTORIA Mudyanembwa, a brilliant young student from the rural heartland of Lukosi in Hwange District, who just earned a first class honours degree from the University of Zimbabwe in Pharmaceutical Chemistry as the top student in her year, is now moving to Oxford University for a post-graduate degree on the prestigious Rhodes scholarship.
Ms Mudyanembwa, the inaugural president of the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Society of Zimbabwe, won the sole Rhodes Scholarship for Zimbabwe for next year. Zimbabwe and Zambia share three of these scholarships each year and alternate between one and two each. Ms Mudyanembwa will join a cohort of exceptional scholars from around the world.
In 2018, Ms Mudyanembwa earned the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Scholarship to attend the University of Zimbabwe after she left Marist Brothers Dete High School in Hwange so her high-level promise has been recognised for many years. She will be heading to the University of Oxford in September 2025 to join a cohort of more than 100 scholars from across the globe, undertaking postgraduate studies on a full scholarship with travel and liviing expenses included.
In a statement, the Rhodes Scholarship national secretary of Zimbabwe, Mr Dalumuzi Mhlanga, confirmed Ms Mudyanembwa’s selection, noting that she joins an elite group of Zimbabweans who have benefited from the same scholarship.
Mr Mhlanga highlighted that she overcame stiff competition to secure the only slot available for studies starting next year.
“When the committee meets every year to select Rhodes Scholars, we are always amazed by the abundance of bright, driven, and capable young people in Zimbabwe. This year the selection committee made the difficult decision to award the only scholarship to Victoria Mudyanembwa, which speaks to the very high bar that the scholarship’s criteria demand of both candidates and selectors in their consideration and evaluation.
“We hope this encourages young Zimbabweans and candidates, in particular, to consistently excel across all the varied key pillars of the criteria, which cover academics, character, leadership, and service, much like Victoria has done,” said Mr Mhlanga
Notable past winners of the scholarship include former Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara.
Ms Mudyanembwa expressed her gratitude for being selected for the prestigious scholarship.
“I am overwhelmed with gratitude to be named a Rhodes Scholar-elect. This is an extraordinary honour, and I am deeply humbled to be part of such a prestigious community.
“I am indebted to my family, friends, mentors, and supervisors, whose unwavering support has been instrumental in my journey. With this scholarship, I am excited to embark on a new chapter in my life. I am eager to contribute to the global community, to learn from brilliant minds, and to make a positive impact on the world,” said Ms Mudyanembwa.
In furthering her studies, she aims to leverage new technologies to explore complex biology and medicine, with a particular focus on better understanding how indigenous traditional medicine can be made widely available, safely, and cost-effectively.
Mr Mhlanga announced that the next applications will open on 1 June 2025, encouraging brilliant Zimbabweans to apply.
“Each year, the selection committee looks forward to engaging with remarkable young Zimbabweans of all backgrounds across gender, race, and academic discipline, from both local and international universities. It is our young people who continue to fly the Zimbabwean flag high as they seek to drive progressive change in their fields of study and in the communities and spaces where they find themselves,” said Mr Mhlanga.
Online Reporter