“I was searching for this kind of studies that would facilitate my further work in any part of the world. Now I am an ambassador of my country in Poland and an ambassador of the University of Warsaw in Tanzania,” says Karen Nyakato Kyabega, the best foreign student in Poland.
The twelfth edition of the INTERSTUDENT competition has been won by Karen Nyakato Kyabega, BA student from the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw.
The mission of the INTERSTUDENT competition is to select, reward and promote the best foreign students studying in Poland at Bachelor, Master and PhD levels. The competition seeks to distinguish the “university leaders”, who contribute to the integration of Polish and international students by building bridges between cultures and, thus, enriching Polish academic environment. Students’ outstanding cultural, social, environmental or sports activity in the peers’ community, alongside with good academic performance, are the requirements for the participation.
Open-mindedness and empathy to support diversity and bridge divisions
This year edition of the INTERSTUDENT competition has been won by Karen Nyakato Kyabega from Tanzania, the third year student of the Undergraduate Programme in International Relations, the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw.
The Jury has distinguished Karen for her work and contribution to the UW academic community, volunteer work and representing the UW peers’ community in the international organisations, e.g. International Students’ Union, Model United Nations, and St Paul’s English Speaking Catholic Parish of Warsaw.
“I highly appreciate Karen’s open-minded attitude, her empathy and the actual fact she is so eager to support diversity and bridge divisions. Especially, throughout the pandemic, the values she represents show how important it is to help and cooperate with others,” says Katarzyna Kucharska from the UW Volunteer Centre.
“The social and multicultural projects I work in help me build my ‘Polish identity’. The activities help me feel at home,” explains the competition winner. “I recommend each new foreign student to visit the Welcome Point and the Volunteer Centre at the University of Warsaw. These places offer a lot of opportunities for newcomers to learn about other cultures, meet new people and acquire the feeling of being part of this country and this university,” she adds.
The best international students from UW
In the current edition of the INTERSTUDENT competition, prizes have also been awarded to Maksym Shcherbyuk from Ukraine (University of Silesia graduate) and Peliyagodage Chathura Dineth Perera from Sri Lanka (Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences).
Students from the University of Warsaw can be found among laureates of previous editions of INTERSTUDENT. In 2017, the INTERSTUDENT jury recognised extraordinary achievements of Anastasiya Niakrasava from Bialorus (doctoral candidate, Institute of Musicology, University of Warsaw) and Seyed Mohammadreza Sadr from Iran (Master’s degree student in psychology, University of Warsaw).
