Career Roundtable – Student’s Edition
Following the success of the first Career Roundtable webinar in June 2020 the Education Board has decided to continue with this series of webinars that aims to bring together speakers and experts, our students, parents and other education related stakeholders from different parts of the world to share their knowledge, expertise and experiences. The second webinar was titled the “Student’s Edition” and was held on Saturday, 15th August 2020. It brought together students studying in different parts of the world to share their university experience with a focus on how the COVID19 pandemic has affected their studies and their respective coping strategies as university students.
Our panelists for this webinar were:
- Fatema Khatau from Nairobi Jamaat who is pursuing her B.Sc. in International Business Administration at the United States International University – Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.
- Essa Mohammedali from Arusha Jamaat who is pursuing his B.Sc. in Computer Science at the University of Dar es Salaam in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
- Fatema Bhalloo from Dar es Salaam Jamaat who is pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Politics, Rights and Development with a double minor in French and in Media, Cultures and Communications at New York University in New York City, USA.
- Mohamedwaqar Mawji from Mombasa Jamaat who is pursuing his B.A. in Film Making at the Northern Film School in Leeds, UK.
The panel was moderated by Farhan Yusuf who is a Pharmacist, Career Enthusiast and Education Board Member.
The Education Board team was very intentional in ensuring that these students are studying in different parts of the world and are pursuing careers that are “not the norm” in an attempt to highlight the diversity of career options out there. The panelists shed light on their degree programs, their selection strategies when choosing their respective degree programs, their application processes and their experience of pursuing degrees in the respective institutions and countries.
The panelists also highlighted how the COVID19 pandemic had impacted their studies. Despite of the country where they are studying the challenges were very similar between them and included primarily the anxiety of not knowing what’s next, the change in schedule as many of the institutions were either closed or shifted to a more virtual methodology and the adaptation required to adopt the virtual way of studying and getting things done. The panelists emphasized on being positive in this time of adversity, being flexible to the change and adopting healthy coping mechanisms such as developing schedules for organizing activities, keeping physically fit and mentally healthy through regular exercise. This positive attitude from the students is extremely commendable!
The webinar was broadcasted live on the Africa Federation YouTube channel and can be still found on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVmzdWUvVhg&t=2s. Please do share this link with other students so that they can learn from these experiences as well.
The Education Board appreciates the students for being a part of this discussion and for sharing their personal experiences. We also thank the various “behind the scenes” volunteers and team members who continuously work to make such programs happen.
For more information on career counseling and other education related matters please do contact us on education@africafederation.org
Watch out for more such webinars from the Education Board and do send us suggestions about topics, panelists etc. that you would like to see in future webinars.
Secretariat
Africa Federation Education Board