Cameroonian FWO Scholarship Beneficiary Encourages Youths to Take All Opportunities

Funeh Cyprine, a young researcher has asked Cameroonians stuck in their pedagogic journeys to explore all possibilities available to them.

Funeh Cyprine is a recent winner of the prestigious Research Foundation Flanders, FWO in Belgium. The scholarship scheme is expected to fully sponsor his Ph.D. in Strategic Research throughout its 4 years time period.

“…our students, especially those from poor backgrounds who are intelligent and hard-working can always make it in life and achieve their dreams,” he said.

Funeh Cyprine hails from the North West Region of Cameroon, and he says he has lived through the travails of life that one can imagine getting to where he is. He also had to drop out of school at some point to work as a computer technician to get money to return to school.

He graduated from the University of Buea from the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, and after many trials of successfully getting admission into European Universities, each time denied a visa, he moved to Belgium in 2018 and studied Molecular Biology from which he graduated in June 2021.

Funeh Cyprine applied for the FWO Scholarship in Strategic Basic Research, focusing on developing novel radiopharmaceuticals for targeted radionuclides therapy. He was amongst the first phase of those selected, making it to the final interview which saw him selected among the 196 recipients.

The full scholarship throughout the 4 years costs about 85 Million FCFA. The young researcher has encouraged young Cameroonian students to not give up hope and to take all the opportunities that come their way.

“There is no shortcut to achieving anything very valuable in life. Never give up your dreams, sometimes it will take decades for year hard work to be recognized… But what you should know is that good result opens you all doors,” he advised.