Final year student in Biomedical Engineering at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Madalo Banda, recently came out third in an essay competition organised by the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) and Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS).  

Banda received the award end June at a prestigious ceremony held in Nigeria.

The first and second positions went to participants from Nigeria and Zimbabwe, respectively. 

This was a great achievement for a Malawian participant since 2019 when another Malawian participant also came third in the same competition. 

This year was the 11th time ARSO organised the continental essay competition for students from accredited universities and colleges in Africa. 

The theme of 11th ARSO continental essay competition was “Empowering consumers through standardization to achieve their rights to safe quality goods and services”.

Banda expressed happiness with her achievement, saying winning at continental level showed that Malawi has potential.

“Apart from putting us on the world map, the win also shows that our education standards are very competitive. I would encourage fellow students, especially females, to join such coemption,” said Banda while thanking MUST for the support during the competition and participation at the award gala event.