By – Stella Karakire

Kampala International University (KIU) won the prestigious United Nations – U.N. Sustainable Development Goals – SDG Inter-University Quiz Challenge when it beats Kyambogo University in the finals that were held on Tuesday 23^rd October, 2018, at Skyz Hotel Naguru. Kampala International University came in first, Kyambogo University took second place and Makerere University took the third place.

Two universities (Kampala International University and Kyambogo University) went head to head in a heated battle of wits that comprised of three rounds. The first round had structured questions and Kampala International University won this round with 17 points over Kyambogo University’s 12 points. The second round of the quiz involved answering multiple choice questions and here both Universities tied with 10 points each.

Next, and perhaps the most entertaining was round three which had original composition pieces/creative art that saw Kyambogo University beat Kampala International University with 8 points over KIU’s 7 points.

After announcing the winner, Team KIU exuded class by congratulating their counterparts from Kyambogo University for being fantastic competitors and challenging them to prepare harder. Team KIU was represented by Dramati David, Amina Nassali, Immaculate Akello, and Massa Job.

On how they were able to win this competition, Dramati David, a Law student, and one of the participants from KIU says, “It is always a pleasure to properly accomplish assignments but most importantly winning competitions. I feel happy but as for me, it’s not just about the team that won the inter-university challenge but also my University (KIU) winning it. It is a dream to be always first among equals everywhere I go, which means hard work to be the best. I proudly walk as a KIU student!

Aminah Nassali, student of Mass Communication says, “Our winning did not come by surprise, we were prepared to put away any person who was standing in the way of our dream. Our dream was to be at the UN, and we finally made it. I feel great for this opportunity as we all know that success is when opportunity meets preparation.”

Immaculate Akello, another Law student had this to say; “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation. What this means is that even if you are lucky but not prepared, you can never win at anything. We won this competition because we were very well prepared for it, and no dream is too big to achieve, your background does not determine your destiny!” She added: “This victory demonstrates how KIU not only produces students with academic excellence, but goes further by producing graduates who are well rounded and prepared to tackle the world’s biggest challenges. A word class education produces world class students.”

Job Massa, a student of Business Administration and the student President of the United Nations Association of Uganda (UNAU)-KIU says, “The competition wasn’t easy but with team work, commitment, positive mindset and the support from the University, we got positive results, becoming the UN-SDG. Challenge champions. It’s a very big achievement for me and KIU as a whole, and just feel great about it.” He therefore thanked the KIU Board of Trustees, the Senior Management, and the Heads of Department who helped make this win possible. He also thanked the U.N., NTV, Skyz Hotel and all the sponsors of the challenge.

The competition was sponsored by U.N. Uganda, MTN, Blue Pearls Company Limited, United Nations Association of Uganda (UNAU), NTV, Sekanolya Security Systems Limited, and Skyz Hotel Naguru. The winners will get six months internship opportunity at the UN Head Quarters in New York among other prizes by June 2019