EDUCATION | BYANYIMA | PhD

Winnie Byanyima, the UNAIDS executive director and an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations has received her 4th honorary doctorate from Cranfield University/UK, adding to her growing list of honorary doctorates. 

Byanyima is already a recipient of several other awards, including honorary doctorates from the University of the Free State, South Africa; University of Manchester, United Kingdom; and Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada. 

She was also awarded the 2018 Human Rights and Solidarity among Peoples Prize by the Latin American Council of Social Sciences. 

Byanyima in a tweet said she was touched. 

“So touched to receive this Honorary Degree from Cranfield University, timely on International Women in Engineering Day! I have seen how science saves lives and ends pandemics. My message to the graduands: You will fall. Just be sure the number of times you get up is one more than the times you fall,” Byanyima said. 

As the UNAIDS ED, Byanyima currently leads the United Nations’ efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. 

Before joining UNAIDS, Byanyima served as the Executive Director of Oxfam International, a confederation of 20 civil society organizations working in more than 90 countries worldwide, empowering people to create a future that is secure, just and free from poverty. 

She also previously served as a Member of Parliament for Mbarara Municipality for three terns. 

She also led the establishment of the African Union Commission’s Directorate of Gender and Development and also served as Director of Gender and Development at the United Nations Development Programme. 

She is one of the founders of the Forum for Women in Democracy, an influential nongovernmental organization, and has been deeply involved in building global and African coalitions on social justice issues. 

She holds a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from Cranfield University and an undergraduate degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Manchester.