Home ITCAlumniTestimonialsCharles Cosmas Mkalawa | Tanzania

Charles Cosma Mkalawa from Tanzania

Become a high-skilled geospatial professional

PROGRAMME: Natural Resources Management (2008)

“The knowledge and practical skills I have acquired from ITC have changed my life completely.”

Experience at ITC

Studying at ITC has changed my life and transcended me into who I am. I remember the year 2007 to 2008, the moment I joined ITC for my master’s degree in Geo-information Science and Earth Observation for Natural Resources Management.

I consider that moment as very fundamental moment of my life, and I will never forget this moment for many reasons: firstly, because it was the first time for me to go abroad and experience a new life with people of a different culture, nature and background; when I arrived at Enschede everything was new to me.

Secondly, because of what I have learned at ITC; the knowledge and practical skills I have acquired from ITC have changed my life completely. It made me conversant and confident of working as an individual and in a team as well. I am capable of mapping and geo-database designing and management, and these have all been rendered skills which I had never experienced before being taught the GIS and remote sensing skills at ITC.

Current work

From The year 2009, I started working with the Ministry of Lands in Tanzania as a Town Planner. Now I am working on obtaining my doctorate at the Tongji University in China. Here, I don’t have many troubles in my studies, relying on the good background I have from ITC.

I am married and have one kid enjoying life in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania as I am currently working on a data collection process in Shanghai, China where I am working to obtain my PhD.

I will feel guilty if I don’t extend my gratitude to the Netherlands Fellowship Program (NFP) coordinated by NUFFIC, and to the lecturers and administrators who supported and guided us during our studies. The same should be said of the associated staff who gave me patronage in one way or another in the time I stayed at ITC.