The best graduating student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), David Akanmu, has been selected as a 2024 Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University in the United States.

Akanmu emerged as UNILAG’s best graduating student at the university’s 54th convocation ceremonies in January 2024.

He graduated with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.0 in Civil Engineering.

An announcement issued by the Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University on Tuesday, May 7, showed that UNILAG is the only African university among 60 universities from where 90 new scholars emerged in 2024.

According to the announcement, Akanmu is one of five Africans, the only one from an African-based tertiary institution, selected to join the 2024 cohort which is the seventh 7th and largest cohort since the inception of the award.

340 UNILAG students bag First Class, 17,464 for graduation

Akanmu who is the third UNILAG graduate to receive the Knight-Hennessy Scholar Award will be pursuing a PhD in Energy Science and Engineering at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

UNILAG further quoted the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, as congratulating Akanmu on the feat.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars is a multidisciplinary, multicultural graduate fellowship programme spanning all seven schools at Stanford University.

Knight-Hennessy scholars receive up to three years of financial support to pursue graduate studies at Stanford while engaging in experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders who address complex challenges facing the world.

Scholars are selected based on their demonstration of independence of thought, purposeful leadership, and a civic mindset.

The Star