The 91st Minister for information Hon. Rhinah Akankunda and two other students have won the 2025 UNHCR students challenge.
Their team Unstoppables was announced winner at the CIEE Global Internship Conference held in Singapore in June 2025. The conference featured a panel discussion on capacity-building of IHEs and employers for work-based learning.
The winning team, that included Shalom Nyirimana Ishimwe (Team Captain), Sasha Achola, and Akankunda Rhinah, all from Makerere University, was awarded a summer 2026 global internship facilitated by CIEE and the opportunity to share their solution with UNHCR and its international partners.
The team was tasked to develop innovative, actionable solutions that increase access to higher education and sustainable livelihoods for refugee and forcibly displaced youth.
The 2025 Challenge drew 123 student team proposals from institutions around the world. Each submission addressed urgent barriers to education and employment for displaced youth.
From that group, 36 semifinalist teams—representing 47 universities and 24 countries—were invited to refine their proposals and present them virtually before a panel of expert judges.
The judging panel included leaders from organizations deeply engaged in refugee advocacy and higher education access:
