Education and skills development are crucial to Rwanda’s agenda, nowhere more so than in science and technology, which the government says are to be integrated into all sectors of the economy.

A new national policy on science, technology, scientific research and innovation will promote the application of science to improve crop yields, fight disease, provide safe drinking water, and develop renewable energy sources.

Prof. Romain Murenzi, the Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Scientific Research, says priority will be given to addressing Rwanda’s shortage of trained scientists and science and technology educators.

“We have integrated science and technology into all levels of our educational sector, including primary, secondary, vocational training and higher education,” he says. “Furthermore, we are developing our scientific and research capabilities as well as mechanisms for knowledge transfer.”

Established in 1997 as Rwanda’s first public higher education technological institute, the Kigali Institute of Science, Technology, and Management (KIST) is already playing a key role, producing the highly trained people the country needs.

Since its establishment in 1997, KIST has developed rapidly with U.N. funding and a total of 200 students. Today it has additional buildings, workshops and laboratories, a highly qualified staff and a student population of 3,049 enrolled in both regular and part-time studies. It also conducts outreach programs.

“What makes KIST unique is that it combines the training of engineers with managers and links up with the rest of the community to help solve a variety of problems,” says Professor Silas Lwakabamba, the institute’s rector.

SILAS LWAKABAMBA Rector of KIST

All KIST graduates are bilingual in French and English and are trained to be practically oriented, with industry and community responsibilities as part of their courses.

KIST makes an important contribution to the development of the ICT sector, which has a huge demand for trained manpower, by offering Bachelor of Science Degrees in subjects such as computer engineering, telecommunications engineering and information technology and electronics.

A special fast-track program has been developed to train computer technicians. “There are many people who come out of our secondary schools who don’t have access to higher education,” says Professor Lwakabamba. “We realized that we could tap into this potential and give them special skills in ICT, such as networking and hardware maintenance.”

As the use of computers spreads throughout primary and secondary schools and central and local government, KIST is also training teachers and civil servants how to use them.

“We are also working with various institutions, such as the African Virtual University, on a project to increase access to higher education for people who could not otherwise have such opportunities.”