Education Minister calls on 8,321 graduates to tap into new technologies

Minister of Education Gaspard Twagirayezu urged graduates to stay curious and adaptable to be able to cope with the ever-growing technology. The call was made on 17 November 2023 during the 9th UR Graduation ceremony held in Musanze District, Northern Province.

The event saw 8,321 graduating students among them 221 graduated with diplomas, while 7,435 were conferred with advanced diplomas and Bachelor’s degrees. 627 graduating students were conferred with postgraduate certificates, diploma and master’s degrees and 38 were conferred with doctoral degrees.
In his address, Minister of Education hailed the role of UR in the transformation journey of the Country having increased its centers of excellence and its contribution to research ecosystem.

He urged graduates to be adaptable to the evolving technologies which, according to him requires every one to be agile.

“I Encourage you to reflect on values that have guided you through this academic journey. The Resilience, curiosity and search for knowledge. These qualities will continue to serve well in your respective journey ahead. Embrace new opportunities, stay curious and be adaptable (…) The ability to navigate the change will be very crucial”, he said.

On the other side, the UR Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kayihura Muganga Didas said that graduates were equipped with knowledge, skills, and the determination to make a positive impact in the society and beyond, adding that they have to embrace the challenges that lie ahead and use their education as a tool to effect change, foster innovation, and promote inclusivity.

Students who graduated pledged to use their skills in addressing societal challenges.

Lindizgani Kingstone Ndove, graduated in Data Science. She already created a machine learning model to aid farmers. Her innovation allows farmers to capture images of tomato diseases on their farms and identifies these diseases, offering guidance for production strategies.

“In Malawi, many farmers lack technical knowledge, this device proves invaluable by providing specific disease information, and the move aims to boost the overall farm production,” she said.

Among graduates, 127 are from 20 nationalities, namely Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Burundi, China, Mali, Namibia, Peru, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

During this event the best performers were rewarded with full time employment, paid internships, scholarships among other incentives. As it has been in UR culture, all graduates received their degree certificates on the graduation day.

A section of graduates

From Top left ; Vice Chancellor Prof Kayihura, DVC Strategic Planning & Administration and Ntwali, the representative of graduates

Hon. Minister of Education Gaspard Twagirayezu & UR Chancellor Patricia Campbell during graduation

Story by
Jean Damascène NIYITEGEKA
Communication & Marketing Specialist