Elders from Rwanda Advisory Forum urge UR to materialize research findings

16-12-2022

Members of the Rwanda Elders Advisory Forum have commended the research and innovations being carried out by University of Rwanda staff, demanding that more effort be put in to materialize their findings for actual community benefit.

The call was made on Thursday 12th December 2022, while the REAF members visited the UR African Centre of Excellence in Data Science. They were on a mission to acquaint themselves with the University’s contribution towards national development, particularly in the area of data science, eagerly wanting to figure out its role.

This is one in a series of fact-finding visits to different public institutions REAF is conducting to fully understand their specific individual roles in helping Rwanda position itself strategically on the fourth industrial revolution map

After getting briefed on different innovative academic and research activities being undertaken by UR researchers and students, REAF members appreciated what they saw and heard. They advised the University to scale up the effort in making results known to the wider public.

“I can see you are doing great things but strangely the public is not well aware of what exactly you are doing. There is need for more publicity for visibility purposes”, noted Dr. Tito Rutaremara, Chairman of the Forum.

On UR structure, the elders commended the institution’s new look, saying it is now more aligned with standards of other international academic organizations. They however observed that there are some almost similar programs scattered across different colleges which could be merged and taught from one place to further consolidate efficiency and convenience.

Further on a positive note, the REAF members were impressed by innovations in data science that have direct impact on society which should not be taken for granted.

“As you develop these great innovations, please make sure they are registered for protection purposes to ensure they will forever remain our own properties”, emphasized RAEF member Abdulkarim Hareriminana. His fear was that one day these invaluable innovations might be stolen by some scrupulous people, yet they are UR property.

Members of the forum concluded their visit by touring the Centre facilities.

Event photos

Story by :
Jean Damascène NIYITEGEKA
Communication & Marketing Specialist
University of Rwanda
African Centers of Excellence Project (UR-ACEs)