University of Rwanda

A delegation from Groningen University visits UR

Mike KARANGWA — 2019-10-02T02:30:06Z

On September 30th 2019 : In the framework of the new MoU between the University of Rwanda and the University of Groningen, a delegation from the University of Groningen has visited the University of Rwanda.

Dr. Anita Veltmaat Senior Policy Advisor, International Strategy & Relations (ISR) at the University of Groningen and Mrs. Kirsten Wolkotte, Coordinator of the International Office at the Faculty of Law at that University held a meeting with Prof Philip Cotton, the Vice Chancellor of the UR together with Dr. Denis Bikesha, Ag Dean of the School of Law, Dr. Etienne Ruvebana, Senior Lecturer in the School of Law and Alumni of the University of Groningen, Dr. Yves Gapasi Muhire, Coordinator of the LL.M Programs at the School of Law-UR, Dr. Elvis Mbembe Binda, Lecturer at the School of Law-UR.

The discussion was around how to effect the components of the MoU that include the exchange of scholars and staff, exchange of students, and joint research activities and publications. It was agreed that each party would use all necessary efforts to enhance the collaboration through concrete actions that would be proposed from either party. This was in a spirit of increasing the internationalization vision of both universities in order to make more impact beyond borders.

The delegation also participated in a dinner with the Alumni of the University of Groningen held at Ubumwe Grand Hotel in Kigali. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Rwanda honoured the invitation to that dinner. In his remarks, he noted that he was highly impressed by how the University of Groningen has had an excellent impact on the capacity building of Rwandan Institutions, including UR.

Each one among the alumni members shared his/her experience and expressed not only the great academic impact on them through the quality education obtained from the UG but also the exceptional contribution of Kirsten in her office of the international office of the Faculty of Law. Both Anita and Kirsten appreciated the collaboration with the Alumni, and they emphasized the contribution of the University of Rwanda (where the majority studied before they joined UG) for the excellent preparation for master and PhD programs at the University of Groningen.

Dr Etienne Ruvebana who coordinated that activity thanked all the participants and promised to keep that liaison role. In his closing remarks, Mr Jean Bosco Mutangana, Prosecutor General and Alumni of the University of Groningen thanked the Delegation and reiterated the contribution of the University of Groningen in the capacity building, especially in the legal sector.

About Groningen University

The University of Groningen has a rich academic tradition dating back to 1614. Geographically, the University is rooted in the Northern part of the Netherlands, a region very close to its heart.

https://www.rug.nl/?lang=en

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A PhD Student in Data Science wins a NCST Excellent Research Grant

Mike KARANGWA — 2019-09-27T00:54:40Z

Mr. Theogene Rizinde is a PhD student in Data Science (Biostatistics) at the African Center of Excellence in Data Science,University of Rwanda. Mr. Theogene has won Excellent Research Grant of 43,666,000 FRW provided by the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST).

Research project of Mr. Theogene is entitled “Prediction and Classification of Heart Failure (HF) in Rwanda using Hybrid Machine Learning Algorithm”. Mr. Theogene was motivated by the fact that Heart Failure (HF) has become a major concern among medical professionals for both developed and developing countries, especially when it comes to earlier and accurate detection of heart failure (HF) in a patient.

Mr. Theogene believes that Medical doctors need a supporting mechanism to help them predict and classify HF with relatively high accuracy, and therefore save the lives of millions of people.

“This research will help to get clear picture of the trend, distribution, determinants of heart failure (HF) and its associated socio-economic impact in Rwanda”, Rizinde said.

At the end of the research, Mr. Theogene says, he will come up with a model score to provide accurate prediction of heart failure. He added that the built model will be used by Rwandan clinicians to make better decision about right treatment procedures or preventive actions that reduce risk of heart failure in Rwanda.

Mr. Theogene's project is one of 11 projects that won the grant worth Rwf550 million which was issued by NCST.

Graduates tackling poverty through mushroom growing

Mike KARANGWA — 2019-09-25T03:36:34Z

Jean Damascene Sakindi, is the brains behind a local firm known as Bioprotect Rwanda, a project based in Muhanga District which was formed to equip farmers with mushroom growing skills and also help in the fight against malnutrition and poverty in the district and surrounding areas.

Having graduated at University of Rwanda, College of Agriculture, he thought of ways of advancing his career and earning from agriculture. Though he tried venturing into coffee and horticulture, it didn't yield like he had anticipated.

After carrying out research in mushroom farming, he was certain that it was a business that needed little capital to start, yet with it, one could milk much cash. In March 2018, he reached out to a friend, Emmanuel Musangamfura with the idea of starting their own company, an idea the latter bought.

Ever since then, the two have managed to get positive outcomes from farmers and have been able to create employment opportunities to a number of people in Muhanga.

Business Times' Joan Mbabazi had a chat with Sakindi about the progress and purpose of his business.

Mr Jean Damascene Sakindi posing with mushroom

What was it like starting up this business ?
Since we were trained in agriculture, we were equipped with skills that we needed to transfer to the farmers to make a change in their lives. We started with training farmers in Muhanga and Ngororero districts. The company that started with few farmers has grown and at the moment we are working with up to 300 local farmers.

What exactly do you do ?
We provide farmers, cooperatives of women and jobless youth with mushroom seeds which they plant in small shaded tents and harvest after a period of between 10 days and three months.

It is our duty to advertise their products and connect them to different markets all over Kigali. Each of them is expected to produce between 20Kgs and 50 Kgs of mushrooms. We deliver the mushrooms to hotels, local markets, restaurants and individual homes.

What is the objective of this project ?
Our basic objective is focused on vulnerable people especially the elderly men and women, orphans unskilled youths in rural areas and girls who gave birth before completing school.

We aim at helping them grow mushrooms in the small spaces and yet earn from it to cater for their families and evading idleness among the youth.

One mushroom tube goes for about Rwf 470 for the company. One Kilogramme of mushrooms costs about Rwf 1,000 to Rwf 2,500.

We also wanted to contribute to the government's goal of eradicating malnutrition as mushrooms are rich in vitamins, which help the body to get energy thus assisting in the formation of red blood cells. It is also rich in vitamin B which is important for a healthy brain.

Studies show that eating mushrooms can boost one's immune system, help to prevent respiratory infections, improve digestion, achieve weight loss and help fight ailments.

Any challenges that you have encountered in the business ?
There is still insufficient capital which hinders us from expanding the project. Mushrooms are also often affected by insects and diseases but they are also perishable products which leads the farmers to losses at times.

What advice would you give to someone that would like to start up a mushroom business ?
It requires little capital and a small space to grow mushrooms but is profitable.

Clarity on the production cost will also enable one to work out a detailed budget that will state how much they need to spend and also they are likely to regain their investment.

They should also have a target market, in this case, daily customers are very important. Lack of proper channels to sell the mushrooms can be a huge challenge as they might not be able to consume all, thus leading to waste due to, perishability.

Story covered by : The NewTimes

UR Module on IT to be taught in East African universities

Mike KARANGWA — 2019-09-25T03:06:52Z

The Partnership for Enhanced and Blended Learning (PEBL) is assisting university partners across East Africa to develop courses with accompanying online resources that can be offered by participant universities across the region through blended learning.

Dr. Andre Muhirwa is the UR-PEBL Lead and the Director for Teaching and Learning Enhancing at the University of Rwanda-College of Education. He said that “In the framework of this partnership, the University of Rwanda has been chosen to share a crosscutting module of the ‘Introduction to Information Technology', taught to all UR 1st year students''.

“It is in this regard that the UR-PEBL project has organized this workshop in order to design, review and develop high quality blended learning materials for this module. Given that ACU expects to have the module developed and quality assured by end of November 2019, we therefore need to work intensively in order to meet the deadline''Dr. Muhirwa told participants.

The delivery of this module is expected to start in the next academic year 2020-2021.

This project will enable universities to share teaching resources through quality assured, credit-bearing degree courses, delivered through blended learning.

The course materials that are developed and/or adapted for the PEBL project will be shared as OER (Open educational resources) under Creative Commons licensing, enabling other universities across the region – and beyond – to use them freely, subject to appropriate acknowledgement.

PEBL university partners include State University of Zanzibar, Open University Tanzania, Kenyatta University, Strathmore University (Kenya) and Makerere (Uganda) and University of Rwanda.

Schadrac NTIRANDEKURA
Public Relations and Community Engagement Officer
University of Rwanda-College of Education

UR Doctoral student at SLU receives international science award

Mike KARANGWA — 2019-09-18T00:59:41Z

The Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) has selected Jean-Baptiste Ndahetuye, doctoral student at SLU, as the winner of the 2019 BIFAD Student Award for Scientific Excellence in a Feed the Future Innovation Lab.

Jean-Baptiste Ndahetuye recieves the price for his leadership and engagement on the impact of milk production and udder health and its impact on malnutrition.

The BIFAD award is highly competitive and the motivation states that Jean-Baptiste stood out among the candidates and this year's number of excellent nominations. His efforts in contributing to inclusive and local capacity development clearly distinguished the nomination.

The award ceremony will take place on 15 October 2019 prior to the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa.

Jean-Baptiste Ndahetuye is part of SLU's bilateral cooperation with the University of Rwanda.

Facts :
The BIFAD award recognizes individual researchers and/or research teams for significant achievements originating from work performed under the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) funded Feed the Future Innovation Labs. Two awards are given annually : one for an individual researcher or a team of researchers and one for a student researcher.

The awards recognize research efforts that contribute to the interrelated and interdependent objectives of the Global Food Security Strategy : inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth, strengthened resilience among people and systems, and a well-nourished population.

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Chancellor's open letter to UR Community

Mike KARANGWA — 2019-08-13T03:36:10Z

Dear University of Rwanda faculty, administration and students

Thank you for the warm and exciting welcome you gave me on my first visit to the University. I was unable to visit all campuses and programs given the length of my visit, but the leadership of UR arranged a very busy schedule so that I could learn as much as possible.

In every encounter I was received with enormous graciousness and obvious pride in the work that is being done. From the Centres of Excellence, clinical sciences education, student leaders' engagement with administration, improvement in facilities, attention to staff development and plans for continued growth in research to name some of your efforts, I saw the commitment to fulfilling the University's vision.

It was evident to me that Rwanda is committed to having an excellent public university providing students with the education needed to excel as contributing citizens, and to create scholarship that propels individuals and institutions to success now and for the future.

I look forward to returning in November for graduation.

Thank you again for your warm welcome and the good work I saw across the University.

Patricia Campbell

Chancellor

UJ's Prof Tshilidzi Marwala visits UR

Mike KARANGWA — 2019-08-05T06:17:51Z

A delegation from the University of Johannesburg headed by the Vice Chancellor Prof Tshilidzi Marwala visited University of Rwanda on August 5th, 2019.

Professor Tshilidzi Marwala

The Vice Chancellor Prof Cotton, in his speech, first extended his welcome to the delegation in the University of Rwanda and highlighted the importance of cooperation between two Universities.

Prof Cotton said that "I hope that both sides would continue to strengthen cooperation in joint research activities , student and staff exchanges and other activities of mutual interests to both universities and two countries.

Two Vice Chancellors signing MoU

Besides signing a memorandum of understanding with UR, Professor Marwala is in also in Rwanda for a series of meetings with UR leadership and public lecture on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The public lecture will be hosted by UR-College of Science and Technology.

Group photo

I take joy in the progress we have made together in School of Dentistry - Prof Donna

Mike KARANGWA — 2019-07-31T02:36:07Z

The School of Dentistry (SOD) is nearing completion of the first year in its new academic campus where BDS and BDT students and faculty enjoy the improved classroom, laboratory and clinic spaces. With its new home in Remera, SOD's pre-clinical training occurs in two large labs, one for training of restorative techniques (fillings, root canals and periodontal techniques), and the other for training in restorative fixed and removable prosthetics (implants, dentures and crowns).

HRH Team 2018-2019 (Dr Vini Rodrigues, Dr Eleana Stoufi, Dr Steffany Chamut, Dr Donna Hackley, Dr Michael Ray, Dr Joseph Yozgatian)

SOD will soon receive a very generous donation from Rotary International, Germany, which will expand our training capabilities even further by adding 14 simulation training units and 10,000 plastic teeth.

Thanks to great collaboration between SOD leadership, HRH faculty from Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM), and University of Rwanda College of Medicine and Health Sciences UR-CMHS, SOD is set to open its new 16-chair training clinic which is designed to maximize and modernize the training space for all of its students.

The faculty of the School of Dentistry posing with the Dean Dr Chrispinus Mumena

Infection prevention and control is of paramount importance and designated areas have been constructed to state-of-the-art standards including limiting access to trained personnel, physical separation of “dirty” and “clean” sides, a linear workflow, and close monitoring of sterilizer effectiveness. The clinic also has its own designated radiography area, office management area, and storage.

Prof Donna posing with a graduate of the School of Dentistry

A total of seven HRH faculty members from HSDM participated in this academic year including general dentistry, oral surgery, orthodontics, community dentistry, pediatric dentistry and periodontics. HRH faculty members continue to provide valuable education, mentorship and manpower to SOD. With five returning faculty members participating between 2-6 years, it is evident that the professional collaborations with colleagues and the interactions with students keep this important partnership thriving.

On a personal note, this past trimester marked my 6th HRH rotation to the School of Dentistry and my 21st trip to Rwanda. In August 2013 I told my husband and two teenage daughters that I would be gone for “only four months, just this once.” As has happened with our entire team in dentistry since the start of HRH, I returned – again and again.

What is it that gets into us ? Keeps us coming back despite many challenges ?

We come because we enjoy twinning with our colleagues and developing our medical discipline as well as our friendships. We come because we love our students who are eager to learn, open to new ideas and determined to attend class despite personal challenges. We come because we love Rwanda, a country growing in health, education, and economic sectors in spite of limited resources, and a country that welcomes us regardless of our gender, race, or religion.

This Land of 1,000 Hills is incredibly clean and breathtakingly beautiful. And above all, its people strive to build a country of peace and prosperity for the future. I have come to adore my SOD and HRH colleagues, and my beloved SOD students, and take joy in the progress we have made together. I am most humbly blessed to be a part of this amazing journey.

Written by Prof. Donna Hackley
Harvard School of Dental Medicine

Chinese embassy donates IT equipment to UR

Mike KARANGWA — 2019-07-30T04:51:08Z

The Chinese Embassy in Rwanda donated projectors, video conference kit to University of Rwanda.

"We thank the government of China and the embassy of China in Rwanda for supporting teaching and learning in University of Rwanda. We are honored to receive these IT equipment that will help contribute in strengthening IT based teaching activities," said Prof Nelson Ijumba, Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academics and Research, who attended the handover ceremony held in the Chinese embassy.

The handover ceremony

Speaking on the occassion, Chinese Political Counsellor Ms. Xing Yuchun spoke highly of the increasing cooperation and exchanges in all fields between China and University Rwanda and stressed the importance of ICT in in teaching and learning.

Prof Nelson Ijumba during the handover

Ms. Xing pledged that the embassy would further support teaching, and social and cultural exchange activities in University of Rwanda and revealed that the embassy and the UR will also work together to increase the number of UR staff pursuing Phd studies in China.

Ms. Xing handover the donation letter to Prof Nelson Ijumba

Donated equipment has the value of 11,500,000 Rwandan Francs.

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Inside Dr Madeleine Mukeshimana's contribution to the improvement of quality care

Mike KARANGWA — 2019-07-30T01:50:03Z

Dr Madeleine Mukeshimana is a senior Lecturer of Community Health Nursing ; currently working in UR's Directorate of Research and Innovation. Madeleine is an emerging senior nurse who has contributed much to the quality care improvement through her research outcomes. The recent research that has an impactful role on the Rwanda National Health System and improvement of quality care is her study which has adapted the Collaborative Care Model to manage the Co-morbidity of depression and chronic Non Communicable diseases.

Dr Madeleine MUKESHIMANA

This Model is aimed to manage and care for patients who have this co-morbidity. Before Madeleine adapted this model to the Rwandan context ; patients with co-morbidity were being cared, managed separately, meaning these patients with different health conditions (depression and one or more chronic non communicable diseases) had to travel from one hospital for receiving treatment of one condition and then travel to another for the treatment of the other condition ; or unfortunately ; these patients could be cared only for the medical condition and are not aware of depression. This would results in different major health consequences including drug interactions ; high morbidity and mortality ; non-adherence to treatment and high financial costs.

All these problems will be resolved by the Collaborative Care Model adapted by Dr Madeleine Mukeshimana to the Rwandan context. Currently ; supported financially by University of Rwanda through Sida project and in partnership with RBC/Rwanda ; Madeleine is implementing this model in 8 Rwanda district hospitals and the aim is to implement this model in all Rwanda district hospitals.

Dr Madeleine is determined also to go beyond contributing to the improvement of quality care in Rwanda but also go extra miles to the region and beyond. It is in this context that from 10th to 12th May 2019 ; Dr Madeleine was presenting the “Adapted Collaborative Care Model to the Rwandan context” in the 2nd International Nursing and Midwifery Leadership conference, held in Accra, Ghana. She was financially supported by University of Rwanda trough Sida project to be able to travel and present this paper.

“It was my dream come true when I had chance to be financially supported by my University through Sida project to implement the Collaborative Care Model in Rwanda district hospitals and contribute to the improvement of quality care in my country ; but also again I am so much grateful to my University for allowing me financially to present this model to the 2nd international Nursing and Midwifery leadership conference held in Accra, Ghana ; where different policy makers, Health researchers from different countries have learned and appreciated the Collaborative Care Model” says Madeleine