Christine Uwimana, a mother of four and proprietor of a hardware shop in Kinamba, a Kigali suburb, emerged the best among the 119 students who graduated at Kigali Institute of Management (KIM) yesterday.

Uwimana, 40, who was pursuing a degree in Business Management, was followed by John Bosco Sebahungu, who also pursued the same course.

The two best students were awarded scholarships for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) at the Institute of Policy Analysis And Research - Rwanda (IPAR-Rwanda) and brand new laptops courtesy of Britam Insurance Company.

Uwimana who spoke on behalf of the graduands commended the students’ hard work.

She also hailed parents, guardians and lecturers’ sacrifice in sharing their knowledge with students.

"Four years have been a long journey of hard work not only for students but also for our respective sponsors and lecturers who have always worked selflessly to explore the best in us. I humbly applaud their sacrifice,” Uwimana said.

The Chancellor for KIM, Prof Geoffrey Rugege, who presided over the 3rd graduation ceremony told the graduands that the country does not only want competent workforce but also innovative citizens to drive economic development.

"I encourage graduates to become more creative, innovative and industrious so that we can reach a take-off stage of development in the country,” Rugege said.

He added: "Graduation is a milestone to joining the intellectual class. The nation is proud of you and is  also expecting a high level of innovativeness and creativity.”

Rugege stated that integrity is the greatest premium in the labour market.

Prof Pius Odunga, Rector of KIM stressed the need for a comprehensive research and problem-based learning (PBL) approach in contemporary education system, saying it is the best way to solve Africa’s problems.

"Africa needs to dynamic thinking and focus on research programmes that will match with the 21st century development demands,” Odunga said.

He noted that East Africa’s industrial base is not big enough  to create sustainable development and asked graduands to become problem solvers and add value to their families, industry and nation.

Odunga lauded government’s move to merge higher institutions of learning, noting that the merger will benefit the nation and EAC partner states.

Peter Rutaremara, the founder of KIM affirmed the institute’s plan to introduce masters programmes and ICT-related courses due to their role in socio-economic transformation.