University of Rwanda will on Friday hold its fourth graduation since it was formed after a merger of seven public institutions of higher learning in 2013.

The graduation ceremony will be held at Amahoro Stadium in Remera, Kigali.

Prof. Nelson Ijumba, the deputy vice-chancellor for academic affairs and research, told The New Times that there is an improvement in performance compared to last year, assuring that the graduands are relevant to the market.

"Since the merger, there has been tremendous improvement in quality of graduates. The university tries as much as possible to equip students with better skills,” Ijumba said.

"We care a lot about the quality of what we teach as well as research we conduct to ensure we produce the best graduates we can offer.”

Those to graduate include those with bachelor’s degree in various disciplines, masters and two doctorate degrees including one from the College of Business and Economics, and another from College of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Ijumba said that no more worry for the public over the skills of graduates as the university has enhanced its programmes to ensure the graduates are suitable for the labour market.

"We need to differentiate the general perception that graduates do not fit with job demands, which is the situation in many countries. Some complaints show that our graduates have skills but they are not able to apply, which is a general case. More is being done to keep on improving our programmes so that our graduates are not just relevant for Rwanda only but also for the region, continent and worldwide as well,” he noted.

Ijumba said the university is proud to receive some feedback that the graduates are performing well on the labour market, especially in the areas of commerce and industry, health sciences, nursing, and medicine.

The institution’s target is not to prepare graduates to become necessarily employees, but to also encourage and instill in them the aspects of entrepreneurship.

Message to graduates

Ijumba advised graduands not to be scared but seize available opportunities and be creative.

"The job market has changed. It is not easy to assure graduates that they will get jobs. What we do is train them to cope with the environment,” he said.

Lack of a job does not mean that a graduate is useless. There are many opportunities around that can help graduates become entrepreneurs, the professor said, adding that the university has initiated the centre of innovation and entrepreneurship to help graduands benefit from available business opportunities.

The graduates will start arriving at Amahoro stadium from 6am to 7:30am while the invited guests will be arriving at 7:30am to 8:20am.

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