President Paul Kagame on Wednesday, February 2, met with John Latham, the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Coventry University Group, to discuss joint projects in the health and education sector.
The globally renowned higher learning institution opened its Africa Hub in Rwanda in May 2021, as a way of expanding its footprint into the Sub-Saharan Africa region.
The move was part of the university’s plan to develop a sustainable network of multi-faceted overseas offices modeled on hubs such as Singapore and Dubai.
Latham and the regional Managing Director of the university, Silas Lwakabamba, also met with officials from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, and Rwanda Development Board.
Creating partnerships
In an exclusive interview with The New Times, Latham disclosed that the university is planning to partner with some Rwandan companies, which he declined to disclose until they sign a Memorandum of Understanding.
He however revealed that the signing will take place during the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGAM 2022) slated for the week starting June 20.
Among areas of collaboration, he highlighted health, entrepreneurship, education and research, manufacturing, Aerospace, food and water security.
"We are working with the government and the development board to look at the opportunities to develop the skills base in Rwanda and meet the needs of the industry,” he added.
Speaking to The New Times, Lwakabamba said that they are currently within the process of building the infrastructure and staff recruitment in different areas, as well as building academic partnerships.
"We are already in discussions with the Ministry of Health to train nurses and midwives up to Ph.D. level and also with RwandAir to train their staff to build their capacity in the aviation industry,” he said.
Coventry University Group partners with 150 academic institutions worldwide, with active partnerships in all continents pursuing joint research and teaching programmes, student and staff mobility, collaborative degrees and progression pathway programmes.
The Kigali-based Africa hub serves as a base for Coventry University Group in the region with the aim of enabling new relationships as well as strengthening established ones. It’s the fourth hub of the institution worldwide.