KIGALI - Students at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), yesterday, held their final mobile technology exhibition and competition.

The competition came after a six-week intensive training program organised by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT-AITI), a US based institution of higher learning.

During the event, the students, who were divided into nine groups, showcased their business ideas using the skills they had acquired during the training.

The winning group was received a cash prize of US$150 and the first and second runners-up, US$100 and US$50, respectively.

M-AHWIII ltd, the winning group, developed a mobile-based application which would handle scheduling appointments of patients for treatment in hospitals.

Lillian Uwintwali, who was leader of the winning group said that they would  further develop their idea.

"I have already talked to the Ministry of Health and they liked the idea. Patients will be booking appointments for medical attention using SMS.

All they have to do is send a message indicating their illness and the hospital they would like to go to,” Uwintwali explained.

She added that the patients would then get instant feedback of their scheduled appointment without having to first visit the hospital and miss out on the doctor in case he is busy.

During the event, the KIST Vice Rector, Prof John Mushana urged the students to always come up with good business proposals in order to create viable businesses.

"The quality of presentations has been incredible. The students came up with brilliant business proposals in just six weeks. I’m only wishing they implement them because they would offer solutions to some of the problems in Rwanda,”Mushana said.

Christina Riechers, the lead entrepreneurship lecturer from MIT-AITI expressed enthusiasm about the energy around technology in Rwanda.

"We asked the KIST students to identify the problems in Rwanda. Each problem is an opportunity for an entrepreneur to provide a solution. They developed their own business ideas that would solve these problems,” Riechers said.

She added that the program would help the students to lay a foundation and connections for their businesses.

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