The University of Rwanda (UR) and the Embassy of Sweden in Rwanda are set to come together to mark the 20th anniversary of their successful collaboration and the close ties between their respective countries.

The celebratory event will take place at the Kigali Exhibition and Conference Village on March 24, and is expected to attract up to 200 local and international participants.

Through a capacity-building program implemented by UR, in partnership with selected Swedish universities, Rwanda has seen tremendous growth since 2002 following the Genocide against the Tutsi.

Education, as was any other sector of the country's economy, had lost a considerable number of staff. They either had perished as victims or had fled justice for having participated in the killings.

The need for a fresh reconstruction was glaring, more so when Rwanda had just decided in its Vision 2020 that the foundation of its economy would be knowledge. Reliable partners had to be found.

According to Vice Chancellor of UR, Dr Didas Muganga Kayihura, Sweden was among the first to respond positively, and 20 years later, both sides are proud of the outcome.

What kicked off as a mere humanitarian assistance in form of salaries for staff has grown into a lives transformative program. The program is currently in its fourth phase started in 2019 and will end in 2026 (extended from 2024 due to different reasons that led to delays in the implementation, including the COVID-19 pandemic).

"The overall objective in this phase is to increase the production and use of scientific knowledge of international quality at the UR and contribute to the development of Rwanda,” said Kayihura. "Throughout the four phases, the program has achieved a lot that is worth celebrating."

Currently, the number of PhD students sponsored by the program stands at 116, while over time 88 have so far graduated from their doctoral studies.

Kayihura expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, saying that it was different from other countries in its scope as it not only provides scholarships but also includes a research component between students and people in the country.

He highlighted that the partnership has provided not only degrees but also money to enable the University of Rwanda (UR) to conduct research that aligns with the national plan and priorities. As a result of this, UR's laboratories of agriculture and animal resources in Busogo and Huye, among others, have been equipped.

Kayihura further reported that the next phase is to prepare and teach PhDs in UR so that students do not have to go outside of the country to receive their degrees, as 25 students graduated last year (2022).

The main objective of the celebration event scheduled on March 24 is to display the achievements accruing from the long-lasting cooperation and to celebrate the tangible results.

The theme for the event is "Research for Social Economic Transformation in Rwanda", with six sub-themes: Agriculture and Food Security, Health and Life Science, Environment and Climate Change, Basic Sciences, Social Sciences as well as Women in Science and Leadership.

Sweden is highly committed to the cooperation the country has consistently invested in, attaching great value to its contribution to Rwanda's development agenda.

"I am proud over the Rwanda-Sweden research collaboration and contribution to human capital development. The partnership has had an impact, changing the lives of people. On an individual level, there are 88 PhD and 300 master graduates,” said Johanna Teague, the Ambassador of Sweden to Rwanda.

"The University of Rwanda has been strengthened and we have supported a culture of evidence-based decision-making. It is exciting to follow how Swedish universities are now exploring opportunities to collaborate with Rwanda with an aim to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. I look forward to seeing where our partnership will be in an additional 20 years.”

Tackling the impact, the ambassador emphasized that by having researched and gained knowledge of the challenges in a particular sector, as well as knowing what the solutions are, the cooperation was able to contribute to better decision-making.

She stated that the ultimate goal was to be able to use evidence-based methods to shape policies and have an effect on the country, as well as to foster entrepreneurial thinking which led to a wide-reaching influence, and even benefitted individuals who had put in the work.