With the youth accounting for over 70 per cent of Rwanda’s population, it’s only right that education and capacity-building be placed at the forefront of all else in the hope that perhaps, it might add up to a better future.

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Despite the significant strides made in an attempt to better the education sector, there is still more work to be done to bridge the gaps, and a number of students and educators have shared the challenges they are faced with and the best way to overcome them.

For Nikita Muhinda, an arts and communications major, adapting to change can sometimes derive focus from one’s goals. For example, joining a new school and adapting to how things are done there has not only been challenging but also taken time away from the personal goals that she’s pursuing. And trying to make sure that everything gets done in time hasn’t been easy.

"Getting used to the personalities of everyone around me has taken some time, and I think I should start prioritising my goals better to make the most of this opportunity,” she said.

According to Patrick Mpamo Rudahigwa, a first-year student pursuing project management, learning about the complexities of transgenerational trauma and how to manoeuvre it—which was one of the themes discussed during Kepler’s success week—is one of the out-of-the-box lessons that have transformed his learning experience and made him more empathetic with the people in his life.

"How parents handle stress from work and their day-to-day lives is a reflection of how most of them coped with the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and these patterns can easily be transferred to their children and I learnt how to work through it,” Rudahigwa said.

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One of the widespread misconceptions today, especially among the youth, is the luxury of time. Most people in their prime tend to think they have a lot of time ahead of them and don’t necessarily make the most of the opportunities they are presented with at the beginning.

And for Linda Akaliza, a business management student, it took a consistent decrease in grades and attendance to realise that managing her time better will help her easily manoeuvre her studies.

"If I got to class five minutes before time instead of five minutes after, my attendance wouldn’t have stooped so low. Setting priorities and meeting deadlines could help me be more efficient,” Akaliza said.

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From an educator’s standpoint, Celestin Nkeramihigo, currently the dean of faculty at Kepler, is of the view that engaging students in discussions about mental, physical, sexual and reproductive health, as well as financial literacy and human rights, will broaden their spectrum and help them attain the best version of themselves, personally and professionally.

"Having the right attitude towards individuals, community, organisations, countries and themselves is a valuable skill for them to have,” he said.