Kicukiro College wins ICT skills competition

KIGALI - Kicukiro College of Technology (KCT), yesterday, emerged winner of this year’s ICT Skills Competition, beating Tumba College of Technology, in the finals held in Kigali. Five institutions, including the National University of Rwanda (NUR), Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Umutara Polytechnic took part in the competition which focused on ‘Reprogramming of Robots.’Each institution was represented by nine students in teams of three. Each member of the winning team walked away with a potable digital DVD player while each member of the first runners-up team received a digital multimedia radio.Members of the second run-up team from KIST received an IPod. All the participants received certificates.The competition, organized by the Workforce Development Authority (WDA), in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is part of the government effort to reinforce human resource development in science and technology. It is an opportunity for learning the importance of practical lessons to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) since many of them still focus on theory-oriented education. Pascal Gatabazi, the Principle TCT, appealed to the students to use the skills to advance their profession. “This should not end here; you have been inspired and you now believe that you can do more,” Gatabazi noted, commending the organizers and JICA in particular for supporting the country’s ICT sector. Hiroyiki Kobayashi, the JICA-Rwanda Resident Representative, observed that the Japanese gigantic manufacturing enterprises, Toyota and Sony also started from such small-family scale initiatives. “What they had was only motivation of achievement and confidence in skills and techniques of their own,” Kobayashi explained, adding “this is the beginning of your next step.” Ends