People who have benefited from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) training programmes say they have acquired many skills from the exercise.Eleven groups of 41 officials from the institutions of Education, Information Communication Technology (ICT), Agriculture and Social Welfare, last year underwent intensive training in Japan, Indonesia, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia, to enhance their skills and knowledge.The beneficiaries recently shared their experiences at a one-day forum organised by JICA in collaboration with JICA Alumni Association of Rwanda (JAAR).Speaking to The New Times last week, one of the beneficiaries, Alex Mugisha, said he learnt how to develop information security policies and standards for his institution using the latest technology, Virtual Private Network (VPN).“Information assets are critical to any business and for the survival of any organisation in today’s globalised digital economy. Information leaks spoil the institutions’ reputations,” he said.Mugisha is the Head of Information Communication Technology (ICT) at Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS).He stated that with the new knowledge, he is in a position to assist other organisations if they want to develop information security policies.“I am going to develop an action plan for my institution on how to prevent information leaks and thereafter I will expand the knowledge to other affiliated institutions,” he noted.“Before I enrolled for the five-month course, I had no idea how to use VPN to protect the organisation’s information privacy,” he asserted.Dr. Celestin Ntivuguruzwa, another beneficiary, said that he attained skills in teacher training, management and continuous professional development.Ntivuguruzwa is the Director of Centre for Academic Practice and Development at Kigali Institute of Education.“The training was vital. I learnt how to enable teachers professionalise their course. Before the exercise, I had little knowledge,” he noted.Esperance Kankindi, the Training Programme Officer at JICA, stated that they will continue to monitor the beneficiaries in their respective work.“This will address the challenge of hiring consultants and expatriates,” she added.More than 300 Rwandans have benefited from JICA Programmes.
