Dutch embassy sets up research contest

The Netherlands Alumni Association of Rwanda (NAAR) in collaboration with the Netherlands Embassy in Kigali, on Thursday, rewarded three people after emerging winners of this year`s Thesis Competition. Jean Bosco Mutangana, a national prosecutor, emerged winner receiving 2,000 Euros while David Niyonsenga, a lecturer at INES Rehengeri was second best walking away with 1,500 Euros.The second runner-up who was rewarded 1000 Euros was Genais Twahirwa, the Director of Administration at the Supreme Court.Before the awarding ceremony, winners were given time to explain the topics of their thesis and why they chose the specific topics.“I focused on rights of the accused under the Rwandan criminal law, making a comparative analysis of application with article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights,” said Mutangana.NAAR comprises of Rwandans who attended or graduated from Dutch-based higher learning institutions as well as those currently there for further studies. Annually, a given number of Rwandans get scholarships to study in Netherlands, through the Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP), a programme that operates in 60 countries. Speaking during the event, Leoni Cualeaene, the Dutch Ambassador to Rwanda, said that this is in line with the government programme to invest in its people.“We want to develop the graduates knowledge and skills in order to attain a sustainable economic and social development,” she said.She explained that the initiative aims at addressing the qualitative and quantitative shortage of skilled manpower.The Executive Director of the Higher Education Council, Geoffrey Rugege, thanked the Dutch government saying that the programme is an essential component in the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS).“Education provides human capital and is a key factor towards attaining a knowledge-based economy,” said Rugege. He added that it will help young graduates to become more innovative and play a key role in science and research studies. Rugege added that the government is committed to producing labour force that is competitive on the job market.

National

Dutch embassy sets up research contest