Sweden may extend partnership with flagship university

A successful 16-year partnership between the University of Rwanda and several Swedish tertiary institutions, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), may be extended for another five years following a process of review of the university's proposal by an external scientific committee.

In terms of the planned agreement, the University of Rwanda will partner with a number of Swedish universities to conduct research training, exchange knowledge and strengthen the research environment aimed at economic growth and social transformation.

Since 2002, Swedish institutions, through SIDA, have been the university’s single most important external partner in the development of research capabilities (training at masters and PhD levels both locally and abroad, providing research grants, building ICT, library and laboratory infrastructure), as well as strengthening of institutional capabilities (training of senior academic and administrative managers, and production of policies and strategies).

In a statement, the University of Rwanda said the investment by SIDA has begun to pay off as the 2017 Ranking Web of Universities placed the university among the top 100 best universities in Africa and in the top 10 best universities in East Africa.

According to another recent study by Clarivate Analytics (Thomson Reuters), the University of Rwanda is the second most influential university in East Africa after Makerere University in terms of the average citation index of its publications.

The new agreement, if it is ratified, replaces the current UR-Sweden Program which is due to end on 30 June 2018.
Emilia Molnar, senior programme manager for research and education at the Embassy of Sweden in Kigali said no decision had yet been taken by SIDA but confirmed that SIDA, represented by the embassy, did invite the University of Rwanda to submit a concept note for possible continued research training partnership.

“The Concept Note, reflecting a high level of ambition with 10 interdisciplinary research clusters aligned with Rwanda’s development needs and a number of ideas on research support, was finalised last year and it is now the basis of the dialogue between SIDA and the university on a possible continued support,” she said.

“SIDA’s support to research training partnerships follows international practice of open call and peer review. Proposals for partnerships between the University of Rwanda and Swedish universities are going to be reviewed by an external scientific committee before final decision on any contribution is made.”

While the partnership has in the past focused on research training, research management and research competences, the new phase is expected to empower research areas in line with global trends in social transformation in 10 clusters.

Project coordinator Raymond Ndikumana told University World News that the new phase seeks to cover major areas of research in the clusters with the aim of positioning Rwanda among the top performers on the Sustainable Development Goals, gender equality, environment, among others.

“This [phase] will look at multiple disciplines (medicine, agriculture and energy) and how they contribute to nation-building because one discipline cannot solve all issues.

“If we are talking about agriculture, for example, we want more people in the areas of food security, nutrition, irrigation and land consolidation, and see how to turn it around to respond clearly to some of the trending challenges,” Ndikumana said.

The 10 clusters include agriculture, energy, instructional technology, ICT infrastructure, economic development, medicine and health sciences, maths and statistics, and peace and conflict. In addition, Rwanda and Sweden are expected to continue exchange programmes for more than 300 PhD students.

University of Rwanda Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Institutional Advancement Charles Murigande said mixed teams of researchers from the two countries, also known as cluster champions, are working on proposals.

“The new trend will trigger joint efforts from various groups in different areas of specialisation, with determination to work together in a bid to perform impactful research for the benefit of the community,” he said.

Murigande believes the cluster champions will help the country catch up in many fields, mostly energy and agriculture, which are prerequisites to development. The government of Rwanda is determined to provide access to electricity to each home by 2024.

This story has been amended to reflect the fact that no decision has yet been taken by SIDA in response to the Concept Note developed by the University of Rwanda, as was stated in the earlier version.