Longstanding HE partnership enters new five-year phase

The government of Sweden has entered into a new five-year partnership with the University of Rwanda (UR) that will see Sweden support research, graduate training and skills development initiatives at the institution at a cost of US$35.6 million.

The latest (fourth) phase of the UR-Sweden Programme for Research, Higher Education and Institutional Advancement will run from this month (July) until 2024 and will train at least 76 new PhD students and continue the training of 20 others already enrolled under the previous phase of the programme, which ended in June 2018.

The University of Rwanda and Sweden (through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA) opened talks in February to explore the possibility of extending for a fourth term a partnership that has existed for the past 16 years.

Review outcome

The outcome of the review is the current pact that spans 2019-24. According to Christina Wedekull, head of development cooperation and deputy head of mission at the Swedish embassy in Rwanda, the pact aims to consolidate the achievements resulting from the previous three phases, and “extend research capacity building into new areas aligned with Rwanda’s developmental agenda and the capacity needs of the University of Rwanda”.

So far, the collaboration has resulted in 67 PhD and 302 masters graduates being trained, with 52 doctorates being trained in the 2013-18 phase.

Research and training initiatives will be funded in fields of agriculture, energy, instructional technology, ICT infrastructure, economic development, medicine and health sciences, maths and statistics, and peace and conflict, according to programme coordinator Raymond Ndikumana.

The new phase anticipates the award of 26 postdoctoral fellowships, and will facilitate 11 masters degree programmes that will benefit at least 240 students, said Wedekull.

Research-driven university

Additionally it will see infrastructure projects at the university funded to support production of knowledge, and the wider university objectives of becoming a research-driven institution.

“The objective of the programme is to increase the production of quality research for the benefit of Rwanda, and is in line with the overall objective of Sweden’s strategy for research cooperation and research in development cooperation, 2015-21, that aims to strengthen research of high quality and of relevance to poverty reduction and sustainable development, with a primary focus on low-income countries and regions," she told University World News.

The plan is to support interdisciplinary research teams through competitive research grants that will result in peer-reviewed publications, she said.

According to the diplomat, the latest phase of the partnership has six “interconnected” specific objectives, which include strengthening the capacity of UR to conduct masters and PhD research and training, and increasing quantity and quality of relevant research for poverty reduction and social economic development in Rwanda.

Other objectives include establishing administrative and academic structures and systems to support innovation and promote a vibrant research environment, supporting and developing research management capacity, and boosting scientific communication, including dissemination of research results for evidence-based policy development.

Innovation

It seeks to strengthen the capacity of UR to engage in innovation and knowledge transfer, including deepening collaborations between the university research community and industry.

Fifteen Swedish universities will partner with UR to train and supervise students in Sweden and Rwanda, and contribute to curriculum development of postgraduate programmes, as well as help build capacity for supervision and research management, the official said.

Other activities include upgrading of library services and ICT infrastructure, while promoting uptake of research and regional collaboration initiatives.

“Innovation, with particular focus on innovation management and strengthening university-industry linkage, will also get funding,” a media statement released by the Swedish embassy stated.

On postdoctoral support, the embassy said fellowships will be granted to “junior academics”, and competitive research grants will be made available to interdisciplinary research teams working on themes relevant to the country’s development goals.

“The programme is using a holistic approach and aims to contribute to institutional change, to help create conditions enabling quality research at UR, an institution that aspires to become a research-led university,” the embassy said.