A maiden cohort of Rwandan post-graduate students has arrived in Singapore to embark on high-tech courses including artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, materials science and engineering, computer control and automation, and energy engineering.
Their studies are part of a partnership inked during President Kagame’s visit to Singapore in September 2022. Signed between the Government of Rwanda and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the agreement allows Rwandan students to pursue studies at NTU, a top university not only in Asia but globally.
NTU’ Materials Science, Engineering and Technology programmes are ranked sixth and 14th in Asia and the world, respectively.
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The Rwandan students, nine men and one woman, who will be studying at NTU were selected through a competitive process and will pursue degrees that are important to Rwanda’s development, according to a statement from the Rwandan embassy in Singapore.
On Tuesday, August 8, a welcome and orientation ceremony was held for them.
Singapore’s school system is among the world’s best — with its students consistently scoring near the top in education rankings in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
The cohort of students hosted at NTU under the partnership with Rwanda is higher than the total number of Rwandans who have studied in Singaporean universities in the last ten years.
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Rwanda’s Minister of Education Valentine Uwamariya said she was "very pleased that the programmes they are enrolled in are in areas that are critical to the development of our country and Africa.”
Ralph Sheja, one of the students, referred to studying at NTU as a great opportunity to pursue his studies at one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
"I intend to optimally use my time to harness all opportunities available at this university which offers a very rich educational and research environment. This is a rare chance and I plan to use every minute to learn as much as I can from this university and Singapore as well,” he noted.