Women and girls in Science, Innovation and technology (STI) have been encouraged take a lead in research technology. The call was made by the Executive Secretary of the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST), Eugene Mutimura, last week, during NCST grants awarding ceremony for successful applications in science, innovation and technology. The event held under the “Integrating STI across all sectors to stimulate Rwanda’s economic growth” theme was part of the 7th NCST Council Meeting, aimed at showcasing Rwanda's STI ecosystem. Fifteen projects were awarded in an evening of networking cocktail that gathered STI local and global experts. The projects came from two categories and these include; Women in Science Research and Innovation (WIS) and Rwanda Innovation Challenges for Academia-Industry Research and Development Collaboration (RIC-R&D) Grant. Winners secured $90,000 each for their projects and these include; Tale-genetics and Genomic Testing in Rwandan Patients with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (TELEGERNE) by Dr Annette Uwineza, Lithium-ion Battery Direct Cathode Recycling and battery cell Manufacturing by Mr Leandre Berwa, among others. Mutimura said the grants are to help women and girls become leaders in research and change the livelihood of Rwandans. “We noticed that academician researchers need to move from their respective workplaces to go on field and partner with others for research purposes, which creates innovations and contribute to the development of Rwandans, hence, we aim for all research and innovation projects, at least 30 per cent of the team to be women leading” Mutimura said. He said that during the 7th NCST Council Meeting, they also invited Rwandan scientist researchers who live in He called on Rwandans in the diaspora to explore what is currently being done in Rwanda, to partner with locals in building strong and resilience research excellence. Celine Umurenzi, Founder of Candela Tech Ltd, as one of the awarded innovators said, the secured grants will help in boosting and implementing the project, where beneficiaries in the rural areas can easily generate cook stoves for cooking purposes, but also act as a source of electricity too. Candela Tech Ltd provides a Novel Electricity Generating Biomass Cookstove, (renewable organic material that comes from plants and animals) that helps people cook faster without ruining the environment. According to Mutimura, a successful project within a year and half will be added Rwf300 million to further develop their projects. NCST currently supports 106 projects that were granted around Rwf4 billion.
