The management and students of IPRC-Tumba as well as technology experts have said a new department backed by the French government will help impart skills that are critical for Rwanda’s industrial sector. Setting up the Mechatronics department was at the heart of discussions when French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Rulindo-based TVET College a fortnight ago. IPRC-Tumba was one of the places that Macron visited during his official visit to Rwanda from May 27-28. Macron interacted with staff and students, whom he advised to make the most of the department, which is supported by the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD). Eng. Ritha Clemence Mutabazi, Principal, IPRC Tumba, told The New Times, that the partnership with AFD will help improve the quality of their academic programmes, particularly in mechanics and electronics technology. “It presents a great opportunity to our students as they will get important skills,” she said. “The idea is to ensure that students can become job creators, rather than job-seekers, upon graduation,” she said, adding that TVET schools in Rulindo District will also benefit from the partnership with AFD. Eng. Mutabazi noted, “The visit by the French president means a lot to IPRC-Tumba, it speaks to our partnership under which our students and staff will benefit a lot in terms of skills and capacity building.” “The establishment of the Mechatronics Department will increase the number of our youths with skills in Mechatronics Technology, it’s a new skillset on the market, specifically it will be helpful in the manufacturing sector in a sense that you are able to deploy less manpower and achieve more,” she added. Mechatronics, or mechatronics engineering, is described as “an interdisciplinary branch of engineering that focuses on the engineering of electronic, electrical and mechanical engineering systems.” It includes a combination of robotics, electronics, computer, telecommunications, systems, control, and product engineering. Students’ expectations Irene Ndizeye, a student who was part of the conversation between Macron and the IPRC-Tumba team, said: “As a tech enthusiast, I can say that mechatronics is an important step toward empowering Rwandan youth with skills that are critical in the development of Artificial Intelligence and other related innovations.” Enock Mucyo, Guild President, IPRC-Tumba, told this reporter that the new department and the partnership with AFD represent a great opportunity for students since one can now acquire both skills in mechanics and electronics in one package. He added that workshops and laboratories meant for mechatronics students will also benefit students in other departments as we. “The impact is sort of cross-cutting.” With the necessary infrastructure and other fundamentals already being put in place, the France-backed department is set to start by February 2022, the principal said. The project will cost some €7.5 million, she added. Experts weigh in “Mechatronic is a good programme which integrates mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, electrical engineering and computer engineering, it offers solutions in automation, that’s what we need the manufacturing industry,” said Jean Pierre Twajamahoro, a lecturer at University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology. Eng. Jeannine Uwibambe, a Kigali-based electronic and electrical engineer, said: “Mechatronics is crucial in designing lifting systems, control systems and processing systems, we lacked it in our training institutions.” Dominic Savio Barahira, a mechanical engineer, told The New Times: “As a country that places technology at the centre of its development agenda the technology programme that’s being at IPRC-Tumba will play a key part in growing our technology and our manufacturing industrial base, it’s an opportunity to grow our innovation and attract investors in automation and robotics industries.”
