University of Kigali Governing Board Member Dr. Ogechi Adeola has been confirmed as a Professor of Marketing
Ogechi Adeola has been confirmed a Professor of Marketing by the Lagos Business School. She is the Head of the Department of Operations, Marketing and Information Systems at the Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria and serves as a member of the Governing Board of University of Kigali, Rwanda, as well as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Nigeria, and a Business Administration Advisory Board member of the University of the People, California, USA. Her research interests span marketing, strategy, tourism, and gender studies. Adeola has published over 80 academic and practitioner articles, conference papers, business and management case studies, and 17 academic books in these fields. Her academic papers have been published in top scholarly journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies, Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Psychology and Marketing, and International Marketing Review. Her co-authored papers also won Best Paper Awards at international conferences in 2016-2019, consecutively, and the prestigious Emerald Literati Award for Outstanding Paper in 2022. Professor Adeola has excelled in teaching and mentoring students; teaching marketing at the Women Entrepreneurship & Leadership for Africa (WELA) program of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Lagos, the MSc program at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) and the PhD program at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA). She is also an External Moderator (MBA Program) at the University of Free State Business School, South Africa, and an External Examiner (PhD program) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), Ghana, and Strathmore University, Kenya. She is a 2016 Visiting International Fellow at the Open University Business School, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, and a 2017 Paul R. Lawrence Fellow, USA. Professor Adeola has provided strategic marketing and brand management consultancy, intra-regional advisory, and gender equity services to numerous organizations. She is part of the Alpha Team at the Centre for Global Enterprise (CGE), USA, and has provided virtual consultancy services to top companies, including London Taxi Company, UK in 2015, the Texas Capital Bank, USA in 2018, and Dusit International (Dusit Thani), Thailand in 2021. She is a Consultant for Afreximbank, focusing on the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET) Initiative. With a keen interest in women’s empowerment, Adeola served as the National Consultant for the International Labour Organization (ILO) from June to November 2022 on a project aimed at promoting women’s economic empowerment in Nigeria. She provided consulting services to the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria, on the 2022 ‘Building Africa Report’ focused on women’s inclusion in the Cement, Concrete & Construction (CCC) industry. In March 2022, she received a Female Achievers’ Recognition Award in Lagos, Nigeria. Adeola is a Fellow of the Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria, and the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria. The Board of Promoters, Governing Board, Management, Staff and Students of University of Kigali congratulate Prof. Adeola for this prestigious accomplishment and wish her many more successes as she impacts UoK, Africa and the world with her rich knowledge and experience.
University of Kigali champions Value-creation through Capacity-building
Since its inception in 2013, University of Kigali (UoK), a fully-accredited university chartered by the Government of the Republic of Rwanda and the 4th-Best University in Rwanda (Webometrics University Rankings – Rwanda, 2022) has remained committed to championing quality academic service delivery and capacity-building in Rwanda, Africa and across the globe. UoK has grown its programmes portfolio to 23 market-driven undergraduate and graduate academic programmes in the fields of Business Management, Accounting, Finance, Economics, Law, Procurement & Supply Chain Management, Computing, Education that have attracted students from 32 countries including Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, USA, Liberia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Haiti among others and provided quality labour for different private and public-sector employers locally and internationally. The 32 Nationalities represented at UoK The University has highly-qualified academic staff with international exposure. 38% of UoK’s academic staff are PhD-holders, Associate Professors and Full Professors who facilitate the university’s consistent maintenance of high academic standards and quality service-delivery to all stakeholders. Since August 2016, UoK has consistently increased the number of students registering to study professional courses at the university. This growth is as a result of the high standards that the University implements in providing tuition to students. The university has adequate, competent and high-quality teaching staff with international experience in delivering professional courses. The University also provides study notes and past examination question banks to all students registered for professional courses. Additionally, UoK offers 100% discount on tuition fees to all internal undergraduate and graduate students pursuing professional programmes. The University is also an accredited tuition provider of professional programmes such as CPA (R), CPA (K), CAT, ICDL, etc. As a result of the standards implemented, UoK has consistently delivered pass rates which are above the national pass rates in exams over the last 10 examination sittings. This high pass rates are a major contributor to the increase in the enrollment of students pursuing professional programmes. As at August 2023, UoK had produced 83 CPA finalists who have completed CPA (R) qualification out of 390 students nationwide, thereby contributing to 21.3% of the CPA (R) qualified professionals nationally. The University in partnership with the Government of Rwanda has also been offering Certified Public Accounting (CPA) and Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) training to all Government Accountants and Internal Auditors. From August 2016 to date, the programme has attracted over 3,000 Government Staff. Apart from the certification, it is proven that all the staff who have gone through the tuition process have had a significant increase in productivity and the country has benefited tremendously. UoK is committed to enhancing training, professionalism and capacity-building across all Public Financial Management (PFM) disciplines identified by the Government of Rwanda as one of the main factors which may negatively impact the sustainability of the NST1 if the overall level of capacity in PFM skills and knowledge across government is not adequately addressed. It has been indicated that the number and qualifications of existing accountants and internal auditors is not enough to cope with the current and future requirements of the PFM system, which is critical in the case of central government entities (ministries, departments and agencies). Currently the public service (Government) is in need of 7,800 professionally-qualified accountants, yet as at August 2023, only a total of 390 persons had completed training as professionally-qualified accountants; leaving a huge deficit of 7,450 which needs to be filled as soon as possible. Consequently, the University is fostering valuable partnerships with relevant stakeholders to continuously ensure that this huge deficit is filled and therefore encourage all and sundry to register for professional education at University of Kigali. Registration for January 2024 admissions is open for professional programmes, while the September 2023 Intake for undergraduate and graduate admissions is still open. Apply online via: mis.uok.ac.rw/apply or Call: +250 781 833 731 for professional programme admissions and +250 788 303 386/ +250 789 009 221 for undergraduate and graduate programme admissions.
University of Kigali Appoints Professor Robert Rugimbana as New Vice Chancellor effective 1st March, 2022
The Board of Promoters of the University of Kigali have named Professor Robert Rugimbana as the new Vice Chancellor of the University effective 1st March, 2022. In making the appointment, the Chairman of the Board, Mr Philibert Afrika noted that Professor Rugimbana brings to the Vice Chancellor role, a wealth of administrative university experience and scholarship having worked in important University governance roles such as serving as Executive Dean, Campus Rector, Associate Dean, Director of a Graduate School and as Head of Department. In accepting the appointment, the incoming Vice Chancellor expressed his appreciation to Board of Promoters for the opportunity offered to him and indicated a particularly strong willingness to continue to lift the national and international image of the University. Professor Robert Rugimbana is a Professor of Marketing and a rated South African National Research Foundation scholar. Professor Rugimbana undertook his post graduate studies in Australia and ended up being promoted to the Professoriate at Griffith University, in Brisbane Queensland. Professor Rugimbana has taught researched, supervised, and examined Masters and PhD thesis of students in a range of Business/Marketing/entrepreneurship areas Professor Rugimbana has also served on several Academic Governance Review Panels including Avondale College, Australia. In South Africa, consultancies in the main involved various capacity building projects and senior advisory roles in Universities such as University of Western Cape, University of Limpopo, the Da Vinci Institute and the new EDUVOS Private University, formally Pearson Institute of Higher Education Robert has several international peer reviewed journals to his credit and completed an edited book on Cross-Cultural Marketing published by Thomson Learning International Business Press – UK. He has also served as a senior consultant for several large Australian Organizations including one of the four largest banks in Australia, the Australian New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), The South Australian Association of Credit Unions
University of Kigali appoints Professor Ogechi Adeola as Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic
The Governing Body of University of Kigali (UoK) has appointed Professor Ogechi Adeola, a Professor of Marketing, as the Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic (DVCA), effective January 11, 2024. Professor Ogechi Adeola holds a Doctorate in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Alliance Manchester Business School, United Kingdom. She earned a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Nigeria and obtained a Barrister at Law certificate from the Nigerian Law School, after which she was called to the Nigerian bar. Professor Adeola is the immediate past Head of Department of Operations, Marketing and Information Systems at the Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria and the Academic Director of LBS Sales Academy. She previously held the position of Associate Dean of Business Administration at the University of the People, California, USA, where she currently serves as a Business Administration Advisory Board member. She is an Independent Non-Executive Director at Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Nigeria, and she served as a member of the Board of Directors at the University of Kigali until her appointment as Deputy Vice Chancellor-Academic. She possesses over 28 years of relevant work experience in industry and academia. Before transitioning to academia, she had spent over a decade in various roles within Nigeria’s financial sector, starting her career at Citibank Nigeria. Professor Adeola’s pursuit of professional excellence is evident in her completion of executive education programs at globally renowned institutions, including Harvard Business School, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, London Business School, and Cranfield School of Management. She further enhanced her pedagogical skills through specialised training in case teaching and teaching innovation programs of Harvard Business Publishing Education, IESE Business School, Spain, the Global Business School Network (GBSN), and Teaching the Practice of Management joint program of the Association of African Business Schools and the Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Her interdisciplinary research interests span marketing strategy, sustainability, tourism, and gender studies, with a particular focus on projecting the dynamics of African business concepts and practices. She has authored, co-authored, edited and co-edited over 120 academic and practitioner articles, books, conference papers, and business and marketing case studies. Her scholarly contributions have been published in top-tier journals with ABS 3, 4, and 4* rankings from the Chartered Association of Business Schools (ABS), including the Industrial Marketing Management, Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research and Journal of International Business Studies. Her co-authored papers also won Best Paper Awards at international conferences in 2016-2019, consecutively, and the prestigious Emerald Literati Award for Outstanding Paper in 2022. The January 2024 Alper-Doger Scientific Index ranks her as the No. 1 scientist in Nigeria for Marketing, No. 6 scientist for Business and Management in Nigeria, and among the top scholars in Africa for both fields. SciVal (Elsevier) also ranks her among the top 100 authors in Nigeria across all subject areas from 2020 to 2023. Beyond research, Professor Adeola is renowned for her teaching and mentoring. She has led Marketing sessions on the full-time and Executive MBA programs, the Owner Managers Program, and customised and open enrollment seminars at Lagos Business School, since 2010. Additionally, she has delivered marketing sessions for the Women Entrepreneurship & Leadership for Africa (WELA) program by the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Lagos, the MSc program at the University of Ghana Business School, and the PhD program at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA). She has served as an External Moderator (MBA Program) at the University of Free State Business School, South Africa, and as an External Examiner (PhD program) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), Ghana; Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), South Africa; and Strathmore University, Kenya. She was a 2016 Visiting International Fellow at the Open University Business School, UK, a 2017 Paul R. Lawrence Fellow, USA, and serves as a Series Editor for the Palgrave Series on Marketing in Emerging Economies. In consultancy, Professor Adeola has offered her expertise in strategic marketing and brand management, intra-regional advisory, and gender equity services to numerous organisations. As part of the Alpha Team at the Centre for Global Enterprise, USA, she provided virtual consultancy to international companies, including the London Taxi Company, UK (2015); Texas Capital Bank, USA (2018); and Dusit International (Dusit Thani), Thailand (2021). She is a Consultant for Afreximbank, focusing on the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET) Initiative, and also provided consulting services to the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) on the 2022 ‘Building Africa Report’ focused on women’s inclusion in the Cement, Concrete & Construction industry. In 2022, she served as the National Consultant for an International Labour Organization project promoting women’s economic empowerment in Nigeria. Additionally, she is the founder of the Digital Business Tutelage for Women Empowerment in Africa Initiative (DBTWEAi), a non-profit platform designed to enable young African women to unlock their potential. Her contributions to women’s empowerment were recognised with the prestigious Female Achievers Recognition Award in March 2022, co-hosted by American Corner in Lagos and in June 2023, she was honored with The Peak Performing Woman of the Year 2023 Award in the Super Achievers category for Executive Education by The Peak Performer. Professor Adeola is a Fellow of both the Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria and the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria. University of Kigali is still admitting new students for the January 2024 Intake! Apply now! Please call +250 788303386 /+250 789009221 /+ 250 788669642 or apply online via: mis.uok.ac.rw/apply
University of Kigali appoints Professor Felix Maringe as Deputy Vice Chancellor – Institutional Development, Research and Innovation
The Governing Body of University of Kigali (UoK) has appointed Professor Felix Maringe, formerly DVC Academics at UoK as the Deputy Vice Chancellor – Institutional Development, Research and Innovation (DVC-IDRI). The appointment took effect on 3rd January 2024. Prof. Maringe has a remarkable research track-record over a career spanning more than 30 years. He began his academic career at the University of Zimbabwe, before moving to the Bindura University of Science Education where he was the inaugural Dean of Education. Under the supervision of Professor Nick Foskett, Prof. Maringe completed his doctoral degree in education in the area of higher education marketing in 2003. In 2004, he was recruited to teach on the PGCE programme at Southampton, United Kingdom. Notably, he was appointed Director of the Education Doctoral Programme, and replaced Professor Taylor as Director of the prestigious (Centre for Higher Education Management Policy at Southampton (CHEMPaS). He achieved promotion to the rank of Senior Lecturer at Southampton. He was then recruited by the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) in Johannesburg, South Africa, as an Associate Professor in 2012 and confirmed as full professor in 2015. At WITS, Prof. Maringe was appointed Assistant Dean for Internationalisation and Partnerships between 2013-2018. In 2019, he was appointed Head of the WITS School of Education, working through the COVID period until the end of his tenure in 2022. Prof. Maringe is a well-published scholar, with 122 outputs in the public domain, including 13 books, 12 commissioned reports, refereed journal articles and book chapters. He has over 5,570 google citations, an H-index of 32 and an i10 index of 56. Throughout his career, he has won more than 15 competitive research grants. He is currently Editor-in- Chief of the prestigious Journal of Educational Studies based in South Africa. He has successfully supervised 31 doctoral students to completion and currently has two doctoral students who are almost completing their theses at Africa University in Zimbabwe and at University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
University of Kigali Appoints Professor David Karungu Wangombe, PhD, MBA, CPA(K) as Vice Chancellor
The Board of Directors of the University of Kigali (UoK) has appointed Professor David Karungu Wangombe, PhD, MBA, CPA(K) as Vice Chancellor of the university, following the resignation of the former VC, Professor Robert O. Rugimbana for health-related reasons. The appointment takes effect on 1st March 2023. Prof. Wangombe holds a BA (Hons) and MBA from the University of Nairobi as well as a PhD and Associate Professor of Accounting and Ssustainability from Strathmore University, Kenya. He is a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPA(K) andan alumnus of the International Faculty Development Program (IFDP) of the highly-rated IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain (2008) and Teaching the Practice of Management (TPM). He brings to his new role a wealth of demonstrable knowledge and experience, having worked in various institutions of higher learning as the Dean of School of Management and Commerce at Strathmore University, Kenya for 10 years, Director of Strathmore Enterprise Development Centre and Strathmore Research and Consultancy Company, Vice Chancellor designate of Tangaza University college and a lecturer in the fields of Finance, Accounting and Enterprise Development for over 2 decades. Prof. Wangombe has been the lead consultant in the Development of Resilience Strategies for 5 cities in Kenya, a World Bank-funded project under the State Department of Housing and Urban Development ending in February 2023. For over 10 years, Prof. Wangombe has built capacity for Healthcare Leaders in Africa under the Management Ddevelopment Institute (MDI), a joint project of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Africa Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) and funded by Johnson and Johnson. He has further trained over 15,000 entrepreneurs with banks and enterprise centres in Kenya and over 1,000 African faculties on case methodology under the Partnership for Pedagogical Leadership in Africa (PEDAL), a program of PASGR that seeks to improve faculty pedagogical skills. He has consulted for several organizations including Strathmore Business School (SBS), Adamsmith International, Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), Kenya Commercial Bank and Strathmore Research and Consultancy Company (SRCC). The Board of Directors, Management team, staff and students of University of Kigali congratulate Prof. Wangombe on his appointment and commit to supporting his efforts in steering the affairs of UoK towards the achievement of its strategic goals.
Professor Nnamdi O. Madichie’s co-authored Paper gets published in Information Systems Frontiers as an Award- Winning Manuscript 2023/2024
The Management, staff and students of University of Kigali congratulate Professor Nnamdi O. Madichie on the publication of his co-authored paper “Between Handholding and Hand-held Devices: Marketing Through Smartphone Innovation and Women’s Entrepreneurship in Post Conflict Economies in Times of Crisis.” in Information Systems Frontiers, and nomination as an exemplary GTM article for the year. The Grounded Theory Methodology Special Interest Group (SIG GTM) annually recognizes exemplary GTM articles published in significant IS journals. Each of these journals is asked to nominate the best GTM paper published in their journal from the prior year (i.e., 2022-23). After all journal nominations were received, a team of top scholars, well-versed in grounded theory reviewed the nominations and selected a paper for the SIG GTM Best Paper award. About the Authors: Nisreen Ameen is Associate Professor in Digital Marketing at the Royal Holloway University of London. She is also Director, Digital Organisation and Society research centre, Senior Editor, Information Technology and People, Associate Editor, Computers in Human Behavior, and Editorial Board member, Journal of Business Research. Vice President, UK Academy of Information Systems (UKAIS). She can be contacted at: Nisreen.Ameen@rhul.ac.uk Nnamdi O. Madichie is a Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the School of Graduate Studies, University of Kigali, Rwanda. He has researched and published widely on business and management in Africa. His research interests lie at the intersection of Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He has authored and co-authored a number of books including titles like Digital Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa (Palgrave/ Springer), Entrepreneurship and the Informal Sector in Africa (Routledge), New Public Management in Africa (Palgrave), and the Creative Industries and International Business Development in Africa (Emerald). In addition to serving as manuscript reviewer for top journals such as the Journal of Small Business Management (Wiley), Thunderbird International Business Review (Wiley) among others, Professor Madichie sits on the editorial board of leading journals such as Management Decision, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development (Emerald), and the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Sage). He has supervised over 100 master’s theses and examined dozens of Doctoral theses across African Universities notably Ghana and South Africa. He can be contacted at nmadichie@uok.ac.rw Amitabh Anand is presently Associate Professor at the Excelia Business School in La Rochelle, France. He previously worked as Assistant Professor in Academy of Digitalization at SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur, France, Dr. Amitabh holds Bachelor’s in environmental engineering degree from, India, He obtained a scholarship to undertake his MBA at the Stockholm University, Sweden and secured full scholarship to complete Ph.D. from NEOMA Business School, Paris, France. He can be contacted at: ananda@excelia-group.com How to cite: Ameen, N., Madichie, N. O., & Anand, A. (2023). Between handholding and hand-held devices: Marketing through smartphone innovation and women’s entrepreneurship in post conflict economies in times of crisis. Information Systems Frontiers, 25, 401-423., https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-021-10198-6
Professor Felix Maringe, DVC Academic at University of Kigali receives The South African Educational Research Association (SAERA) Recognition Award
Professor Maringe is an accomplished researcher with a distinguished international profile and has made a significant and meaningful contribution to research in education. His research trajectory demonstrates a deep commitment to the challenges of social and epistemic justice and to the decolonization of higher education. Having worked in Zimbabwe, the UK, South Africa and Rwanda, Prof Maringe has established not only strong networks and a respected research profile but has contributed to capacity building through doctoral training and mentoring of young academics in a number of universities. He has published over 100 outputs, 10 books, book chapters and several high-profile commissioned research reports. Attesting to the high quality of his work, Prof Maringe has more than 4500 citations of his work, a Google h index of 27, an i10 index of 52 and is a C NRF rated scholar. He was admitted to the ASAF Fellowship in 2019. He has graduated 27 doctoral students. Three more students are working on revisions to their theses. Prof. Maringe is on the Advisory Board and actively engaged in an innovative HELTASA doctoral programme which is underpinned by the concept of the decolonial turn. Prof. Maringe has worked in various capacities as Director of the Centre for Higher Education Management at University of Southampton, Assistant Dean for Internationalization and Partnerships, Head of the Wits School of Education and currently, the Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic at University of Kigali. He has mentored young academics at UNISA, Venda, and UJ resulting in many successful NRF rating applications, research grant awards and promotion to senior levels in the academy. Recently, Prof Maringe presented a paper at SAERA on Transcending Morrow; and has been an invited keynote speaker at numerous international conferences. He currently is the Principal Investigator for the British Council sponsored research on the readiness of public universities in South Africa to implement the recently published Higher Education Internationalization Policy (2019). He is also lead researcher for the SACE and DBE research on paraprofessionals in education, a recent phenomenon emerging from the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic. This has the potential to influence the diversification of professional education practice. He has been involved in a VVOB sponsored research on school leadership in Africa which has led to the establishment of an Africa Centre for School Leadership Development in Kigali. In South Africa, Prof Maringe has completed significant research on the efficacy of school leadership in Mpumalanga, the school dropout phenomenon also in Mpumalanga and on internal teacher migration sponsored by the SACE. He also led the research on teacher induction in schools in South Africa. All these projects have resulted in substantial publications including a special edition on leading schools in circumstances of multiple deprivation hosted in the internationally acclaimed Education Management Administration and Leadership Journal (EMAL) edited by Tony Bush. His desire to contribute to South African Education Research has also been demonstrated by the decision to assume the role of chief editor of the UNIVEN hosted Journal of Education Studies, which has since increased its annual publications from 2 to 4 issues per year. In the one year since he became editor of JES, he has expanded the editorial board to include several international board members, attracted several international publications to the journal and has hosted two special issues, making the JES a more visible and attractive publisher for educational research locally and internationally. His scholarship in the areas of social justice and the decolonization of higher education has attracted substantial attention both locally and internationally. Recently, he published an edited book titled Higher Education in the melting pot with AOSIS, in which issues of the 4IR and decolonization take central stage; has been awarded a book series with Routledge on decolonization in Higher Education, the first of which is currently on the production line; has been invited by Sheffield University to guest speak on the topic of decolonization on 9 June, and by Bindura University of Science Education on the same subject at their national conference in August this year. Felix has also been awarded a book series by AOSIS on the impact of disruptions in Higher Education, and has already delivered two books of eight in the series. In all this, Felix works with a wide range of scholars from universities in South Africa and abroad, making him one of the eminently connected and networked scholars we have in South Africa. Prof. Maringe is also the editor of a book on systematic reviews of research in basic education in South Africa. Systematic reviews are the gold standard of evidence of research and Felix is well-positioned to have been at the forefront of this in South Africa. His ambition is to contribute to the current transformational impasse in the country, which is compounded by transformational paralyses, including a conceptual paralysis, a leadership paralysis, and a strategic paralysis which have conspired to restrict transformation to an exercise in symbolism, while the epistemic, ideological and human capacitation dimensions have remained largely untouched. Prof. Maringe has achieved much in original contributions to scholarship as well as building capacity of younger researchers as in the testimony from one of his doctoral students. Below is a statement from one of his numerous students: Nomination support Professor Maringe was my lecturer at master’s level and my doctoral supervisor. Professor Maringe is approachable and always works to establish a good rapport with his students. He is experienced and interested in supervision and inspires students to work to the best of ability through a social constructivist and cognitively stimulating way which allowed for self-reflection and peer engagement. He is also my academic mentor. It is through his effective guidance that now, as a postdoc, I publish and have co-edited a book and a special issue with him. It is through his effective mentorship that many of his students and mentees have proceeded to become successful academics, others have now become professors, and one has been recently appointed Economic Presidential Advisor in Uganda. – Otilia Chiramba (Postdoc.) The Board of Directors, management, staff and students of University
Israel deputy Ambassador champions Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The University of Kigali held a one-day Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubation Workshop for its Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) 2023-COHORT on Thursday, March 31, 2023. The workshop hosted by the UoK Graduate School was facilitated by Dr. KWENA Ronald, the Dean with the Deputy Ambassador of Israel in Rwanda, H.E. Mr. Yossi Gadamo as Keynote Speaker. In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr. Gadamo noted that Israel and Rwanda share a similar history and challenges. He observed that innovation from Israel’s perspective was necessitated by the challenges faced such as scarce resources, security challenges and the geographical location of Israel, adding that as a matter of fact, “the only resource Israel had, were its people”. H.E. Gadamo challenged the EMBA students to always look for solutions both from technological and non-technological perspectives for problems facing the society. He referred the students to the situation where Israel had a water problem, yet they were neighboring an ocean. He shared that an innovative solution to desalinate the ocean water was adopted and supplied the population with clean water. The workshop emphasized the ecosystem of innovation which named government, academia and private sector among the actors. The incubation session divided the students into groups and required them to identify a problem, conduct a research and develop an innovative solution. Among the problems identified is the lack of access to clean water in Africa due to contamination. The students were able to develop innovative solutions backed by research and presented their results. The Keynote Speaker noted that the solutions were very innovative both technologically and non-technologically. On their part, the students appreciated the depth of knowledge gained, insights and ideas developed. “the knowledge gained is immeasurable” one of the participants noted. Among the attendees, were Dr. KWENA Ronald, the Dean of the Graduate School and a Project Management expert, Professor Madichie Nnamdi, a Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship and Dr. Rusibana Claude, the Director of Academic Programmes and an Accounting and Finance expert. On his part, Professor Madichie Nnamdi emphasized that an innovation ecosystem should be looked at as a system that all actors must be incorporated. The Dean highlighted the fact that the University of Kigali was in the process of incorporation capstone projects in its curricula and the workshop served as a stepping stone. “We are encouraging our students to develop solutions for the problems that the society is facing, that can also be commercialized,” Dr. Kwena pointed out. The Director of Academic Programmes, Dr. Rusibana Claude added that the University of Kigali was incorporating more industry practitioners to facilitate practical learning experiences. In his closing remarks, The Deputy Ambassador of Israel in Rwanda, H.E. Mr. Yossi Gadamo encouraged the students to be the champions of innovation and develop solutions that can be commercialized for economic value.
Graduate school strengthens research ties with the university of Fort Hare from South Africa
The University of Kigali Graduate School has embarked on strengthening research intensity by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Fort Hare from South Africa. The Dean Graduate School revealed after his participation in the University of Fort Hare Research week of Excellence held from November 13 to 16, 2023 at the Alice Campus Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, Vice-Chancellor University of Fort Hare speaking during the research week The University of Fort Hare is a public higher education institution which was founded in 1916 and is committed to the promotion of research as a core university activity and to the building of research capacity. Its research strategy recognizes the need for research to address local, regional and national needs. It seeks ways to engage in a critical dialogue with partners to build research in areas which complement the University’s historical niche as an African university whilst ensuring internationally recognized excellence. The University Fort Hare is supported by the National Research Foundation and participates in its IRDP, Thuthuka and Focus Area Programmes. Among the areas the University of Kigali will benefit include The University of Fort Hare Research Niche areas namely: Water Resource Management; Sustainable Agriculture and Land Use Strategies; Culture, Heritage and Social Transformation; and Rural Household Economics. In collaboration with THRIP, Telkom funds a Centreof Excellence in the Computer Science Department. The University Fort Hare has major supporters of research including CSIR, ESKOM, the Medical Research Council, the Mellon Foundation, SANPAD, the Development Bankof South Africa and the Water Research Commission, as well as national and provincial government departments. Research administration at the Faculty level is overseen by the Faculty Research Committees, which coordinate and promote research among staff and students while the administration and promotion of post‐graduate studies at the Faculty level is overseen by the Faculty Higher Degree Committees. The office of the Dean of Research is housed in the Govan Mbeki Research and Development Centre (GMRDC) based at both the Alice and East London Campuses. The Agreement will foster joint research projects, training and teaching; Joint supervision of graduate and Post Graduate Students Jointly organizing conferences, seminars and symposia collaborative curriculum development and review; Faculty, Students and Staff mobility; exchange of academic materials and information; study abroad programmes and exchange internship programmes. The Dean Graduate School Dr Kwena Ronald ( right) and Prof Shambare Richard (Middle), Dean Faculty of Management and Commerce and Prof Chinyamurindi Willie during Research week of Excellence. The University of Fort Hare Research week of Excellence also allowed Dr Kwena to Attend the overarching plenary session where the key address was delivered by Distinguished Professor of Education at Stellenbosch University and President of the Academy of Science of South Africa, Prof Jonathan Jansen. Prof Jonathan Jansen delivering his key address during the annual Research Week of Excellence (RWE) Dr Kwena also attended esentations by academics from various Faculty of Management and Commerce including the Dean of Management and Commerce, Prof Shambare Richard who presented on publishing; Postgraduate Studies (postdoc fellows and postgraduate students) session, Dr. Jill M. Humphries, an assistant professor and part-time instructor for the University of Toledo’s Africana Studies Program in the United States delivered the keynote address at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) 2023 Research Week of Excellence (RWE) postgraduate conference currently taking place on the Alice Campus; Intellectual Property & Innovation session; VC’s Excellence Awards in Research & Innovation, whose keynote was Prof Himla Soodyal, a renowned South African geneticist who led the groundbreaking genetics research that identified some of the oldest DNA found in living people today, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. Prof Shambare Richard Dean Faculty of Management and Commerce presenting during the Research week. During the visit Dr Kwena Delivered a public lecture on How “Rwanda as a Project; The Singapore of Africa Success story” based on literature review and observation. The lecture focused on how Rwanda has succeeded by embracing effective project management to achieve its objectives. The Dean Graduate School Dr Kwena Ronald (Far right) and Prof Shambare Richard (Third right), Dean Faculty of Management and Commerce during Research week of Excellence. The Dean Graduate School also interacted and networked with various faculty members and in different fields including but not limited to Information science, management science and health sciences.
