On Friday 6 September, the University of Westminster signed a renewed and expanded Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Rwanda (UR). The signing represented a landmark moment for both universities, building on Westminster’s strengthening collaboration with Rwanda, seven years from the signing of the first MoU to support a Quintin Hogg Trust-funded (QHT) social enterprise programme.
The ceremony took place on University of Rwanda’s Gikondo Campus in Kigali. The University of Westminster delegation included Professor Dibyesh Anand, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement and Employability, and Co-chair of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Coordination Group, Stephen Wallis, Director of Transnational Education, and Darrell Kofkin, Senior Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship at Westminster Business School. They were also joined by Anna Wilson, Development Director at the British High Commission in Rwanda.
Dr Raymond Ndikumana, Acting Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Strategic Planning and Administration at UR, received the University of Westminster delegation and led proceedings. He was joined by Heads of Colleges who included key research and academic staff that will be instrumental in implementing activities enshrined in the MoU.
Dr Ndikumana gave a brief introductory presentation about the University, followed by Professor Anand introducing the University of Westminster.
The ceremony continued with a roundtable discussion about current Westminster development projects in Rwanda including the cross-college QHT-funded land development and coffee plantation projects and further opportunities for knowledge exchange with David Mathewson, Dr Pooja Basnett, Dr Linda Percy, Professor Miriam Dwek, Dr Martin Mathews, Andy Pitchford and Darrell Kofkin. The roundtable additionally highlighted Professor Dwek’s discussions with UR’s Professor Leon Mutesa, who has previously visited the University of Westminster, on cancer research funding opportunities. Other areas explored included food security, gender equality, urban design, entrepreneurship, SDGs and leadership.
The ceremony ended with the formal signing of the MoU between the University of Westminster and University of Rwanda. Upon signing the MoU, Professor Dibyesh Anand said: “As a global University with a strong focus on impactful research, sustainable development and inclusive education, we welcome this new partnership with the University of Rwanda. Whilst our initial focus on areas of collaboration is likely to include cancer research, food security, land use and development, gender, sustainability and leadership, we are keen to learn from each other as institutions committed to making difference in the lives of our students and the wider society.”
University of Westminster would like to thank the Rwanda High Commission in the UK and the UK High Commission in Rwanda for their facilitation and support.
During the visit to Rwanda, strategic level meetings were also held with the Country Director of British Council Rwanda, the Resident Representative of United Nations Development Programme Rwanda, the Deputy Director General of the Rwanda Housing Authority and the Rwanda Country Director of Aegis Trust. The delegation also visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial to lay a wreath on behalf of University of Westminster and to honour the victims of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi.
This event directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and 17: Partnerships for Goals. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
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