Two mult-million e-learning labs have been inaugurated at Rwanda’s Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).
The Labs are equipped with Digital and touch white boards, cameras, sound systems and soft ware worth US $ 500, 000 (est. Rwf 298.9M) to facilitate e-learning at the Rwanda’s only technological university.
It is a donation vowed by a Chinese based technological company HUAWEI when President Paul Kagame visited the company in 2007.
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
It is said to be the largest China-based networking and telecommunications equipment supplier and the second-largest supplier of mobile telecommunications infrastructure equipment in the world.
In a colourful ceremony the inauguration was presided over by senior Chinese officials led by Hon. Li Yuanchao, Member of the Political Bureau and Secretariat, and Minister of the Organization Department, CPC Central Committee and Rwanda’s Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi.
Present was also Ji Ping the Vice Chairperson of HUAWEI Technologies, Shu zhan Ambassador of China to Rwanda, Dr.Vincent Biruta Minister of Education, Ignace Gatare Minister of ICT and others among the Chinese senior delegation on the official visit in the country.
Doctor Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya the Rector of KIST said the project will reducing costs, time and sharing learning resources among students at the same time.
“We thank HUAWEI for this donation and we promise to make good use of this technology, KIST students follow classes conducted by one lecturer teaching different classes at the same time thus this wouldn’t be possible with the classical method of one lecturer per classroom at a given time,” Mujawamariya said.
Ji Ping the Vice Chairperson of Huawei Technology said; “KIST is one of East Africa’s best known Universities, over the years under the leadership of Rwanda Government”
Some of the KIST’s ICT analysts believe the inaugurated e-learning labs have a lot to offer the University administration embarks on exploring all the available opportunities.
“ you can use it for uploading course materials, students can chat with lecturers in a session of asking questions, it will reduce students-lecturer’s ratio and cost reduction to the University which will differently have a reduced cost pressure to the students,” one of the ICT scholars said.
“We are connected to broadband like many institutions that have benefited from fiber optic, we are now connected to many universities, our lecturer can benefit other universities while conducting any module in the same time and the vice versa,”
“Any visiting lecturer would not now be firmly expensive because time to spend in Rwanda lecturing the same course unit in different classes will be reduced. The work load will have reduced so it makes bargaining for payment easy,” Eric Mugisha the head of Communication told IGIHE.com.
ENDS
Leave a Reply