The University of Rwanda (UR) is now part of the Australia Africa Universities Network (AAUN), a network of leading universities in Australia and Africa connecting researchers and academics under institutional partnership.

UR's acceptance into the organization was announced on September 4, during an annual meeting themed "Australia Africa Knowledge Teamwork: Policies, Priorities, People", held in Perth, Western Australia.

The electoral council of this organization voted in favour of UR to become a member of the AAUN, after thorough consideration including UR's research capacity, its competitiveness among other African universities, and its role in other organizations.

Prof. Didas Kayihura Muganga, Vice Chancellor of UR, said: "With their criteria of assessing centers of excellence according to their five pillars, they found that we meet four of those pillars. We are ahead of other universities in this organization in line with its vision."

He noted that being a member of this organization has practical benefits for UR staff and students, including conducting collaborative researches and partnership in developing curricula, bidding for research grants and sharing information in archives.

"It will also strengthen the interactive partnership of the University of Rwanda on the African continent, with universities in developing countries, and help UR to close the gap of insufficient staff, especially in some specialized courses and academic levels."

This, he said, includes finding teachers to help students in conducting research at Ph.D. level, and this membership will pave a way in getting Australian experts to address that issue.

In April, UR launched new Masters and PhD programmes in Biotechnology to ensure sustainable local production and improved access to quality-assured vaccines, medicines and health technologies.