For the first time in its history, the University of Rwanda (UR) has issued degree certificates and academic transcripts on the graduation date. Today, the graduation ceremony was held in Nyagatare district, Eastern Province of the country.
Initially, graduates waited for degree certificates to be printed, and were informed the date of collection, the process that took a month, or so.
“It’s time saving. I feel relaxed, we would be bothered to collect them,” Anisie Nyirambonigaba, who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Communication said.
On UR’s eighth graduation, a total of 5702 students graduated with bachelor’s degrees, Masters and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), and promptly walked home with their certificates and transcripts. PhD graduates were 25, Masters 628, and a total of 4,717 are Bachelor’s degrees.
Other graduates were awarded; advanced Diploma (96), Diploma (190), Postgraduate Certificate (42), and Postgraduate Diploma were 4.
“The expectation from the world is such that each one of you will now have improved capacity to solve problems and turn situations around,” Dr. Didas Kayihura Muganga, Vice Chancellor of the UR said.
“Most of you are young women and men who just finished climbing the first footsteps of your academic careers. You can only continue to grow from here, UR desires you to remain your committed partner in hiking even further up your academic ladders” Dr. Muganga added.
Among them, there were a total of 155 graduates from 21 countries across the globe.
Attracting more International Students
Dr. Édouard Ngirente, Rwanda’s Prime Minister who was also a guest of honour said that the mission is to improve the quality of education and transform the University of Rwanda into a research-led University.
“The Government of Rwanda is committed to continue supporting the University of Rwanda to fulfill its mission of improving the quality of education and transforming the University of Rwanda into a research-led University,” Dr. Ngirente said.
“This is our priority because we all recognize the critical role of research in generating innovation-based solutions,” the Premier added.
He pointed out that for the graduates to succeed, they must uphold integrity and other ethical values and have the capacity to desist from indulging in unethical behaviors that can ruin their careers.
In this year’s edition, UR was ranked 545th, globally in the Webometrics Rankings.
Webometrics ranking is based on measurements of how strong a university is present on the web by its performance, scholarly articles, researches, among others.