Rwanda
Academy Profile
Kigali Institute of Science, Technology and Management
Local Academy
Established April 2002
The Kigali Institute of Science, Technology, and Management (KIST) is a government institution that was established in 1997. The school sits at the heart of Rwanda's capital city, Kigali, and "serves as one of the country's springs of hope for the future." It offers a diverse set of courses, including engineering and information technology; some courses are offered through distance-learning in order to accommodate students who live outside the school's immediate vicinity.
The Cisco Networking Academy at KIST officially started in April 2002. It began with two classes and three instructors. Response to the program was incredibly strong. In fact, KIST received 324 applications for roughly 50 student positions; criteria for selection were based on merit and gender balance, with female students were getting priority. Since its inception, KIST has been dedicated to the principles of the Gender Initiative. The program has trained four female instructors and maintained a high percentage female enrollment. Additionally, directors created an all-female class that began in May 2003.
For the future, KIST plans to expand its course offerings in response to demand. In fact, the school is now offering both day and night Networking Academy classes. The instructors at KIST are certain that the Academy will play an important role in Rwanda's future through the contribution of skilled personnel and technology training. As stated by instructor Josée A. Butera,
"Rwanda's economy has suffered bitterly from the ethnic-basic civil wars and genocide. The development vision of Rwanda deliberates crucial needs of high quality technical and professional manpower to support the development of Rwanda, which has been going through difficult years of economic decline and later, war and genocide of 1990-1994. The skilled personnel got either killed or had to run out of the country, leaving voids, which have been difficult to fill."