In 2006, a crucial moment in Rwanda’s educational history unfolded when President Paul Kagame visited Oklahoma Christian University (OCU) in the United States.
While there, the university’s Board of Trustees conferred upon him an Honorary Doctorate Degree in recognition of his transformative leadership and dedication to peace.
Beyond the ceremony, this visit served as the catalyst for the Presidential Scholars Program, a strategic initiative that would redefine Rwanda’s human capital development by providing scholarships for Rwandan students to study in the U.S. Between 2006-2018, at least 448 Rwandan students have benefited from the Scholars Program.
What began as a scholarship program in Oklahoma has evolved into a national movement that has turned Rwanda into a regional hub for world-class education.
Over the nearly two decades since that visit, President Kagame’s vision of building a knowledge-based economy has seen a growing number of international Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs) establish a permanent presence in Rwanda.
Inspired by the President’s push for international academic collaboration, numerous prestigious institutions from the U.S., Europe, and across Africa have moved beyond student exchanges to establish fully operational campuses on Rwandan soil.
A new home for global excellence
Since the landmark Oklahoma Christian University visit in 2006, the landscape of higher education in Rwanda has been radically reshaped. Today, the country hosts several high-profile international institutions that are driving innovation in science, technology, and leadership.
These include:
Oklahoma Christian University: Following the 2006 visit, OCU established an operational presence, continuing its long-term partnership that has seen hundreds of Rwandans graduate from its programs.
Carnegie Mellon University Africa (CMU-Africa): Accredited in 2011, this American institution has become a cornerstone for high-level engineering and technology training in the region.
African Leadership University (ALU): A pan-African institution focused on entrepreneurship and leadership, now a prominent part of Kigali’s educational ecosystem.
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS): Dedicated to advanced mathematical sciences, fostering a new generation of African scientists.
University of Global Health Equity (UGHE): Established as a Centre of Excellence, the Butaro-based University in Northern Rwanda focuses on revolutionary healthcare delivery and education in Africa. For the tenth year running, the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), celebrated their students’ graduation in January this year.
African School of Governance (ASG): Officially inaugurated in January last year, this graduate-level institution was co-founded by President Paul Kagame and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to redefine leadership and public policy across the continent.
Driving innovation through Centres of Excellence
The impact of these partnerships extends into specialized “Centres of Excellence” (CoEs), many of which are hosted at the University of Rwanda or operate as independent high-impact entities.
These centers are designed to build the specific skills needed for Rwanda’s “Vision 2050”. They include:
ACE-IoT: African Centre of Excellence in Internet of Things.
ACE-DS: African Centre of Excellence for Data Sciences.
RICA: Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture, providing hands-on training for the next generation of agricultural experts.
A legacy of transformation
The story of Rwanda’s educational scaling is one of deliberate policy and visionary leadership. President Kagame’s 2006 journey to Oklahoma did more than earn him a degree; it opened a gateway for global knowledge to flow directly into Rwanda, ensuring that the country’s transformation is powered by the minds of its own well-educated citizens.
The video below: documents the ten-year milestone of the partnership initiated by President Kagame in 2006, showcasing the Presidential Scholars program’s long-term impact on Rwandan graduates.
