Dr Marie-Christine GasingirwaDG Science, Technologie et

RechercheMinistère de l’ Education

Kigali, RWANDAApril, 2011

La Politique de la Science, la Technologie et

l'Innovation au Rwanda

Overview

- Introduction: country information - Vision, strategies - STI Policy and implementation - Indicators - R&D - Challenges - Way forward - Conclusion

INTRODUCTION:INTRODUCTION:Country informationCountry information

• Popn. 10Millions

• Popn density: varies;300-600/km2

• GDP: 400 USD/yr (cf 290 USD in 2001 with a target of 900 USD in 2020-Vision)

Land Area: 26,338 square kilometers

Location: Between 1 – 3 deg. latitude south and 29- 31deg. longitude east 75 miles from the Equator; 880 miles from the Indian Ocean; 1250 miles from the Atlantic Ocean

Altitude: Most of the country lies above 1000 m, with half of which lies between 1500 - 2000 m above sea level

Terrain: Mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east Land use: 47% cropland, 20% forest, 18% pasture, 13% other

Administration: 5 Provinces, 30 Districts, 416 Sectors

Country Information

Vision du Rwanda et le Role de la Science Vision du Rwanda et le Role de la Science Technologie et ICTTechnologie et ICT

• The belief of the Government of Rwanda in the power of Science for building Rwanda’s Economy – Economic Growth, Social Development – is embodied in:• Vision 2020• The National Policy of Science, Technology and

Innovation• NICI Plans

• To transform Rwanda’s currently Agriculture based economy to a knowledge based economy by year 2020.

• To use science, technology and ICT as a key enabler of this transformation

VISIONVISION

AgriculturalBased

Economy2001

KnowledgeBased

Economy2020

20 Years

Ministry of Education, Department of Science, Technology and Innovation promotes science, technology and innovation by:

• building partnerships, • sourcing for opportunities, • monitoring progress and • backstopping the implementation of the STI

policy

Implementation and delivery:•Other ministries / Sectors•Other organizations both public and private•National Council for Science Technology and innovation

Achieving Rwanda's Ambitions for STI

STI POLICY IN RWANDASTI POLICY IN RWANDA

- “Rwanda’s development will ultimately depend on the development of our human resource base and that of the people, with whom we share our destiny.” (Rwanda 1997, by His Excellence Paul Kagame)

- The application of science and technology is fundamental, and indeed indispensable, to the social and economic transformation of our countries. Productive capacities in modern economies are not based merely on capital, land and labour. They are also dependent on scientific knowledge and sustained technological advances”

(Speech to Royal Society UK September 2006)

- Professor Abdus Salam: 'Scientific and Technological knowledge is a “Human Kind Heritage.” Therefore any country pre-occupied with changing the livelihood of their people from poverty to better conditions of living must appropriately invest in science, technology, and innovation'

Human Resource Development in Human Resource Development in Science and TechnologyScience and Technology

Rwanda’s National Science, Technology and Rwanda’s National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (2005) Innovation Policy (2005)

Policy objectivesPolicy objectives

Knowledge Creation

Knowledge Acquisition

Culture of Innovation

• Often known as the knowledge triangle or innovation triangle, Can also be represented as the Knowledge and Innovation Tetrahedron

• This is the representation of the elements of the National STI Policy with:

• the three fundamental objectives, of

• Knowledge Acquisition,

• Knowledge Creation,

• Knowledge Transfer and

• Culture of Innovation to build on the solid foundation of these three

Knowledge Transfer

Knowledge AcquisitionKnowledge Acquisition:: Human Capacity BuildingHuman Capacity Building

• The principal areas for knowledge acquisition start at Primary level and move up through Secondary to Vocational, Technical, and Higher Institutions of learning.

• At primary level a project is ongoing to equip all 2,200 primary schools in Rwanda with a science corner. This will display fundamental information about science with particular relevance to the world around the school including the cycle of life, fundamentals of energy, the environment, and a computer with internet connection. OLPC – 100,000 lap tops being rolled out in 2009

• The proposed interventions at secondary level will include the provision of a high quality science and technology education, in schools equipped to also undertake practical lessons.

• At higher level (NUR, KIST, KHI, KIE, ISAE, UP) priority is focused on theoretical and practical training for medical practitioners, technologists in various fields, agriculturalists, scientists, engineers, doctors etc.

Knowledge CreationKnowledge Creation: :

IInfrastructure and Human Capacity Building in nfrastructure and Human Capacity Building in ResearchResearch

• Post doctoral training for our PhD holder lecturers in collaboration with foreign universities,

• The establishment of an S&T trust fund,(RWEF)• Research Fellowships• Industrial Attachments in all major projects,• Specific Research in Commodities with potential for

Economic Growth (LS, convergence platforms),• The establishment and reinforcement of high quality

laboratories, including all health districts and a state of the art reference laboratory (NRL),

• To establish S&T Centres of Excellence in HLIs,• Science and Technology Conferences• Reinforce the capacity of Industries to conduct

research by establishing R&D Units.

Rwandan Research Institutes and Agencies Rwandan Research Institutes and Agencies Focus AreasFocus Areas

• IRST - research and generation of suitable technologies in energy, environment, health, society and economic fields

• ISAR - development of appropriate technologies to transform agriculture from subsistence to commercial

• RADA - implement the national agriculture policy, supply farmers with appropriate technologies to increase production, reinforce the farmers’ technical capacity

• RARDA - growth of animal production through development of appropriate technologies, providing advisory, outreach and extension services to stakeholders in the animal resources sector

• RHODA - develop necessary legislation to govern activities for the increased production of horticultural products, implement national horticultural strategy

• REMA – implement the national environmental policy, environmental protection and regulation

• RDB/IT (Former RITA) – a centre of innovation and national point of reference for ICTs

Knowledge TransferKnowledge Transfer: : STI Capacity for Economic Growth, Poverty STI Capacity for Economic Growth, Poverty

Reduction and Meeting MDGsReduction and Meeting MDGs• Using STI Capacity Building in Rwanda as a Tool for

Improving the Lives of the Rural Poor, Reducing Poverty, and Achieving the MDGs, also as a tool for generating wealth and diversifying the economy• Agriculture Productivity -Research and Extension • Geothermal Energy / Geosciences • Food Processing and Food Technology• Clean Drinking Water and Sanitation• Biofuels-CITT/KIST• Vocational and Technical Education and Training• ICT• Crops / commodities developed or under

development include:• Coffee, Silk• Horticulture (flowers, vegetables, fruits)• Aquaculture, Herbs and Essential Oils• Banana Fibre

Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes (OFSP) rich in vit A (2)

Culture of InnovationKnowledge Creation and Knowledge Transfer Supporting the Knowledge Creation and Knowledge Transfer Supporting the

Green Revolution in Rwanda (1)Green Revolution in Rwanda (1)

Culture of InnovationCulture of Innovation: : Biodigesters in construction phase at Groupe Biodigesters in construction phase at Groupe

Scolaire du Bon Conseil(Byumba)Scolaire du Bon Conseil(Byumba)

2. CITT (Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer) under KIST , with a Vision:To be a centre of excellence for innovation, research, development and transfer of appropriate technologies, focusing on rural and peri-urban communities and equality of opportunities in Rwanda.

Science and Technology Policy AreasScience and Technology Policy Areas

Agriculture & Animal Husbandry

• Scientific techniques shall be used to improve land yield and productivity which is key to optimising the use of Rwanda’s limited land resource;

• Scientific techniques shall be applied for the promotion and development of specific commodities with a view to transformation of agriculture and animal husbandry with particular emphasis on the promotion of exports

Biotechnology

• The development of biotechnology to support increase in productivity both in terms of crop yield and animal husbandry and to assist with the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

Health

• A scientific approach to health issues to promote and focus heavily on infectious disease vaccines and clinical treatments

Science and Technology Policy AreasScience and Technology Policy Areas

Environment

• Scientific techniques shall be applied for the sustainable management of natural resources including biodiversity, water and soil conservation, marshlands improvement and issues related to climate change

Water and Sanitation

• Science and technology interventions to achieve sustainable and integrated water resources development and management to enable access nationally to effective sanitation systems and clean drinking water

Transport

• To develop local Rwandan capacity in the design and construction of transport infrastructure, including bridges, viaducts and culverts

Science and Technology Policy AreasScience and Technology Policy Areas

Energy

• To promote scientific and technological activities that will increase access to electricity and provide good quality, cost-effective service, including the development of capacity in all areas of energy research, development and implementation, with particular regard to renewable energy and the protection of the environment

ICT

• A focus shall be applied to information technology, especially in the fields of intelligence systems and decision making

Geo-information

• Advanced Geographical Information / Remote Sensing Systems (GIS/RS) shall be developed, covering the whole country, to enable spatial databases to be developed and maintained to maximise knowledge and understanding of the country

Science and Technology Policy AreasScience and Technology Policy Areas

Tourism

• Scientific and Technological processes shall be developed in support of the application of science to eco-environmental tourism with a view to supporting the development of the tourism sector in Rwanda

Industry

• The application of Science and Technology shall be promoted in support of the growth of the Industrial sector with a focus on light industry within a diversified economy, competitive and oriented towards exports

Private Sector

• The Science and Technology policy objective for the private sector is to focus on technological and innovative advancements in support of the emergence of a healthy private sector that will lead economic growth in Rwanda

Collaboration and National STI Policy

• The policy recognises the need to develop within the population a critical mass of knowledgeable critical thinking citizens

• Results of Collaboration seen in support of Various STI Results of Collaboration seen in support of Various STI initiativesinitiatives (1) • National Initiatives:

• OLPC – (MIT) • National Backbone, (World Bank, Korea Telecom,

Ministries of Telecoms Tanzania, Kenya)• Support gained at:

• National level• Bi-lateral• Multilateral• Corporate• Data Centre – (Government of Rwanda)• CNS (Communication Navigation Surveillance), ATM (Air

Traffic Management ), (USTDA, COMESA)• Regional Centre of Excellence in ICT – (Carnegie Mellon

University US, AfDB), COE in Biodiversity (UNESCO)

Technology Applications

•Energy (Methane / Geothermal)

•Joint Discussions DRC Rwanda

Technology Applications•Broadcasting, Climate Change, Communication Navigation

Surveillance (CNS) /Air Traffic Management (ATM)•Tripartite Agreement: Virunga National Park Conservation

Technology Applications•Conservation

•Rwanda / Burundi: Nyungwe National Park Conservation

Technology Applications

•Fibre Optic Comms

•Joint Discussions Rwanda / Uganda / Kenya / Tanzania

Regional (& International) Science CollaborationRegional (& International) Science Collaboration

Transmitter on top of Mount Karismbi

Methane Gas Plant Lake Kivu

Mountain Gorillas

Golden Monkey – Endangered species of Albertine Rift

Albertine Rift

Regional (& International) Science Collaboration (2)Regional (& International) Science Collaboration (2)

Using ICT as an enabler to support the Using ICT as an enabler to support the followingfollowing

Direct Economic Benefits• Job creation e.g outsourcing from other countries

based on ICT knowledge, service industry, software development, design and manufacture, support in local industry, hardware assembly

• Creating wealth for people• Economic growth

Indirect Social and Economic Benefits• Access to services e.g. health information, education

information, financial including banking, Governmental services/

• Access to markets e.g. agricultural• Telemedicine, Tele-education (Distance learning)• Communication – keeping people in touch with each

other.

LES INDICATEURS DE S-TLES INDICATEURS DE S-T

1. EFFECTIFS DES ELEVES DANS LES FILLIERES SCIENTIFIQUES AU SECONDAIRE

En 2009, on a enregistré 37 952 élèves scolarisés en science et technologie sur 110 992 effectifs du secondaire soit 34,2%,

En 2010, on a enregistré 36.4% des élèves

orientés dans les filières scientifiques et technologiques soit un effectif de 46.125 élèves sur 126 788 élèves scolarisés au secondaire.

2. STUDENTS IN HIGHER LEARNING 2. STUDENTS IN HIGHER LEARNING INSTITUTIONS IN SCIENCE FIELDSINSTITUTIONS IN SCIENCE FIELDS

• En 2010, 25 894 étudiants fréquentaient les facultés des sciences et technologie sur un effectif total de 62 734 étudiants des institutions d’enseignement supérieur et universitaires soit 41.3%

• En 2009, 22 421 étudiants fréquentaient les facultés des sciences et technologie sur un effectif total de 55 213 soit 40.6%.

3. LE STAFF ACADEMIQUE, CHERCHEURS 3. LE STAFF ACADEMIQUE, CHERCHEURS SCIENTIFIQUES SCIENTIFIQUES

2400 enseignants et chercheurs dont la moitie exercent leurs fonctions dans les filieres scientifiques et technologiques.

 Les principales institutions de recherche du Rwanda IRST et ISAR ont 100 chercheurs et 50 techniciens.

R & D FINANCINGR & D FINANCING• Research in public institutions is financed

partially from the national annual budget with the support of external funders by development partners under bilateral (SIDA-SAREC, DFID, USAID, NUFFIC, JICA, CUD, BTC, GIZ, etc..) and international cooperation (WB, AfDB, UNESCO, UNECA, WHO,etc…)

• The National STI policy is expected, with time, to progressively attain the required 1% of the annual budget set aside for R&D as recommended by AMCOST.

• Individual research institutions sign MoUs with development partners, both local as well as regional/international, on mutually agreed terms

• The Private sector, is strongly urged to invest in research projects as they stand to benefit from them at both short and long term levels.

Challenges in ResearchChallenges in Research

The problems that beset research in Rwanda are categorized into the following types:

1. Financial- research is not sufficiently financed leading to some planned projects grinding to a holt before

completion 2. Lack of qualified human capacity in

different domains 3. Work load vs time: staff at Universities,

hardly have any time to engage in research in addition to their heavy involvement in teaching and supervision of their students work. Very few are full time researchers

Other problems includeOther problems include::

• Infrastructure and research equipments for STI are limited; eg laboratories, workshops, reagents, etc…

• Insufficient involvement of the private sector• Mobility /instability of researchers in their careers

and research programmes• Data are still scattered in different institutions, eg

the RNEC, NISR, HEC, different ministries and agencies,etc….

• Disorganized statistics and research reporting was attributed to lack of an organized framework in which all research could be coordinated, before. Since the establishment of the Directorate of Science, Technology and Research (DSTR/I), under the NCSTI law governing research, this coordination is now in progress. Moreover there are, now, well elaborated rules governing research in Rwanda to bring about order.

WAY FORWARD AND CONCLUSIONS.WAY FORWARD AND CONCLUSIONS.

• With the establishment of the Directorate of Science, Technology and Research (DSTR/I), under the NCSTI law governing research, this coordination is now in progress. Moreover there are, now, well elaborated rules governing research in Rwanda to bring about order.

• A Data Bank is in compilation to establish a harmonized way of data collection and analysis for accurate record and for smooth coordination and utilization/sharing of information (retrieving data pertaining to STI that is still scattered in different institutions). Organization of seminars for efficient data collection and analysis.

• Statistics on R&D, Innovations, and others collected from secondary sources will be centralized.

• Research will be harmonized and data reliable.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!