Traditionally, African universities have been producing graduates and post graduates for more than 40 years but no significant impacts have been recorded in terms of socio-economic development of most the African countries. Rather, the African society has been subjected to socio-economic and political instability and some cases the situation has even declined. An outsider could guess that the package of education and training provided to those graduates and post graduate who have been and are still running the African countries were not adequate and adapted to the African realities. As a response to that challenge, the NUR/CEESD is proposing its humble contribution to link the University and the realities of the Rwandan society to support the production of skilled and knowledgeable graduates/ post graduates with regards to the millennium goals, the Government of Rwanda vision 2020 and many other specific priorities of the country including rural area sustainable development. The NUR/CEESD will work as an inter-faculty and inter-disciplinary unit and it will mobilize and build the capacity of NUR scientific staff in the areas of Environment, Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development.

The NUR/CEESD will also link the NUR units with external stakeholders to better know the needs of the knowhow and skills market and better serve it. Environment will be a key area where the NUR/CEESD will focus in order to contribute to the worldwide action for the environment protection. Indeed, the human kind is actually facing serious environmental challenges including: climate change, global warming, natural resources degradation and environmental pollution.

Joseph NDAGIJIMANA
Acting Director of NUR/CEESD