Mount Kigali University (MKUR) welcomed delegations from the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) Centre for Nursing and Midwifery and the Creighton University College of Nursing (Nebraska, USA) for a high-level partnership engagement focused on strengthening nursing and midwifery education in Rwanda and beyond. Hosted at the Kigali Paramount Hotel and chaired by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic and Research Affairs (DVCARA), Dr. Ruth Thinguri, on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, the engagement brought together nurse educators, researchers, and academic leaders to share experiences and best practices in nursing and midwifery education, research, clinical training, and community engagement.
Welcoming the guests, Dr. Thinguri traced Mount Kigali University’s journey and reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to building partnerships that elevate the quality of health sciences education in the region. “We are excited about this partnership,” she noted, encouraging open interaction among participants. Dr. Clemence Nishimwe (PhD), Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences (SN&HS), presented the School’s profile, highlighting its six departments, Nursing, Midwifery, Mental Health Nursing, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Dental Therapy, and Public Health, all delivering curricula accredited by the Higher Education Council (HEC) and aligned with the Rwanda National Qualifications Framework.
She also shared an exciting milestone: MKUR has developed a Master’s programme and a PhD in Nursing, currently awaiting HEC approval, with the Master’s programme expected to launch with an inaugural cohort of 15 students. This positions Mount Kigali University to close a critical national gap in advanced nursing qualifications, where institutions offering bachelor’s programmes often lack locally trained Master’s-level professionals. Representing UGHE, Catherine Uwimana and Associate Professor Helen Ewing underscored the dual identity of those in the room, “nurses as well as educators”, and shared UGHE’s model of community engagement, where researchers continuously identify gaps and work alongside community health workers to design awareness campaigns that strengthen Africa’s health sector.
From Creighton University, Associate Professor Becky Davis and Assistant Professor Tamara Olivier shared the legacy of a college of nursing founded in 1928 and its growing global mission, including donor-funded scholarships. The Creighton team praised the structure of Rwanda’s healthcare system and expressed strong interest in deeper collaboration. Discussions identified a rich agenda for future collaboration. The institutions explored opportunities for joint webinars and professional development programmes, alongside student and staff mobility and exchange initiatives that would expose learners and faculty to diverse health systems and teaching environments. Also on the table were adjunct faculty arrangements, including visiting lectureships during partner visits, joint supervision of postgraduate research, and collaborative community health projects and mentorship schemes designed to extend the partnership’s impact beyond the classroom and into the communities the institutions serve
Closing the session, Dr. Thinguri emphasised the need to formalise the relationship through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to guide the collaboration, and extended an invitation to the visiting faculty to serve as adjunct lecturers at Mount Kigali University. Mount Kigali University continues to position itself as a leading hub for transformational training, research, innovation, and community service in Rwanda, in line with its vision to be a Citadel for Teaching, Learning and Research in pursuit of excellence in Science, Technology and Innovation.
