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The Faculty of Environmental Studies at UNILAK joined the rest of the world to celebrate the World Environment Day on June 5, 2023. In this regard, the faculty planned different activities under the theme “Solutions to Plastic Pollution” for one month May 28 – June 28 2023 including the Public Lecturer on May 29, 2023 and others.   World Environment Day 2023 is on Monday, 5 June. This year, the theme is #BeatPlasticPollution. Wherever you are this month, take the opportunity to reduce your plastic waste and perhaps introduce some new sustainability habits into your lifestyle.   Learn more about plastic pollution   The World Environment Day website contains a wealth of practical guides and tips to help  people and organisations reduce plastic waste and solve plastic pollution challenges. You can also learn more about microplastics and how they impact our environment.   About World Environment Day   Held every year on 5 June, World Environment Day brings together people and countries around the world to take action and raise awareness on looking after our natural environment. Created by the United Nations in 1972, the day has been observed regularly since that point and annually since 2000, when the World Environment Day website was launched to better bring together global celebrations and efforts. Each year a theme is selected, and governments, community groups, corporations, schools, charities and individuals around the world organise activities and initiatives in support of that theme.

This June 15th, 2023; the University of Lay Adventists of Kigali saw its 17th academic graduation ceremony where 906 graduates were decorated. Among those graduates 758 got their bachelor’s degrees while 148 got their master’s degrees. In his speech, the Vice Chancellor of UNILAK, Professor Jean NGAMIJE congratulated the graduates for their well deserved achievements and wishes them good luck. “We acknowledge the great work you have done, we honor you with congratulations and we send you on your way with blessings and good wishes from UNILAK community”; said Prof Ngamije He urged them to create a better future for everyone around them. “As you graduate, you have the opportunity to create a better future for your families, for your communities and your country. You are graduating today, in much harder times, when you have many people searching for jobs than the available number of jobs; from what you have learnt from UNILAK, you are able to create jobs and I have no doubt that  you will continue to impress us with so many achievements in years to come;” added Prof Ngamije. The graduates have completed their master’s and undergraduate levels in the faculties of Economic Sciences and Management, Law, Environmental studies, Computing and Information Sciences. The ceremony brought together all the graduates from the UNILAK campuses of Kigali, Nyanza and Rwamagana.

The Rwanda Internet Community and Technology Alliance (RICTA) introduced Students of the university of Lay Adventists of Kigali to AkadomoRw reseller’s program and further opportunities that await them. As per the statistics from RICTA; more than 5000 businesses and institutions in Rwanda use other generic domain names such as Dot Com and Dot Org, which can be detrimental to their online presence and business identity. Many people are not appropriately informed about the benefits of Dot RW domain name and the benefits that they stand to gain by choosing and using it. This campaign was set to engage students and acquaint them with the world of business through affiliate marketing. The campaign proved to be a valuable platform for introducing the AkadomoRw Reseller Program and educating students about the opportunities available in the business world. “The information provided on AkadomoRW by the Chief Executive Officer of RICTA, Ms. Ingabire Grace shed light on the significance of supporting the local .rw domain extension. The subsequent Q&A session allowed for further clarification, ensuring that students had a comprehensive understanding of the presented material”, said Ms. Linda Museruka, a student in level 2 of Software Engineering. “The campaign fostered a spirit of collaboration and provided valuable insights for us interested in venturing into the domain of business and affiliate marketing;” she added. The campaign was facilitated by the management of the Faculty of Computing and Information Sciences and was meant for students of that faculty in a bid to link the knowledge learnt in classes to the practices on the market.

The University of Lay Adventists of Kigali received a delegation from Yonsei University in South Korea, on 4th of May 2023. The delegation was lead by Professor Dongwon Ahn. The delegation was received by Dr. Emmanuel HAKIZIMANA, the UNILAK Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academics and Research together with Mr. NIYONKURU Richard, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance  and Professor Anthony Uwaya, the head of Partnerships. During the meeting, both parties discussed mutual areas of collaborations and partnerships specifically in areas of join research, joint curriculum development, joint projects, students and staff exchanges.

UNILAK has organized a two day seminar for academic staff in order to enhance the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, research and service rendered to the community among academic staff. The seminar took place from 11th April to 12th April, 2023 at UNILAK Kigali Campus where more than 70 lecturers were brought together. In his opening remarks, Prof. Ngamije Jean, the Vice Chancellor of UNILAK appreciated the participants for their tireless efforts in offering their best to students and urged them to actively participate in this seminar which is meant to add more to their knowledge. During the seminar, participants learnt how to prepare course materials and valid exams, how to deliver courses and manage class in the presentation done by Prof. Penine Uwimbabazi, The Vice Chancellor of Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences They were also told about the new Law governing educational institutions and other policies used in Higher Learning Institutions and were encouraged to comply with this law in their daily activities. Among the presentations were the use of ICT in teaching, learning and assessment; work ethics and quality service in teaching, learning and assessment; research activities and community service. Participants in the seminar were thrilled to learn more from experts and also for the opportunity to know each. They have requested for more seminars of this kind. Apart from these presentations; lecturers have elected their representative in the board of directors of the institution whereby Dr. Rulinda Ephrard, a lecturer in the faculty of Economic Sciences and Management won the election. The seminar ended on key notes of appreciation delivered by Dr Emmanuel Hakizimana, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academics and Research to the presenters in the seminar as well as  participants  for their attention and active participants in the seminar. Participants were also given certificates of appreciation.

The University of Lay Adventists of Kigali, Rwamagana Campus in partnership with Rwamagana District and LAND O’ LAKES VENTURE 37 Project organized a two day workshop on cooperative performance from 22nd to 23rd of March, 2023 at UNILAK Rwamagana Campus. The training was under the theme “improved management for cooperative sustainability” and revolved around the financial recording and cooperative auditing. Among the trainees were the cooperative managers and members of the audit committees. They were trained on basic skills concerning audit practices. They appreciated what they learnt and promised to use this knowledge in improving their cooperatives.

A consortium made up of Youth Engagement in Agriculture Network (YEAN) in partnership with the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Board (RAB) and the University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK), conducted a one-day event to launch two agricultural knowledge hubs, which are the AGRIBUSINESS INCUBATION AND INNOVATION HUB (AIIH)—UNILAK KIGALI HUB and AGRICULTURE KNOWLEDGE HUB on April 4th, 2023.   The event brought together youth and key project partners including the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), AGRA, Cordaid Rwanda, Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF), the Private Sector Federation (PSF), CNFA Rwanda, Youth agripreneurs and   youth beneficiaries.  In his opening remarks, Mr. Etienne NIYIGABA, the project lead, stated that these facilities are available to everyone, particularly the youth under the Private Extension and Advisory Learning Experience (PEALE) program.   The Agribusiness Incubation and Innovation Hub will serve as a space for agripreneurs to facilitate their transition from ideas into strong and successful agri-businesses models. It will provide a co-working space, coaching and mentorship, network and linkages, and knowledge sharing to agripreneurs.   On the other hand, the Agriculture Knowledge Hub is a center for agriculture knowledge production, management and dissemination for effective extension and advisory services to farmers and agripreneurs.   Youth agripreneurs will use these hubs to develop and disseminate agriculture learning products, access incubation services to develop and scale their initiatives in agribusiness and innovation, and facilitate in strengthening youth led resilience programs including youth led private extension and advisory services.   In his speech, Dr. Emmanuel HAKIZIMANA, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academics and Research of UNILAK expressed the pleasure, the University has, for hosting the Agribusiness Incubation and Innovation Hub and said that it is one of the university priorities to make impact in the community through different initiatives implemented with the community through their campuses in Kigali city, Nyanza and Rwamagana District. He added that UNILAK will be glad to facilitate the replication on the same hub to their other 3 campuses.   All speakers at the event reiterated prioritizing knowledge in agriculture especially in agribusiness to create diversified opportunities for job and wealth along the agriculture value chain.   Mr. Octave NSHIMIYIMANA, Director General of Agriculture Value Chain Management and Trade at MINAGRI, advised youth and participants to make good use of the resources that have been made available. He added that to achieve your objectives once you are exposed to opportunities, knowledge should be an integral part of the journey. He shared with youth available opportunities in the ecosystem from different partners for youth in agriculture and urged them to work hard to secure those opportunities.   The hubs are part of the implementation of the AIRTEA Project which seeks to contribute to achieving sustainable agrarian livelihoods and rural transformation by fostering an inclusive innovation environment with specific objectives of strengthening the capacities of youth and women in East Africa’s multi-stakeholder innovation platforms and link to solutions within national, regional, and global food systems.

The University of Lay Adventists of Kigali organized the first ever cultural diversity day which brought together all the students of the university coming from different countries “When we brought together our students in these extracurricular activities, it is an opportunity for us to show them that we are the same even through our cultures and that every culture must be preserved and respected”; said Mr Nyamaswa Ephron, the dean of students at UNILAK. The event saw different presentations from various nationalities which include dances, poems, traditional ceremonies like weddings. Emmanuel Patrick, a student in Law Faculty from Liberia, also a representative of international students attested that having a cultural diversity day in their university is a best welcome note for them as international students as it bridges any gap which could exist among them that any nationality is superior to others. Since 2019, UNILAK has become a home to students coming from more than 25 countries, especially West African countries.