The excursion was carried out within the framework of the DAAD-funded project "Advancing sustainable economic development in Rwanda through circular agro-economy". A project in which the Africa Institute of HNU cooperates with the University of Rwanda (UR) and several industrial partners from Germany and Rwanda.
Visit of Nyamirambo Women's Center, Industry and Entrepreneurship Workshop
At the beginning of the trip, the HNU group visited the Nyamirambo Women's Center in Kigali, which provides training and employment for women from disadvantaged groups in society with the aim of making them economically self-sufficient and independent. Furthermore, the group participated in an industry workshop on circular economy organized and conducted by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), UR and HNU. An entrepreneurship workshop was also held, where circular startup ideas were presented by UR innovators. HNU and UR students jointly developed and presented innovation ideas for given challenge questions in a fast ideation format.
Intensive collaboration between HNU and UR
To develop innovation and business ideas, the HNU group also traveled to Musanze, located in northern Rwanda. There, the HNU students worked closely for several days with 20 students from the College for Agriculture, Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Rwanda. A final item on the program was a visit to a University of Rwanda graduate's successful startup, Golden Insects, which produces organic fertilizer and high-protein animal feed by using insect cultures.
"For me, it is always fascinating to experience how quickly a mutually fruitful collaboration develops between our HNU business students and African students, in this case from Rwanda, who come from scientific and technical backgrounds. The mix of these skills is ideal for jointly developing and improving business ideas," notes Prof. Dr. Thomas Bayer.
This intensive cooperation also resulted in numerous personal connections and joint activities between the HNU and UR students in Musanze. For all excursion participants, this trip was the first stay in a country on the African continent and therefore associated with learning experiences on many levels. Student Sven Briese says: "For me it was impressive to see the corporate culture among young students in Rwanda and also the willingness to still take tips from us HNU students. My highlight was the last evening, when we ate and celebrated together.
