Boston, 22 April 2014
This morning in Boston, President Kagame began a two day visit to Boston with a visit at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The visit began with a tour of the Atmospheric Chemistry Lab at the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. The visit was followed by a round table discussion with MIT faculty members in the fields of energy, management and development.
Starting the conversation, MIT President Rafael Reif expressed solidarity with Rwanda during the mourning period of the 20th Commemoration of the Genocide Against the Tutsi.
The discussion centred on ongoing and future opportunities for partnerships between MIT and Rwanda including increasing the number of Rwandan students attending MIT.
Currently, the main joint projects with Rwanda include the Rwanda-MIT Climate Observatory Project and the iLab-Africa Project.
The Rwanda-MIT Climate Observatory Project aims to collect high frequency atmospheric observation that will contribute to meteorological forecasting, monitor climatic conditions and collect data on gases emitted. Starting with one Rwandan student, Jimmy Gasore, already pursuing his doctoral degree in the field and more students operating the technology in Rwanda, the partnership will also focus on building scientific, engineering and educational capacity. The project will also provide data that will enable Rwanda to measure its emission and better fulfill its commitment to environmentally sustainable development.
The partnership with iLab Africa project now provides students at the College of Science and Technology (former KIST) and the Huye Campus (former NUR) the opportunity to perform real engineering and science experiment via the internet.
President Kagame will end the day with a lecture at Tufts University.