On 8 May, a delegation from Tsinghua University met with Gaspard Twagirayezu, Minister of Education of Rwanda, in Kigali, Rwanda. Attending the meeting were Zhao Jinsong, Associate Director of the Institute for International and Area Studies (IIAS) of Tsinghua University, Zhu Xufeng, Dean of School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University, Dr Yang Chongsheng, Assistant Director of IIAS of Tsinghua University, and PhD student Zhang Shuibei. During the meeting, the two sides had an in-depth and friendly exchange on the cooperation between China and Rwanda in higher education, especially in the field of area studies, as well as the cooperation in degree education and international training program for international students in public policy and management.
Group photo of Minister Gaspard with Tsinghua University delegation
On behalf of the IIAS, Zhao Jinsong introduced to Minister Gaspard an overview of Tsinghua University and the development history of the IIAS Doctoral Program in Developing Country Studies, the existing teaching and training programs, the academic and research system as well as international cooperation. The Kigali Field Station, as the only overseas field station in Africa, was established on 9 May 2024 by the IIAS of Tsinghua University and the University of Rwanda, with the aim of providing a platform for Tsinghua University and its collaborators to carry out field research and academic activities in sub-Saharan Africa, and establishing a foundation for further exchanges and cooperation in area studies in sub-Saharan Africa.
Since the signing of the MoU between Tsinghua University's IIAS and the University of Rwanda in August 2023, the two sides have carried out a series of attempts in academic exchanges and visits, lectures, and research cooperation, etc. The establishment of the Kigali Field Station marks the further deepening of the cooperation between the two sides and opens a new chapter of the disciplinary construction and academic exchanges between Tsinghua University and the University of Rwanda in the field of area studies. The establishment of Kigali Field Station marks the further deepening of the cooperation between the two sides and opens a new chapter for the academic construction and exchange between Tsinghua University and the University of Rwanda on area studies.
Zhu Xufeng introduced to Minister Gaspard the history of Tsinghua University and the objectives, development history, education and training system, as well as research institutions and achievements of the School of Public Policy and Management. In particular, he mentioned that since 2008, with the support of the Ministry of Commerce of China, the School has hosted two full English foreign aid degree programs, which have so far successfully trained more than 400 students from developing countries, including 22 graduates from Rwanda. In addition, Zhu Xufeng also introduced to the Minister the high level international civil service training programs carried out by the School in recent years.
Minister Gaspard expressed his warm welcome to the Tsinghua University delegation. After listening carefully to the detailed introduction of the delegates, he expressed his strong desire to promote extensive cooperation between Rwandan universities and Tsinghua University in the field of higher education. He praised the unremitting efforts of the IIAS of Tsinghua University in sending visiting scholars to Rwanda and establishing an academic cooperation and exchange platform, as well as the Foreign Aid Degree Programs and International Civil Servants Training Programs carried out by the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University. He believed that these cooperations have achieved remarkable results and played an important role in enhancing the capacity of young talents and civil servants in Rwanda, as well as building the academic capacity of Rwanda. He earnestly hoped that more Rwandan students would go to Tsinghua University in the future to study, and become a bridge and link between the two countries in friendly exchanges.
Zhu Xufeng (first from left) and Zhao Jinsong (first from right) presented a souvenir of Tsinghua University to Minister Gaspard
Tsinghua University Delegation Introduces Academic Exchange and Cooperation
