The public sector is partnering with private industry in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
NUR has signed a major agreement with the world leading company in GIS software, ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute).
ESRI is a US based software company organized around the world through a network of local distributors. Some years ago, ESRI Germany has expressed interest in Rwanda and has made a major investment to support a long term vision for the emergence of private entrepreneurship in the field of Geo-ICT in Rwanda through capacity building.
It has taken several visits, both by Prof Dr Chrysologue Karangwa, Rector of NUR in Germany and by Mr. Michael Sittard, CEO ESRI Germany, in Rwanda, for finally conclude by a 5 year agreement between the two institutions. The agreement is mainly implemented by the promising Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing Centre of NUR (CGIS-NUR). It will allow professors, researchers and students of NUR to access to GIS software (ArcGIS) using an unlimited campus license. It covers also an intensive professional training-of-the-trainers program, distance learning support through complete access to ESRI virtual campus, software applications development, infrastructure enhancement and so on.
Through this partnership, the University will be able to progress in its goals to become a Competence Centre in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) with a national and regional visibility. This agreement recognizes that academic education in developing countries in general and in Rwanda in particular is of utmost importance. This investment of a private company of such international “calibre” is a major step toward the recognition of Rwanda playing a major role in the region. This is also the result of ESRI Germany sharing the important visions and goals to transform Rwanda into an IT literate nation by 2020 and to promote and encourage the deployment and utilization of ICT within the economy and society.
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