The Students’ Conference on “Role of youth in Establishing Rwanda as a Globally Competitive Knowledge-based Economy” was organized by the Economic Policy Research Network (EPRN) and attracted more than 250 experts from different public institutions, NGOs, researchers and academics institutions, private companies and development partners. This student’s competition was held on 28th October, 2019 from 10am-2pm at Mount Kenya University.

The conference started by welcoming remarks of Dr Mercyline Kamande, Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor academic and research affairs in Mount Kenya University. In her speech, she thanked EPRN for organizing this conference as it is a good opportunity not only for students but also for everyone who is in the field of economics. She also stressed the significance of instilling a culture of doing research among Rwanda’s youth and thanked all the participants for their commitment to EPRN Research driven programs and encouraged more students to join EPRN.

EPRN Coordinator, Mr. Seth Kwizera also gave opening remarks and he said that “EPRN want to raise knowledge in research related to economy as it helps in policy decision making”. He delivered a presentation about the history of EPRN Students Chapter as an opportunity for students to learn more about current economic topics, linking students with professional researchers, internships, trainings, student competitions and many more. There were also other speakers such as Dr Charles RURANGA, Legal representative of EPRN

There were 3 winners who presented their papers about the research topic of “Role of youth in Establishing Rwanda as a Globally Competitive Knowledge-based Economy” showcasing how they came up with their research findings and the different models of research they used to analyze their data. This session was followed by questions, suggestions and recommendations from the audience that consisted Lecturers at different levels and students.

• The Winner was SHEMA Godwin from UNILAK Kigali. “Challenges affecting youth in fostering ICT use for development in Rwanda”.

• 1st run-up : NIYOMUGABO Felicien from UR-CAVM Busogo campus. “Assessment of local content and facilitation to citizens (including people with disabilities) to assess digital devices that will enable them use online services”.
• 2nd run-up : MWIZA Sharifa from UR-Huye campus. “Role of youth in establishing Rwanda as globally competitive knowledge based on economy”.

This session was followed by a competition where competitors from different groups that won on regional level competed against each other to win the overall first place as EPRN student chapter National champions. Panelists facilitated in choosing the best among the contestants : Mr. Seth Kwizera, Coordinator at EPRN, Will Okul from EPRN, and Agnes Uzarerwa from GIZ.

• The winner was Cohort group from University of Rwanda (CAVM Busogo)
• The 1st run-up was Young researchers from University of Rwanda (Huye campus)
• The 2nd run-up was Visionaries group from INES Ruhengeri

The Conference ended with a networking and lunch session where different refreshments were served to all participants that attended the conference