EPRN student chapter is a group of university students who are in the field of economics, finance, business, statistics and other related fields. It engages students with various activities aiming at sharpening their skills and mind the following area :
• Research (develop culture of reading and writing)
• Study trips
• Internship ( academic &professional)
• Debate (Develop public speaking skills)
• Networking events (conferences and seminars)
• Career development
• Capacity building (Training and Public lectures)
• Student Competitions (Paper writing, Debates and group quiz)
• Online and physical library and E-learning

Organizational Structure of Student Chapter Group

• National level
At Country level, There are two staffs namely Representative and Deputy Representative whoare in charge of coordinating all Student Chapter groups in universities. They are also responsible for commutation between EPRN and Student Chapter Groups through physical visits at their campus, emails and phone calls. The Representative and his/her Deputy are recruited by EPRN and reports to EPRN Coordinator on weekly basis.

• Campus Level
At campus level, EPRN student chapter group has 4 committee members
• Team leader
• Deputy team leader
• Secretary
• Accountant

• Responsibilities of each Student Chapter committee member

a. Team Leader

• Represent student chapter in campus
• Represent student chapter in EPRN events where students need to be represented
• Coordination of group activities
• Prepare annual work plans
• Prepare activity concept notes
• Prepare activity report, monthly report and annual report
• Recruit and mobilize members
• Report to Representative of EPRN Student Chapter Groups

b. Deputy Team Leader

• Works with Team Leader in his/her responsibilities
• Act in the absence of the team leader and whenever appointed to
• Recruit and mobilize members
• Reports to Team Leader

c. Secretary

• Takes minutes of committee meeting
• Prepare reports of events at campus level
• Keep and update database of members at campus level
• Store and keep records of all the student chapter documents
• Recruit and mobilize members
• Reports to Team Leader

d. Accountant

• Prepares activity budget at campus level
• Make necessary purchases with supporting documents (invoice, receipt, attendance list…) for all expenses
• Prepare financial report every quarter and year
• Manage special grant / income for the group
• Recruit and mobilize members
• Reports to Team Leader

Incentives to committee members

• Each student chapter committee member is entitled to EPRN T-shirt, Notebook, Pens and promotion materials
• A student chapter group is allowed to send one committee member in trainings organized by EPRN free of charge
• All committee members are allowed to attend EPRN events free of charge (conferences, policy dialogues, etc)
• Special awards to 3 best performing student chapters (annually)

How does the Student chapter group work ?

• The group prepares annual work plan to be approved by EPRN Secretariat
• A group prepares a concept note with budget (if necessary) for every single activity before implementation
• EPRN staff in charge of student chapter attends an event which necessitates budgets. In this case he/she carries money required for the event expenses and bring back all supporting documents
• After an event is done, an original report is prepared and sent to EPRN (representative of student chapter) and a copy is kept by the chapter group’s committee.

Partners in this project

EPRN Rwanda looks forward to have partners to implement this project which mainly targets to identify potentials in youth and enhance the youth capabilities. Many development partners including NGOs and INGOs strive to help youth empowerment journey through building their capacities, providing networking opportunities, providing services like career guidance, etc. Therefore EPRN is happy to welcome all interested partners to make this project a reality.

What is the difference between EPRN and EPRN Student Chapter ?

EPRN is the parent organization, focusing on senior researchers and staff from Rwandan government institutions, while EPRN Student Chapter is a branch of EPRN which targets university students.

What makes EPRN Student Chapter unique ?

EPRN Student Chapter is Rwanda’s first network of junior researchers (University students) who are the nurseries of future economic research. The EPRN Student Chapter groups organize events focusing on economic topics, skills and knowledge-transfer, peer to peer support and networking. By joining EPRN Student Chapter, university students will develop their potential with the help of customized services and access to a broad network of stakeholders in the field of economics and policy research. The objective is to enable university students to embark in their own research, spark innovative solutions in them and give a voice to them as youth while strengthening their skills in presenting, debating, academic writing, etc. In turn, this will increase their overall employability.

Who can join EPRN Student Chapter groups ?

Our target group is but not limited to university students from economics Statistics, Business and other related fields who are interested in research. However, doors are open to students from other disciplines who show a strong interest in research.