COIL University Rwanda*
The project began through personal contacts of Prof. Susanne Wilpers as part of a search for partners for a COIL (Cooperative Online International Learning) within the framework of the DAAD-funded flagship project INVEST PRO3. The University of Rwanda was enlisted as a partner through the extensive network of HHN. The innovative idea was to link a study abroad excursion with a COIL. Groups were formed, each consisting of students from the Business Faculty in Heilbronn and the Technology Faculty, along with corresponding members from Rwanda. These teams had just under two months to develop a project proposal for a product or service in Rwanda that aligns with the UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals.
Emphasis was placed on ensuring that students collaboratively researched and developed solutions as a team on equal footing. While there were no specific content requirements, detailed methodological suggestions were provided for economic analysis and technical approaches to product innovation.
Supervising professors, including Prof. Susanne Wilpers, Prof. Ansgar Meroth, Prof. Peter Ott, Prof. Jonas Barayandema, Dr. Jean Claude Byungura, Dr. Bernard Munyazikwiye, and Dr. Pierre Bakunzibake, accompanied the teams online until they met on July 26, 2022, in Kigali at the University of Rwanda campus. Over four days, students refined their proposals on-site and prepared for the project presentation.
Simultaneously, meetings took place with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Thomas Kurz. There, students could extensively learn about the collaboration between German entities and government and non-government organizations in Rwanda, as well as the history and political situation of the country.
The public presentation of the projects, primarily aimed at facilitating agriculture and public transport, took place at the University's congress center with the participation of representatives from the university and faculty leadership, GIZ, and organizations related to these industries. Thanks to a successful ERASMUS+ application jointly submitted by both faculties in a coordinated effort of all international relations officers, funds are now available for the coming years to establish further cooperation.
In the subsequent cultural part of the excursion, the German group participated in the monthly Umuganda, a morning where all residents of a village or neighborhood come together to exchange news, address administrative matters, and contribute to community building. In this case, the pedestrian zone of the neighborhood was thoroughly cleaned. Additionally, German and Rwandan students visited historical sites, museums, and the University campus in Huye, in the south of Rwanda. The memorial site for the 1994 genocide was also on the agenda for the German group, in remembrance of dark times in this now very hospitable and clean country in the heart of Africa.
*Thanks to Prof. Dr. Ansgar Meroth for this text.
