The call was made by the Executive Secretary of the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST), Eugene Mutimura, last week, during NCST grants awarding ceremony for successful applications in science, innovation and technology.

The event held under the “Integrating STI across all sectors to stimulate Rwanda’s economic growth” theme was part of the 7^th NCST Council Meeting, aimed at showcasing Rwanda’s STI ecosystem.

Fifteen projects were awarded in an evening of networking cocktail that gathered STI local and global experts.

The projects came from two categories and these include; Women in Science Research and Innovation (WIS) and Rwanda Innovation Challenges for Academia-Industry Research and Development Collaboration (RIC-R&D) Grant.

Winners secured $90,000 each for their projects and these include; Tale-genetics and Genomic Testing in Rwandan Patients with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (TELEGERNE) by Dr Annette Uwineza, Lithium-ion Battery Direct Cathode Recycling and battery cell Manufacturing by Mr Leandre Berwa, among others.

Mutimura said the grants are to help women and girls become leaders in research and change the livelihood of Rwandans.

« We noticed that academician researchers need to move from their respective workplaces to go on field and partner with others for research purposes, which creates innovations and contribute to the development of Rwandans, hence, we aim for all research and innovation projects, at least 30 per cent of the team to be women leading » Mutimura said.