African Center of Excellence in Internet of Things

Today, as one of the hosts of @PasetRsif sponsored PhD students, we were pleased to welcome participants of the @PasetRsif Governing Council Meeting, held in Kigali.

The delegation, led by the Minister of Education of Rwanda, Hon. Joseph Nsengimana, chair of PASET Governing council , accompanied by Minister of Education, Senegal; Prof. Goolam Mohamedbhai, Chair, PASET Consultative Advisory Group (CAG) and other representatives from Nigeria, Tanzania and Mozambique.

They were welcomed by UR VC, Prof. Kayihura Muganga Didace.

The purpose of the visit was to showcase PASET's impact, highlight the University of Rwanda's achievements as a Host University, and discuss the strategic role of African universities in advancing science, technology, and innovation.

They learned about the Centre’s key achievements in research and innovation from RSIF funds with a focus on research addressing real-world challenges.
They also toured our facilities and commended the work being undertaken by our researchers and students.

The visit provided an opportunity to showcase our achievements in research and innovation and reaffirm our commitment to advancing impactful research and developing solutions to real-world challenges.

Today, we welcomed a delegation from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), one of the key funders supporting our Transformative Artificial Intelligence Research and Innovation Lab (TAIRI Lab).
Led by Development Director Billy Stewart, the delegation was received by the Principal of the College of Science and Technology, Prof. Ignace Gatare and engaged with Master’s and PhD students supported through the TAIRI Lab.
Students shared insights into their research projects and how they are applying AI to address real-world challenges and create meaningful benefits for communities.
The delegation was impressed by the research being undertaken, particularly the Lab’s focus on using AI not simply for the sake of AI, but as a practical tool to address existing challenges and contribute to Rwanda’s national development agenda.

This morning, the Centre Director @hadamien welcomed Prof. Martins Onyekwelu ONUARAH, Vice Chancellor of Université Libre de Kigali (#ULK) with his team from the Computer Science department.

Discussions focused on potential collaboration in #IoT, drones and related areas, with a shared interest in strengthening innovation, research and practical skills development.

After learning about how the research is conducted and shared at ACEIoT, the Vice Chancellor expressed interest in presenting his research work to the ACEIoT community through a research seminar.

We look forward to hosting him soon as a guest speaker and exploring more opportunities to turn these discussions into meaningful partnerships.

The University of Rwanda (UR) has been selected as one of the eight institutional nodes that will form the Regional Artificial Intelligence (AI) Network for East Africa, a landmark initiative aimed at strengthening AI education, research, innovation, and policy engagement across the East African Community (EAC).

The eight institutional nodes will create an integrated academic ecosystem dedicated to enhancing AI skills, generating impactful research, and promoting the responsible and ethical adoption of artificial intelligence across East Africa.

University of Rwanda will play a strategic role in advancing artificial intelligence capacity within the region by contributing to cutting-edge research, developing highly skilled AI professionals, fostering innovation, and supporting evidence-based policy development.

Once again congratulations to now Dr Egas J Armando
Dr. Kellen Sumwiza, Dr. Blondelle Atsafack , Dr. Nyakuri Jean Pierre, Dr. Michelline Kazeneza and Dr. Chiedza Hwata.

Your dedication and perseverance have paid off. We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to your success, especially your supervisors and examiners, whose guidance, commitment, and support made this achievement possible. Congratulations to all! @PasetRsif @Ace2Africa

The final successful PhD candidate today is Ms. Chiedza Hwata, who successfully defended her thesis entitled: “Design of an Intelligent Edge-Computing and Machine Learning-Driven IoT System to Monitor Real-Time Electromagnetic Compatibility and Interference in Healthcare Settings’ Medical Equipment.”

In total, six candidates successfully defended their PhD theses today, including four who are sponsored by @PASET_RSIF.

We are proud of this remarkable achievement and extend our sincere appreciation to all our local and international partners whose continued support and collaboration contribute to advancing research and innovation.

Another successful PhD defense!

Congratulations to Ms. Michelline Kazeneza on the successful defense of her PhD thesis titled:

“Machine Learning Models for Automatic Recognition of IoT-Sensed Acoustic Signals Within a Farm.”

Her research highlights the transformative potential of AI and IoT in advancing precision agriculture through intelligent acoustic monitoring of farm environments.

👏Congratulations on this outstanding achievement!

#IoT #PrecisionAgriculture #Innovation #Research @PasetRsif

As we witness the PhD defenses of our candidates on one hand, the Director of ACEIoT Prof. Damien Hanyurwimfura and his delegation are, on the other hand, participating in a collaboration workshop between @Uni_Rwanda and Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny on “Triangular Cooperation for Digital Innovation Made in Africa.”

This collaboration brings together the University of Rwanda through ACEIoT; Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, through the University Centre for Research and Application in Remote Sensing (CURAT) and #Germany, through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The workshop aims to provide a structured platform for the three partners to jointly align on the strategic and operational direction of the proposed collaboration, strengthening partnerships that advance digital innovation and technology-driven solutions developed in Africa.

Key areas of collaboration include priority drone applications in #Rwanda and #CôtedIvoire, capacity building, joint drone assembly and training, collaborative grant writing, and scientific publications.

#MadeInAfrica #DigitalInnovation #GIZ #CURAT #UR #DroneTechnology #ResearchCollaboration #Africa @hadamien

The fourth candidate successfully defends his PhD thesis. Congratulations to Mr. Nyakuri Jean Pierre for his remarkable achievement after presenting and defending his research titled: “An AI-Powered Edge Computing Framework for Detection and Prediction of Pests and Diseases in Agricultural Crops.”

His work demonstrates the power of Artificial Intelligence and edge computing in transforming agriculture through early detection, improved crop protection, and data-driven decision-making.

Congratulations, Dr. Nyakuri Jean Pierre! We celebrate your dedication, innovation, and contribution to building technology solutions for sustainable agriculture.

Congratulations to our third PhD candidate, Ms. Blondelle Atsafack, on the successful defense of her thesis! Her research focused on IoT-enabled predictive maintenance of hydraulic turbines using deep learning-based anomaly detection for mini-hydropower plants.

We look forward to seeing her innovative work contribute to smarter, more reliable and sustainable energy systems.

Wishing her continued success in her academic and professional journey!
#IoT #DeepLearning #SmartEnergy #Innovation @Ace2Africa

Another round of congratulations to Ms. Kellen Sumwiza on the successful defense of her thesis!

Ms. Sumwiza's research examined a remote patient monitoring and prediction system for cardiovascular diseases using IoT and machine learning technologies.

We wish her continued success as she contributes to advancing digital healthcare through innovative research. @Ace2Africa

Congratulations to Mr. Egas J. Armando on successfully defending his PhD this morning.

His research focused on developing AIoT-based hybrid monitoring and predictive analytical models for agricultural value chain parameters, with cassava as a case study.
Wishing him continued success in advancing smart agriculture through research and innovation.

We are set to celebrate another important academic milestone on 20 July 2026, when six PhD candidates will defend their final doctoral theses.

The candidates are:
Mr. Egas J. Armando from #Mozambique
Ms. Kellen Sumwiza from #Rwanda
Ms. Blondelle Atsafack from #Cameroun
Mr. Nyakuri Jean Pierre from #Rwanda
Ms. Michelline Kazeneza from #Burundi
Ms. Chiedza Hwata from #Zimbabwe

We are confident that they will successfully defend their research and join our growing community of graduates who are making meaningful contributions to research and transforming innovative ideas into actionable solutions.

We wish all six candidates every success in their doctoral thesis defenses.
#ExcellenceinEducation @hadamien @Ace2Africa @Uni_Rwanda

Today, a team of staff & students visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial to pay tribute to the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. They laid a wreath in honor of the victims & reflected on the importance of remembrance ensuring that such atrocities never happen again.

Today, we had the pleasure of hosting a delegation from our sister College @UCmhs .Led by the Principal Prof. Abraham Haileamlak Mitike, the visit aimed to gain a comprehensive understanding of our innovation ecosystem, available infrastructure & potential areas for collaboration

Today, we held a workshop under the ‘Rural Environmental Monitoring via ultra wide-ARea networKs And distriButed federated Learning’ (REMARKABLE) Project, an initiative that promotes researcher exchange and mobility between African and European universities.

Today, we hosted a delegation from @iucea_info .Their visit focused on assessing our academic capacity & infrastructure readiness to host IUCEA-funded students.They were briefed on our academic programmes, regulations & toured key teaching, research & student support facilities.

Applications are now open for our Master's & PhD programs!
Advance your academic and professional journey with programes internationally accredited by AQAS, ensuring globally recognized quality and excellence.

For details, follow this link: bit.ly/4ohwPZb

This afternoon, we had the pleasure of welcoming a delegation of fifteen (15) staff members and students from North Carolina State University. We held productive discussions on potential areas of collaboration in research, #AI, and #ICT.

Today, we received Hon.Minister @Rwanda_Edu @JoNsengimana & his delegation for a courtesy visit. The visit was part of the @HEC_Rwanda nationwide outreach to #Higher Learning Institutions.During the visit,he toured our facilities &was briefed on the work being carried out here