Kigali Institute of Science and Technology

KIST ADDRESSES MANPOWER SHORTAGE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

A study on national skills gap of 2008 showed a high deficit in essential sectors of the economy, such as tourism, engineering and construction, agriculture and mining. Although the study generally showed a high deficit in science graduates for all sectors, the building and construction industry is the most affected. Accordingly, the deficit in the building and construction industry was 60% and 40% for technician and professional cadres, respectively. In a subsequent development, the 2009 national leadership retreat directed all training institutions to either develop new programmes or review curricula of existing programmes and address the national skills gap.

Following the directive, Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) developed several new programmes to help Rwanda address the critical shortage of qualified professionals in the design and construction sector. Towards the end of 2008, KIST established the Faculty of Architecture and Environmental Design (FAED). The main objective of the new faculty is to train relevant experts for the construction sector. The first cohorts of students are pursuing Bachelors degrees four departments of the Faculty. These are Architecture, Construction Management, Creative Design, and Real Estate Management and Valuation.

The first to be established, the Department of Architecture opened its doors in 2009 with an intake of 25 full-time students now on their way to becoming design professionals. A second group of students was admitted this year, and the department now has two fully operational design studios for the two classes. After a year of operating as a lone department, the remaining three departments were launched this year and the FAED is now fully realized. With financing allocated from the African Development Bank, the Faculty will be able to greatly expand its resources in the coming years in order to strengthen even further the quality of education delivered at KIST, and it’s ability to address the shortage of experts in these fields. Thus, the FAED at KIST is poised to become a key educational resource not just in Rwanda, but in much of East Africa.

Students entering the Department of Architecture will pursue a five-year Bachelors degree, with an integrated one-year Master of Architecture degree also planned. With two classes of 25 students each, it is the largest department in the Faculty and currently has the largest staff, which is comprised of both Rwandese and international architects and educators. The programme is attuned to the mission of KIST – anchoring fast national growth and development through a vibrant construction industry – by supplying sufficient, well-trained, creative, competent professional consultants, contractors, and technicians. The main objective of the programme is to meet the needs for the public and private Building industrial sectors for skilled graduate Architects. The programme has the following educational aims:

To advance desired positive, stable social and environmental transformation, in keeping with the ideals of Vision 2020, through the education of Bachelor of Architecture degree students, with a distinctive practical professional and creative flavor and the expected ripple effects in the process they subsequently guide, of building design led national development.
To contribute to the expansion of the knowledge of Architectural design through programs of analytical, basic, evaluation, behavioral, and applied or basic (pure) research, as well as in other creative inquiry based ventures.
To use the specialized professional abilities of faculty in the Department to give guidance on national Building Design undertakings as the nation pursues its Vision 2020, and to favorably project the Rwandese experience on the regional and international scenes.
To produce graduates with the apposite professional and design inclinations for leadership and registration as practicing professionals following the set path of induction, examination and certification on graduation.
To fashion minds that are strong in inquiry and self-guided learning, who then remain firmly on a life-long course of continuous self improvement through self-directed learning, and are able easily adapt to and provide solutions needed in a fast changing world.

In the Department of Construction Management, students have the possibility to obtain a Bachelors degree in Quantity Surveying which is of four years duration. The first cohort of 40 students was admitted in January 2010. Graduating students will contribute competently and creatively in public and private sectors, in policy making, cost modeling and actual Construction Management. They will acquire full professional status after a two years post graduation field experience as Assistant Quantity Surveyors, under the guidance of registered Quantity Surveyors. The department undertakes to:

Advance desired positive, stable social and environmental transformation, in keeping with the ideals of vision 2020, through the education of students within the BSc (Quantity Surveying) degree programme, with a distinctive practical professional acumen to bridge the existing gap between project design and implementation;
Contribute to the expansion of knowledge in the field of Quantity Surveying through research;
Use the specialized professional abilities of faculty in the department to give guidance on national building design undertakings as the nation pursues its vision 2020, and to favorably project the Rwandan experience on the regional and international scenes;
Produce graduates with the necessary professional and design inclinations for leadership and registration as practicing Quantity Surveyors following the established path for induction, examination and certification upon graduation; and
Fashion minds that are strong in inquiry and self-guided learning, who then remain firmly on a life-long course of continuous self improvement through self-directed learning, and are able to easily adapt and provide solutions needed in a fast-changing world. In its first year class 2010, the Department of Construction Management admitted 42 Students.

The Real Estate Management and Valuation programme aims to engage learners over a period of four (4) years in theoretical and practical skills development; aimed to enable them solve practical Real Estate issues and periodically develop and review land policies. Therefore this programme will produce Land and Building Valuers as well as real estate managers in the building construction industry. For the first year after inauguration the Department of Real Estate Management and Valuation admitted 44 students.

Upon completion of Bachelor (Hons) in Estates Management and Valuation each student should be able to:
• Work as expert in Land and Building valuation
• Prepare a discounted cash flow analysis for commercial investment property.
• Prepare a real estate development market and financial feasibility study for a commercial investment property.
• Prepare a commercial real estate appraisal incorporating the cost, market, and income approaches to valuation.
• Prepare a financing submission package to meet the requirements of a commercial real estate lender.
• Develop and review land policies

Finally, the Department of Creative Design is hosting the course which runs for four years and the exit award is a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Degree in Creative Design. The programme started in January 2010 with the first intake of twenty five (25) students. By the end of the course, each student is expected to become aware of him/her self as a creative designer and hence able to learn and explore more with confidence, gaining a real sense of achievement in own creative abilities.
The course aims are as follows:

To develop Creative Designers with a high artistic quality and professional parity, in order to confront every issue that arises in the visual communication field with creativity, imagination, originality and professionalism and be able to demand their place in the employment market and already have the ability to develop their own pathway. This is well in line with Rwanda’s vision 2020.
Promotion of interdisciplinary integration of artistic, scientific, socio-political environmental and technological knowledge.
Creativity in problem-solving processes in areas pertaining to human communication and needs.
To develop the student’s creative potential.
To enhance the ability to present original solutions based on international graphic design practices.
To develop the ability to present completed solutions for projects of various sizes.
To develop an awareness of all printing processes and materials as well as an ability to understand the communication between the designer and the printer.
To equip students so that they will be able to sell and market themselves.
To develop an awareness of the processes for competitive markets, client products, the psychology of the target group and to enhance an awareness of market trends both in national and international arena.

With these programmes in place, a highly qualified and ever-growing staff, forthcoming resources, and a commitment to academic excellence, KIST is addressing head-on the issues facing a nascent yet vitally important design and construction industry in Rwanda.

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