Claudette Irere

"ICT is a tool and an enabler, if women start using it at its full capacity, growth in the economy would be realised,"

"We need more role models, unfortunately women in technology tend to be geeky and shy away from the limelight. We don’t get to see more of them out there; hence, young girls don’t have enough women to look up to in this sector"

"A couple of years back when I was still in school, we used to have a “Career fair day” and our school would invite a guest - a woman or professional - to inspire us and take us through their career journey"

"While I believe that schools are key players when it comes to inspiring more women to join technology, I also believe that it needs to be a collective effort to encourage and inspire women to join Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, (STEM). With the 4th Industrial Revolution catching up on us, it is only wise to have more women embrace technology,"

"We have realised, from many countries, that to be able to run TVET successfully, there is a need for sufficient funds. Many countries have done so and we want to see if we can also do it here. The government has already invested in TVET but it is not enough. That is why we need to think of other ways to support it."

"Sciences are important as there are so many untapped opportunities for women. As the saying goes,‘educating a girl is educating a whole nation’, when girls learn, they know better and with this they are empowered"

"I think young talent is supported more today compared to years back. Before it was more of academics but today, children are given space to develop their talent which is good because letting them explore it will help them do what they are passionate about."

"There is still a gap in digital literacy. Digital literacy is still at 8.9 per cent among Rwandans. This is not enough for a country like Rwanda that seeks to put all services online. We have developed a road map to increase digital literacy,"

"They need to be able to use digital productive tools. We have to ensure that graduates join labor market with digital workforce skills"

"There are about 25 initiatives needed for ensuring smart cities in Africa and we will be seeking more innovations from developers and finance them to support the community with those solutions"

"In fact, the restructuring and splitting of the Ministry of ICT and Youth meant that the government wanted to raise its commitment towards promoting technology. Supporting such a programme is one of our priorities, and we believe that students should be taught these skills at a young age."

""Don’t be afraid to think big, and, most importantly, don’t be afraid to fail along the way, because no one learns when they only experience success,”"

"We set rules, regulations and policies regarding the sector but we need more action. We are therefore committed to making more of these kind of cooperation happening"

"Already having this platform for our students is a big step, but we cannot say we are directly going to provide the materials, but we are working hard towards providing them to the TVET schools that need them"

""We will still educate students who are smart and relevant to the market, despite the difficulties from Covid-19.”"

"All in all, it was quite a good learning experience. Going forward, the learnt lessons will permit us to plan and do better. We ask schools, parents and students to embrace this new normal because digital is the only way to go”, she concludes."

"“I believe this agreement means important opportunities for education cooperation between the two TVET institutions. I am convinced that more cooperation will come in regards to student exchanges and researches in service of this memorandum of understating,""

"When someone comes to visit a school like this, it is to see what they are doing, see what they have and where we can collaborate with them because when you look at the large number of schools we have that teach careers and sciences in Rwanda, they are private.(Iyo umuntu aje gusura ishuri nk’iri ni ukugira ngo turebe ibyo bakora, turebe ubushobozi bafite n’aho twafatanya nabo kuko iyo urebye umubare munini w’amashuri dufite yigisha imyuga n’ubumenyingiro mu Rwanda ni ay’abikorera.)"

"Since we all share the same thread, it's about how easy it is to get students so that they're willing to continue teaching. Polytechnic requires a high level of ability to teach but what they have shown us gives us confidence that they are capable.(Kubera ko twese dusenyera umugozi umwe haba kureba uburyo bakoroherezwa kubona abanyeshuri cyane ko bafite ubushake bwo gukomeza kwigisha. Polytechnic bisaba ubushobozi buri hejuru kuyigisha ariko ibyo batugaragarije biraduha icyizere ko babishoboye.)"

"A child who studied in these technical schools, can continue to study whatever he wants and if he does not go to university, he does not miss anything. "Rwanda is progressing and not all the work will be done by foreigners.(Umwana wize muri aya mashuri ya Tekeniki, ashobora gukomeza akiga icyo ashaka cyose ikindi iyo atagiye muri kaminuza ntabwo abura icyo akora.U Rwanda ruri gutera imbere ntabwo imirimo yose izakomeza gukorwa n’Abanyamahanga".)"

"We also need experts who know how to do it and do it professionally so that we don't continue to outsource to foreigners who have learned what we teach.(Natwe dukeneye abahanga bazi kubikora kandi bakabikora kinyamwuga kugira ngo twirinde kuzakomeza gutanga amasoko ku banyamahanga bize ibyo natwe turi kwigisha)"

"When you look at the numbers of those who should be at school and those who are there, today you see that there is a problem, so we should look at it together, it is not the responsibility of some or others, it is a problem that concerns the Rwandan community as a whole when you see a student who should be in a poor school , send them to school, where you find that parents are not putting effort into their responsibility to send their children to school, that problem is really difficult for us".(iyo umuntu areba imibare y'abagomba kuba bari ku ishuri ndetse n'abahari, uyumunsi ubona hari ikibazo, dukwiriye rero kurebera hamwe ntabwo byaba inshingano za bamwe cyangwa iz'abandi ni ikibazo kireba umuryango nyarwanda muri rusange aho ubonye umunyeshuri wakagombye kuba ari mu ishuri mukebure, mwohereze kw'ishuri, aho usanze ababyeyi batarimo gushyira imbaraga mu nshingano zabo zo kohereza abana mu ishuri ubakebure, icyo kibazo rwose kiradukomereye".)"