In a strategic move to explore collaborative opportunities in engineering education, Professor Aihua Wood from the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) visited Kigali, Rwanda.
The focus of the visit was to establish partnerships with Carnegie Mellon University-Africa (CMU-Africa), a renowned institution offering graduate engineering education programs.
Established in 2011, CMU-Africa is dedicated to providing full-time graduate engineering education to over 290 students from 21 nationalities. Notably, more than 25 percent of its students are female, reflecting a commitment to gender diversity in engineering education. The university offers Master of Science degrees in electrical and computer engineering, information technology, and engineering artificial intelligence. The primary goal of CMU-Africa is to address the critical shortage of high-quality engineering talent needed to accelerate development in Africa.
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Synergies Between AFIT and CMU-Africa
AFIT’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management, as a Carnegie-classified high research activity doctoral institution, aligns well with the mission of CMU-Africa. Both institutions focus on science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) fields. Wood, during her visit, highlighted the potential for collaboration, citing AFIT’s ability to contribute to the educational and research goals of CMU-Africa.
Wood’s visit included a comprehensive tour of CMU-Africa’s robotics and artificial intelligence laboratories, meetings with faculty and the Student Guild, attendance at a digital public infrastructure workshop, and discussions with the leadership of the Rwanda Space Agency. Wood expressed her positive impressions of the campus facilities and the forward-thinking atmosphere in Rwanda.
“I was very impressed with the campus facilities and students. Typically, when we think of Rwanda, we think of the genocide, but they have really moved beyond that and it is a very energetic place with many very forward-thinking people. I feel like there is a lot of opportunity for AFIT to be involved,” she said.
Wood observed students engaging in cutting-edge research activities in robotics and artificial intelligence during her tour. She emphasised the benefits of exposing AFIT students to the research conducted by their counterparts at CMU-Africa and gaining insights from an African perspective on technology.
Potential Collaboration Initiatives
Wood is actively exploring two collaboration opportunities with CMU-Africa: the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Windows on the World (WOW) and Window on Science (WOS) programs. The WOW program allows Air Force scientists and engineers to conduct full-time research at a foreign laboratory, while WOS sponsors foreign scientists and engineers to visit Air Force counterparts.
“I would love ultimately to have students from CMU-Africa attend AFIT because they have a really great talent pool there,” Wood expressed, highlighting the potential for student exchanges.
AFIT’s Provost Sees Promising Potential
Heidi Ries, AFIT’s provost and chief academic officer, echoed Wood’s sentiments, emphasising the excellent potential for expanding technical and workforce development collaborations through the initiative with CMU-Africa.
Wood also noted the impactful activities sponsored by CMU-Africa’s Student Guild aimed at supporting students’ mental health and sense of belonging. She sees an opportunity for AFIT to develop a comparable program to address similar concerns among its students.
During her visit, Wood participated as a panel member in the MentorHer Africa event, discussing the empowerment of girls and women in STEM fields. The event, focusing on mentorship to encourage young girls to pursue careers in cybersecurity, governance, risk management, and compliance, showcased the bright and articulate students in the region.
“They all speak perfect English, are very much abreast of the current technologies, and asked very coherent and intelligent questions. The young girls are very bright – you can see that they will become leaders in their fields,” Wood commented, highlighting the potential impact of mentorship programs in fostering future leaders in STEM.
As the collaboration between AFIT and CMU-Africa unfolds, the partnership is expected to contribute significantly to addressing the engineering talent gap in Africa and fostering academic and research synergies between the two institutions.