2nd EPRN STUDENTS CONFERENCE AND COMPETITION

14th December, 2018 @University of Kigali
Theme : “Africa continental Free Trade Area and Rwanda’s Comparative Advantages”

1. Introduction

The Students’ Conference on “Africa continental Free Trade Area and Rwanda’s Comparative Advantages” was organized by the Economic Policy Research Network (EPRN) and attracted more than 100 experts from different public institutions, NGOs, researchers and academics institutions, private companies and development partners. This student’s competition was held on 14th December, 2018 from 2pm-5pm at University of Kigali.
The conference started by the welcoming remarks of Acting Principal of University of Kigali. In his speech, he thanked EPRN for organizing this conference as it is a good opportunity not only for students but also for everyone who is in the field of economics. He also stressed the significance of instilling a culture of doing research among Rwanda’s youth and thanked all the participants for their commitment to EPRN Research driven programs and encouraged more student to join EPRN.

2. Opening Remarks

EPRN Coordinator, Mr. Seth Kwizera also gave opening remarks and he said that “EPRN want to raise knowledge in research related to economy as it helps in policy decision making”. He delivered a presentation about the history of EPRN Students Chapter as an opportunity for students to learn more about current economic topics, linking students with professional researchers, internships, trainings, student competitions and many more.

Seth Kwizera, EPRN Coordinator giving remarks

3. Proceedings
There were 3 winners who presented their papers about the research topic of “Africa continental Free Trade Area and Rwanda’s Comparative Advantages” showcasing how they came up with their research findings and the different models of research they used to analyze their data. This session was followed by questions, suggestions and recommendations from the audience that consisted of Lecturers at different levels and students.

Awarded students at paper writing competition :

No NAMES TITLE AWARDS
1 CHARLES BYABAGABO Africa Continental Free Trade Area-Rwanda’s Comparative Advantages with much focus on its Exports. 300,000Rwf
2 SIMEON SIBOMANA Effect of Africa Openness of Goods and Services Markets to pollution Concentrations in Rwanda 100,000Rwf
3 JEAN MARIE VIANNEY SEBANANI The African Continental Free Trade Area : Rwanda’s Comparative Advantages 50,000Rwf

This session was followed by a competition where competitors from different groups that won on regional level competed against each other to win the overall first place as EPRN student chapter National champions. Panelists facilitated in choosing the best among the contestants : -, Mr. Seth Kwizera, Coordinator at EPRN, Mr. Ndakubwimana Jean-Bosco, Lecturer at University of Rwanda and Charles Kamuru-Public Relations and communication manager at University of Kigali facilitated this sessions. The winners are shown in the table below.

Awarded students at Quiz Competition

Position Group name University Award
1 Amigos University of Rwanda (CBE) 500,000Rwf
2 Independent researchers Université libre de Kigali (Rubavu) 200,000Rwf
3 Young Researchers UNILAK/td> 100,000Rwf

The Conference ended with a networking and cocktail session where different refreshments were served to all participants that attended the conference,
EPRN also recognized all partners who supported this conference by giving them certificate of appreciation.