Sookmyung Signs Exchange Agreement with the University of Rwanda — Expanding Korea-Rwanda Higher Education Cooperation
- Views 159
- Writer 커뮤니케이션팀
- 보도일자 2025-10-15
Sookmyung Women’s University officially visited Rwanda—widely regarded as a symbol of women’s leadership in Africa—on Tuesday, October 14, and signed a student and academic exchange agreement with the University of Rwanda (UR), the country’s largest national comprehensive university.
This visit followed the University of Rwanda delegation’s visit to Sookmyung Women’s University on September 25, led by the Rwandan ambassador to Korea. President Moon Si-yeun and Chun Seh-jae, Dean of International Affairs, traveled to Rwanda to further strengthen institutional ties between the two universities.
During their visit, the Sookmyung delegation met with Vice Chancellor Kayihura Muganga Didas and other university officials to discuss a wide range of collaborative initiatives, including △student exchange programs △joint research projects △academic seminars and workshops △faculty and researcher exchange programs. Both universities agreed to attract outstanding graduate students in STEM and international studies and to co-host international conferences and joint research on gender equality and women’s leadership. Through these initiatives, Sookmyung aims to reinforce its role as a global hub for cultivating female talent in STEM and advancing gender studies.
Founded in 2013 through the consolidation of several higher education institutions by the Rwandan government, the University of Rwanda operates six colleges—Humanities and Social Sciences, Education, Science and Technology, Medicine and Health Sciences, Business and Economics, and Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. The university has rapidly emerged as a center of higher education in Africa, ranking sixth among Sub-Saharan African universities in recent evaluations for its growing academic and research excellence.
The Sookmyung delegation also paid a courtesy visit to Ambassador Jeong Woo-jin at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Rwanda to discuss expanding cooperation in higher education and women’s leadership development between the two countries. President Moon expressed her commitment to “actively promoting more robust people-to-people diplomacy between Korea and Rwanda,” to which the Embassy pledged full support. In addition, the delegation requested an expansion of the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) program to provide more Rwandan and African students with opportunities to study in Korea.
Rwanda, often hailed as the “miracle of corruption-free Africa,” has built a transparent and efficient administrative system and achieved remarkable progress in ICT, education, and healthcare. The nation is also celebrated as a “symbol of women’s leadership” for its inclusive gender policies and active promotion of women’s participation in society.
President Moon emphasized, “This agreement marks an important turning point in expanding collaboration with universities in Rwanda and across Africa, while further strengthening our global education network.” She added, “Having risen from tragedy to transformation, Rwanda is now recognized as the ‘Singapore of Africa’—a symbolic model of innovation and integrity.”
She concluded, “Rwanda’s spirit of challenge and transformation deeply resonates with Sookmyung’s core values of women’s education, inclusion, and sustainable development. Moving forward, Sookmyung will continue to lead sustainable international academic cooperation and the advancement of women’s higher education through partnerships with universities around the world.”
