The Rwanda Coding Academy (RCA) announced that construction of its new university is well underway, with the institution expected to begin admitting students by October 2025.
The university, primarily designed for RCA graduates, will specialize in fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and embedded systems, said Dr. Papias Niyigena, RCA’s director general. Speaking to The New Times, Niyigena said construction work has reached 60% completion and academic programs are being finalized.
“We have already submitted the draft law to establish the university and will soon forward it to Parliament,” he said. “After submission, the review and legal processes are expected to take about three months.”
The curriculum has been developed and will soon be submitted to Rwanda’s Higher Education Council for approval. RCA is also recruiting experienced faculty, both locally and internationally, including experts from Canada.
Opened in 2019 in Mukamira Sector, Nyabihu District, RCA offers a three-year intensive program focused on software engineering, cybersecurity, and embedded systems. The academy has graduated 117 students since its inception, with 35 alumni securing scholarships at top universities abroad in countries such as the United States, Italy, Turkey, China, and South Korea.
However, Dr. Niyigena noted that many RCA graduates struggle to find local universities that match the institution’s rigorous hands-on training standards.
“RCA emphasizes practical skills. In other universities, our students study alongside peers who were not trained at the same technical level, which slows their academic and professional progress,” he said. “This is why we proposed creating our own university — a proposal that has received strong support from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of ICT and Innovation.”
Moss Aimelyse Sekata, an RCA alumna currently studying software engineering at the African Leadership University, said many RCA graduates face challenges finding local institutions that build effectively on their foundation.
“Many of us aim to study abroad,” she said. “For those who don’t get that opportunity, options are limited.”
The new university aligns with Rwanda’s broader ambitions to expand digital skills training. Over the next five years, the government plans to equip millions of Rwandans — especially youth — with basic coding knowledge and train 500,000 people in advanced ICT skills.
