Aarhus University enters major research partnership with Universities in Rwanda

A new strategic partnership between Health at Aarhus University and three universities in Rwanda has just been launched. The collaboration includes the development of joint research projects, PhD collaborations, and the exchange of students and academic staff across the institutions.

A close partnership with the University of Rwanda, the University of Global Health Equity, and the Institut d’Enseignement Supérieur de Ruhengeri will strengthen the faculty’s profile within global health to the benefit of both researchers and students.

Establishing a headquarters in Kigali

“In a collaboration where we meet with very different approaches and starting points, there is almost a guarantee that all parties will gain new knowledge and valuable perspectives. This is particularly true in areas such as health innovation and health systems. There is both immense talent and major challenges to address. Through joint efforts, I am confident that we can create meaningful opportunities and important results,” says Professor of Global Health at Aarhus University, Per Kallestrup.

For more than ten years, Per Kallestrup has collaborated with research environments in Rwanda. As a first step in the new partnership, he is leading the establishment of a joint headquarters in Kigali together with the three Rwandan universities. The headquarters will serve as a base for the partnership, from which new collaborative projects will be developed and coordinated.

Building a partnership based on reciprocity

Dean of Health, Anne-Mette Hvas, also welcomes the new partnership and emphasises that it is about both contributing and learning through close academic collaboration:

“We want to strengthen our engagement in global health and create new opportunities in the field for students and researchers at the Faculty of Health. We have chosen to concentrate our strategic collaboration in one African country in order to increase the likelihood of creating tangible and mutually successful partnerships. We want to engage where our knowledge can make a difference – and where we ourselves can learn something new. The partnership with the universities in Rwanda offers both.”

At the University of Global Health Equity, there has already been collaboration with Aarhus University for several years. The university’s Dean of Health, Abebe Bekele, looks forward to further strengthening the partnership.

“The partnership combines Aarhus University’s research depth with the University of Global Health Equity’s context-driven training. Together, I am confident that we can advance education, research and innovation to the benefit of all parties,” says Abebe Bekele.

Strengthening the ties between Rwanda and Denmark

The Danish government’s Africa Strategy, “Africa’s Century”, calls for stronger and more long-term partnerships between Danish and African institutions. This is precisely the type of collaboration that Health is now launching – a development welcomed both by the newly opened Danish embassy in Kigali and by Rwanda’s Ambassador to the Nordic countries, Dr Diane Gashumba.

“Together, we are not only strengthening the ties between Rwanda and Denmark, but also creating a platform for long-term, positive change that will contribute to building healthier and more resilient societies,” the ambassador says.