On the evening of June 12, thirty-seven students from King David Academy visited the Institut Catholique de Kabgayi (ICK) to gain a deeper understanding of internet connectivity.
ICK hosts a branch of the Smart Education Project, an initiative by Rwanda’s Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) aimed at providing internet services to schools across the country.
Narcisse Sindayigaya, the Director of Discipline at King David Academy, explained that the students who visited ICK are part of the Pearson Business Technology Education Council (BTEC) Program, which includes topics related to internet connectivity in their curriculum.
He emphasized the importance of this visit for students studying Information Technology.
“We have come here purposely to learn how internet connectivity works. These students are pursuing IT professionally and are studying units related to internet connectivity as part of their BTEC curriculum,” Sindayigaya said.
He added that the visit to ICK followed a visit to the main server center at the University of Rwanda’s Gikondo Campus.
Sindayigaya further explained their objectives: “We expect these students to gain exposure to real-world internet connectivity. Theoretical learning is important, but seeing the actual materials and abbreviations used in class functioning in a real setting is invaluable.”
Lemuel Sano Mpaka, a student, noted that visiting the Smart Education Project sites at the University of Rwanda-Gikondo Campus and ICK enhanced their understanding of their IT Project Management course.
He shared that these study tours provided insights into project initiation, phases, challenges, and solutions.
“Our goal as BTEC IT students is to expand our knowledge. These trips help us learn different aspects of IT, which broadens our understanding and allows us to achieve more,” Mpaka said.
Teta Mugisha Kethia echoed Mpaka’s sentiments, highlighting the practical benefits of these trips for their BTEC IT Class, which focuses on connections and networks.
“It really helps us because we often face challenges with internet connections at school. By seeing the difficulties and solutions implemented here, we learn how to address these issues ourselves,” she explained.
King David Academy, established in 2000 in Kigali’s Kicukiro District, Nyarugunga, is an international school offering three curriculums: REB Curriculum, Cambridge Curriculum, and BTEC (Business Technology Education Council) from Pearson in the UK.
