University of Rwanda and AviAssist join forces to promote aviation safety in Africa

The partnership will focus on capacity building in aviation safety and engineering skills as well as business and leadership skills at the ASPC in Rwanda. The ASPC-Rwanda aims to become (East) Africa's leading aviation safety resource centre, making Rwanda and States in the East and Southern African ICAO region more self-sufficient at safety promotion. The centre imparts training and safety training that is crucial to support aviation professionals in their role as safety leaders and champions. Other ASPC-Rwanda partners in Rwanda include RwandAir, Rwanda CAA and UTB University.

“We are very pleased to launch this cooperation,” said Professor Philip Cotton, vice-chancellor of the University of Rwanda

"We are exploring the development of aviation related courses in our University. This partnership will help us on our journey to design programmes for the current and next generation of aviation professionals that they will need to meet the aviation and aviation safety challenges of the next 15 years. The vision of ASPC fits with our objective to widen our international network and will give professionals in Rwanda and beyond better access to world class education and practical research capabilities in aviation safety,” he said.

Tom Kok, director of AviAssist, said: “We feel privileged to bring Rwanda’s leading university on board of our ASPC-Rwanda partnership. It is a unique opportunity to combine our safety promotion experience in Africa with the rich education and research capabilities of the UR and particularly its School of Engineering. This partnership will bring great benefits for the continuous professional development that the Foundation brings to Africa.”

Professor Nelson Ijumba, deputy vice chancellor for academic affairs and research, and AviAssist Board chairman Ron Louwerse of the Schiphol Group at the signing ceremony.