5th IUCEA Executive Secretary Reports to Duty
PRESS RELEASE
5th IUCEA Executive Secretary Reports to Duty
Operationalization of East African Common Higher Education Area among his key priorities.
Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), Kampala, Uganda, 14th April 2021: The newly appointed 5th IUCEA Executive Secretary Prof. Gaspard Banyankimbona took office on 13th April 2021. Prof. Banyankimbona succeeds former Executive Secretary Prof. Alexandre Lyambabaje whose tenure ended in August 2020.
Prof. Banyankimbona was welcomed by Prof. Mike Kuria, Acting Executive Secretary, and the IUCEA Management Team.
In his response to the welcoming remarks from IUCEA, Prof. Banyankimbona promised to provide strong leadership, support, and quality service to the entire IUCEA. “One of the things that we need, is to make sure that IUCEA remains a leading EAC institution for an exemplary common higher education area and a prosperous sustainable institution in the East African Community. …There is a challenge that might attract the maximum of our attention in the Community: It is the resilience in higher education in the region in the COVID-19 context. It is a great opportunity for IUCEA to support the digitization in the EAC and no one should be left behind and my target is to conquer the maximum of higher education institutions and rally them on our noble objectives and Common Higher Education Area must become a reality,” emphasized the new Chief.
The Executive Secretary expressed his gratitude and deep appreciation to the former Executive Secretary Prof. Alexandre Lyambabaje and the entire staff for the work done in the past 5 years of which he has been following up closely through his involvement in both standing and executive committees.
In his hand over the report to Prof. Banyankimbona, Prof. Kuria who has been acting the position of the Executive Secretary since September 2020, mentioned few key areas that IUCEA has been focusing on, despite the COVID-19, among them, being initial preparations for the construction of phase II of IUCEA Headquarters, capacity building programme for leadership in universities, development of a regional Higher Education Information System (HEIS) and Impact on COVID-19 Survey that is geared to establish the extent to which member universities have been affected, mitigation measures put in place and plans to ensure readiness for such pandemic in the future. Prof. Kuria promised the new Chief full support from the entire IUCEA Management and Staff.
Prof. Banyankimbona served as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Burundi from April 2018 to June 2020 and Minister of National Education and Scientific Research, Burundi from July 2020 to March 2021 the position he occupied up to when he joined IUCEA. He was also Associate Professor, Biology Department, University of Burundi.
Prof. Banyankimbona has acquired 8 years of uninterrupted hands-on administrative experience by holding major leadership management at senior level positions in higher education in Burundi, among them being President, National Commission for United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Burundi, Vice-Chancellor, University of Burundi, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Burundi, Head of Biology Department at the Faculty of Science, University of Burundi.
Prof. Banyankimbona also received a number of certificates and merit of recognition among them being his personal involvement in the implementation of Bachelor-Master-Doctorate (BMD) reforms and contribution to the creation of new campuses of the University of Burundi and initiating a new approach of student’s orientation in public universities. At the Regional level, Prof. Banyankimbona has served as a member of the IUCEA Executive Committee as well as the Scholarships, Students, and Staff mobility Standing Committee for a number of years.
Note: IUCEA Secretariat leadership is on 5 years tenure for Executive Secretary’s position on a rotational basis among EAC Partner States.
For more Information Contact: Corporate and Public Relations Office, Office of the Executive Secretary, P.O Box 7110, Kampala, Uganda,Tel: 256 414 256 251/2 Email: exsec@iucea.org website: www.iucea.org, Mob: +256 77 4165467 email: wbalyagati@iucea.org/wbalyagati@yahoo.com