Kigali | 13 Feb 2026. The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) convened a stakeholder workshop focused on employability and graduate impact. The event brought together alumni, employers, government and non-government agencies, development partners, entrepreneurship incubation hubs, and RICA’s Leadership.
Matching Skills to Market Demands
The consultation, titled “Stakeholder Perspectives on Employability and Impact,” comes as RICA intensifies efforts to produce graduates who are technically strong. In fact, the community expects them to be entrepreneurial, closely aligned with national labor market needs, particularly in conservation agriculture and food systems. The dialogue was designed to refine how the institution prepares students for work and leadership in a rapidly evolving sector.
At the center of the workshop was a practical question: What should a RICA graduate look like in today’s economy? What will employers need tomorrow? Participants were invited to help define the desired graduate profile. In addition, RICA invited stakeholders to share field evidence on how alumni are performing and integrating into the labor market.
From Consultation to Continuous Partnership
“We see this engagement not as a one-time consultation, but as the beginning of a sustained partnership,” said Michelle Ntukanyagwe, DVC for Student Affairs. Michelle framed the workshop as a shift from periodic feedback to continuous collaboration.
“Continued collaboration with you, as employers, alumni, policymakers, and sector leaders, is essential to ensuring that RICA remains responsive. It helps us foster innovation and be accountable to the needs of the industry and the communities we serve.”- she emphasized.
The workshop is both a brainstorming session and a structured consultation aimed at producing tangible outputs. Participants explored four core objectives. They defined the RICA graduate profile, assessing how alumni are integrating into the labor market. This includes identifying skills gaps, strengths and generating recommendations to strengthen curriculum design and experiential learning.
Curriculum for Practical Application
RICA expects three key outcomes. A clearly articulated RICA graduate profile detailing skills, competencies, values, and attributes. Stakeholder-informed insights on graduate employability and performance. A set of actionable recommendations to strengthen curriculum, internships and industry engagement.
For employers and partners, the workshop offered an opportunity to influence training priorities and improve the pipeline of job-ready talent. For RICA, the workshop served as a reality check: one that links classroom learning with field demands. The workshop also encouraged enhanced academic excellence with practical relevance.
According to Jean Claude Kayisinga, the DVC Institutional Development, gathered feedback will inform next steps, including curriculum enhancements and expanded experiential learning approaches. It will also inform a deeper industry partnerships intended to keep graduates competitive and positioned as transformative leaders in conservation agriculture and food systems.
