In November Professor Jenny Hamilton and Patricia McKellar visited Rwanda as part of the trip to East Africa. While there they met with Professor Nick Johnson who has recently been appointed the Rector of the National Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD) and is responsible for the vocational training of all lawyers, prosecutors and judges in Rwanda. Professor Johnson was previously Professor of Legal Practice at the University of Warwick and Director of the Oxford Institute of Legal Practice (OXILP)and has carried out extensive consultancy work in legal education and training across Africa. He is currently a member of the Advisory Board to the University of London Laws programme. The ILPD serves as an international centre of reference for practical legal training and research and development of law. The Institute is developing plans to double the intake of students to meet the growing demand for legal training in the country.
While in Rwanda Jenny and Patricia also met with Dr Innocent Mugisha, Director of Academic Quality of the Higher Education Council in the Rwandan Government. The Council is charged with upholding quality assurance among higher learning institutions in Rwanda, to promote research and professional development and to support the move from an agrarian based economy towards a knowledge-based economy ( one of the principal aims of Rwanda’s Vision 2020). Dr Mugisha was extrememly interested in the programme and in particular the flexible learning options and we had a wide ranging discussion on technology enhanced learning.