International Week 2024

During International Week 2024, we brought together leaders from academia, politics, business, and civil society, to ask ourselves how we can collaborate internationally for a sustainable future, and what role academia and research play in this mission.

The International Week conference was hosted in response to a divided world and the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Recent developments in different parts of the world show that a lack of people-centred development is conducive to instability, conflicts and democratic regression.

The conference was based on MDU's collaborative and progressive approach, drawing inspiration from a longstanding tradition of partnership between universities in Rwanda, Sweden, and globally. Discussions centred on how research, innovation and technology can contribute to finding solutions for a sustainable future.

The theme of the conference was:

• academia's responsibility in a troubled world
• the impact of technology on society with a particular focus on AI
• how we maximise the effects of research.

• Vice Chancellor Martin Hellström gave a much-appreciated speech at the opening of our International Week. You can read the speech in its entirety here.
• See the broadcast afterwards External link.

Recorded interviews

Watch interviews from International Week 2024, with Alphonse Muleefu, Jacob Färnet, Mbaranga Gasarabwe, Lova Libert, Uday Salunkhe and Stefan Löfven:

International Week 2024, playlist on Youtube External link.