Dear colleagues and students from the School of Business Administration & Management Studies, East African University Rwanda-EAUR
Business is one of the greatest inventions of mankind. It allows us to make changes in values, technology and life style. Since the industrial revolution, the emergence of all economic achievements of mankind has been accompanied by the globalization. There is no economic growth model existing in the world but has nothing to do with globalization. We need to build such values that are to embrace the globalization with an open heart rather than shifting our own trouble to others or isolating ourselves from globalization. These concepts of values deserve our full attention, because nowadays populism and isolationism are eroding the prospects for global economic cooperation and development.
From your side, you should enrich your knowledge besides business by using resources from library, the Internet and other modern technologies. You should also follow the latest development in science and technology and therefore improve your capability in judgment and learning. At the age of Internet, the most important ability for people to possess is the ability of judgment rather than the amount of knowledge you are exposed to; that is being able to distinguish useful knowledge from others. The Internet has torn down the boundaries of learning. But come with it are the extremism and conspiracy in all kinds of forms. We have to be trained academically before we develop independent judgment. This is also a protective step to your precious time. Judgment is built on logic, experience, statistics and scientific approach. For people with poor judgment, the more freedom they have, the more rocky way they will face.
The path of exploration is never out of trouble, the same to study, work and life. The most precious is to keep curiosity for exploration constantly. It is foreseeable that in the following years, the whole School of Business Administration & Management Studies, East African University Rwanda-EAUR including me will make our maximum efforts to provide you all with the best platform to study, and to explore business, Rwanda and the world. We will be your loyal stone and supporter for your future development. The progress made by any of you will be the glory of EAUR
At this time of year, I always find myself looking back and asking what has happened in the past year. There are certainly many things to say. It has been four years as the Dean of our great school, and it has truly been a pleasure to get to know so many people better and understand what they make happen every single day. There have been many things which I have been very proud of students. There are many smaller things which make me proud of the people I work with each day. These include someone going out of their way to help a student, another person supporting a colleague, or being contacted out of the blue by EAUR alumni.
I’m reminded each day of the great work which every member of EAUR contributes. To make an institution like ours operate effectively requires all kinds of work – from marking exam papers to responding to reviewers, from sitting in meetings to fixing a technical problem, from running a coaching session to filling in an administrative form. It is all vital and it is all valuable. I’m deeply grateful to all of you for doing this work so well.
I also want to offer thanks to our hard-working students, our supportive alumni, and our partners. You are the reason why we exist, and you continue to represent the School in the best possible way. It is rewarding to know that you are succeeding at EAUR and in the world of work. It is a privilege that so many of you are willing to help our school and community by organizing and attending events, making introductions, providing mentoring and advice, and much more. Thank you again for your efforts, support and enthusiasm in all you do.
Although this year has been filled with many high points, it also came with its fair share of struggles. The war in the Ukraine, devastating floods in Pakistan, protests in Iran, political instability in Britain, and a deep cost of living crisis have all made this year difficult. I know that each of these things have personally hit different members of the EAUR community. I hope that next year will bring better times.
This time of year allows us to look back, but it also encourages us to think forward. We ask ourselves what we would like to do in the coming year, what we hope for and how things might change. I am yet to work on my list of New Year’s resolutions, but I hope that each of you uses the festive break as an opportunity to take some time to recharge, reconnect with friends and family, reflect on what has been and what you might want to do in 2023.
All the best
Dr. RUGAZURA Ephraim
Dean of School BBA & Mgt studies.