Coventry University in United Kingdom (UK) has been offering a one year Master of Communications Management (MCM), and M.Sc. in Operational Communications (MOC), since 1999. The programmes are sponsored by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the United Kingdom Telecommunications Academy (UKTA), are aimed at broadening understanding of interdisciplinary knowledge for ICT and Telecommunications engineers and professionals.
Due to the high cost of access to the programme in the UK between £8,000 to £10,000 tuition fees per year, most potential participants from developing countries have been unable to enrol into the programme. During 2005, the Chairman of the UKTA, Prof. David Mellor OBE, visited Rwanda, and negotiated a partnership between the ITU, UKTA and the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) to facilitate the delivery of the MCM degree in Africa through KIST. It was hoped that with the participation of KIST, the MCM would be accessible to more African participants at 25% or less, of the cost currently tenable in the UK.
On 5th August 2005, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the ITU, UKTA, and KIST, paving way for delivery of the MCM in Rwanda. The programme was officially launched at KIST on 23rd January 2006, with an initial cohort of 20 students from Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia. In 2007 KIST recruited a total of 25 students from three countries; these are Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya. In 2008 KIST recruited a total of 45 students from four countries; these are Rwanda, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Sudan.
The MCM programme at KIST has been externally examined by Professor Izzat Darwazeh of the University College London in UK and is delivered by highly qualified lecturers from the UK.
Additional information can be found by downloading the following Pdf Files MCM at KIST, UKTA 2005 Brochure and UKTA 2007 Brochure. You will need Acrobatic Reader to Open.