Kaminuza Star Incubator initiative is transforming journalism students into more confident and qualified journalists.
In July 2018, a new incubator was initiated at the School of Journalism to boost practical
journalism. Students who have been part of it since it started manifest its impact on them.
“The incubator has had an impact on me and how I prepare my career. I wish every student had such an opportunity,” says Moise Bahati, one of the 6 students of the incubator’s first cohort.
The Kaminuza Star Incubator, KTOR, as it was named, has been operating for a year. It was
based on the school newspaper, Kaminuza Star, that has been operating since 2015.
As the founder of the incubator, Yann Gwet told Kaminuza Star, the goal of the incubator is to transform Kaminuza Star into a center of excellence; a place where high-quality journalism is produced by highly-driven, ambitious and well-trained students who will become the elite of the field and will be able to compete locally and regionally.
“In journalism, experience is often the best teacher. Developing career coaching to help
students understand and navigate the job market is a good thing as well,” he said.
The dominant activities of the KTOR are reading books and articles, debating, writing articles and meeting experienced people in the field.
KTOR brought up great aspirations in its trainees, Bahati continues to explain how the incubator transformed him.
“Reading books and at least five articles a day is quite challenging but it always reminds me that I have to work hard. If I don’t, I know I will be becoming lazy and I hate being lazy.”
Cyuzuzo Gentillesse, one of the female trainees of the incubator added, that “KTOR has been a mind-opening initiative. It showed me what it requires; I now aspire to be professional journalist. I am not that good yet, but with KTOR trainings, I will get far.”
KTOR will keep training students through different cohorts focusing on first year students.
Promoting quality of sustainable journalism on one hand, strengthening and branding Kaminuza star newspaper with credible content on the other hand.
FACTS
- 1996: The School of Journalism was established at the former National University of Rwanda.
- 2012: The school newspaper in Kinyarwanda was established as Ibanga.
- 2015: Ibanga newspaper stopped being published.
- 2017: Kaminuza Star was introduced after an initiative from The New Times in Kigali.
- 2018: Initiation of Kaminuza Star Incubator.