A group of Northeastern University students spent a month in Rwanda participating in a Dialogue of Civilizations program focused on economic development and post-conflict recovery. Working alongside government agencies, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations, the students conducted field research, developed policy recommendations, and produced multimedia content to support local development initiatives.
Based in Kigali, the cohort traveled as far as six hours outside the capital to observe infrastructure projects, engage with rural communities, and assess real-time development efforts. Michail Michailidis, a senior majoring in economics, described witnessing road construction and access to clean water as powerful reminders of progress underway. He emphasized that sustainable growth requires understanding community-specific needs rather than imposing external solutions.
The academic program, co-led by Jill Dupree, an associate teaching professor of economics, and Quisquella Addison, an assistant teaching professor at Northeastern’s law school, combined economic theory with practical engagement. Dupree’s curriculum explored strategies for inclusive economic advancement, including a partnership with Rwanda’s Ministry of Information, Communication, Technology and Innovation to assist women entrepreneurs in building e-commerce ventures.
Students collaborated with recent graduates and local startups affected by national innovation policies, gathering insights that were compiled into case studies. These were presented to Yves Iradukunda, Secretary of the Ministry, and other officials who plan to use the findings to refine economic strategies.
Addison’s component emphasized storytelling and nonprofit collaboration. Students treated local NGOs as clients, creating videos, articles, and social media campaigns to amplify their missions. Six final products were delivered to organizations, enhancing their outreach capabilities. Rowan Greenberg, a finance-focused business student, noted the emotional impact of hearing personal stories from beneficiaries whose lives improved through NGO-led programs.
Anusha Sambangi, a second-year student in economics and business administration, highlighted conversations with lower- and middle-income residents as eye-opening, revealing widespread pride in Rwanda’s progress despite past challenges. The group also studied the legacy of the 1994 genocide and ongoing reconciliation processes, integrating historical context into their understanding of national development.
Dupree reflected on the importance of grounding development work in local realities, citing examples such as smartphone distribution programs that failed due to lack of practical utility. She praised Rwanda’s targeted support for youth entrepreneurship as a model of context-sensitive policy.
The experience reinforced the idea that meaningful economic advancement stems from listening to communities and aligning resources with actual needs, rather than assumptions.
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Northeastern students help shape economic development policy during trip to Rwanda
During a month-long visit to Rwanda, students worked with nonprofits, business people and government officials on policy improvements. n nIt’s not every day that a country’s government works hand-in-hand with college students. n nBut Northeastern University students did just that while in Rwanda for a Dialogue of Civilizations course on the country’s economic development and conflict resolution. n nThroughout the month they spent living in the country’s capital of Kigali, students presented case studies with suggestions on economic policy to government officials, met with local business owners, traveled to remote villages to see development in action and worked with local nonprofits to create multimedia content to support their work. n n”The furthest we went was almost six hours away from Kigali,” said Michail Michailidis, a senior economics major. “I was looking out the window and you would see development actually taking place. You’d see people laying roads, you’d see people getting their water from wells. It was incredible to be able to listen and to see how development is in place.” n nStudents worked with local nonprofits and Rwanda’s Ministry of Information, Communication, Technology and Innovation to learn more about what can be done to help Rwanda’s economy thrive, including meeting with business owners and sharing their feedback with government officials. n nJill Dupree, an associate teaching professor of economics, and Quisquella Addison, an assistant teaching professor in Northeastern’s law school, led the Dialogue, which was first started in 2022 by Dupree. This past summer was the first time she ran the Dialogue with Addison, who brought in her experience to add a focus on nonprofits, specifically ones dedicated to economic development. n n”The reason why I approach it from the nonprofit sector is because I believe that nonprofits can be a connector between private enterprise and also government and people,” Addison said. “Nonprofits many times understand the needs of the individual communities that they’re serving because they’re based within those communities. We’re really trying to find grassroots nonprofits that are based in communities that have individuals who are from those communities and understand the issues that they’re facing.” n nThe course also looks at the impact and response to conflict in the country, including the 1994 genocide and the ongoing reconciliation process. n nMichailidis said he enjoyed working on Hanga PitchFest, which is a competition that supports entrepreneurs. Students met with several startups directly affected by policies from Rwanda’s Ministry of Innovation and talked with them to get an understanding of how they laid their foundation and what could’ve been done better. n nStudents then shared this feedback with government officials in a case study presented to the secretary of the Ministry of Information, Communication, Technology and Innovation, Yves Iradukunda, and other ministry representatives. Officials will use this to adjust the country’s economic policy. n n”We have this perception that development happens in a way where you see something is missing and you go off it,” said Michailidis. “However, what we got to learn is that’s just not how development works and there’s no meaningful impact in helping somebody that way. Making it sustainable means giving them the means and the resources to learn how to make this shoe, to learn how to build an economy out of their needs and asking the question: Is it this shoe that you’re missing or is it something else?” n n”Our professors did an excellent job in teaching us that it’s not about what you come in with. It’s about sitting there on the ground with the people and listening to what they need and adjusting their needs with the resources at present. Because yes, you can answer the problem with the resources you have in your home, but what do they have? “They’re obviously missing some key resources, and we need to adjust even our recommendations. That’s like something I’m taking away (from this course).” n nThis work involved a lot of meetings, but not just in offices in the country’s capital. Students met with all sorts of stakeholders from Rwandan government officials to young entrepreneurs to people living in less developed areas outside the city, traveling six hours outside the city. n n”We got to meet with more rural villages and speak with people within the lower and middle class sectors,” said Anusha Sambangi, a second-year economics and business administration student. “We got to speak to these people about their lives, their families and where they were in their journey. It was amazing to see what they think about the Rwandan administration and where they think their country is. I can see people are very proud of Rwanda and how far they’ve come.” n nDupree taught a course focused on economic development. Students got to work with the Ministry of Information, Communication, Technology and Innovation and were paired with recent college graduates to work on a program to help women develop e-commerce businesses. Through this, they worked with different entrepreneurs and government agencies. n nFor Rowan Greenberg, a business major with a concentration in finance who is graduating in December 2026, a big highlight of the 35-day course was doing case studies with the country’s Ministry of Information, Communication, Technology and Innovation to improve access to e-commerce. n n”A big highlight for me was meeting with all the parties involved,” Greenberg said. “My project was specifically focused on women in e-commerce. Meeting with the four e-commerce platforms that were included in this initiative and also just hearing the stories of how they directly impacted not just their businesses, but their overall livelihood was extremely impactful and actually being able to connect the economic side of the project to the personal and the community aspect of it was very impactful.” n nAddison’s section of the Dialogue focused on storytelling and working with NGOs. Students also took on Rwandan NGOs as “clients,” learning about the group and the work they do before going on to create multimedia content to tell the story of the NGO. Addison said students made videos, wrote articles and crafted social media packets to raise awareness. The end result was six different products that the organizations could use. n n”We got to meet the leaders at those nonprofits, but more importantly, we spent time with people who were directly involved with the work they were doing,” said Greenberg. “We got to have conversations about how their lives have transformed from the work of the organizations and how it impacted all of them and their families and their greater communities for the better. It was really, really beneficial.” n nStudents also spent part of their time learning about the 1994 genocide and the ongoing reconciliation. They traveled around the country, exploring national parks, the city and smaller communities. n n”We were pretty successful at getting the students to recognize that the theory of economic development says ‘here’s these basic things you need,’ and it sounds really simple, but the reality is that you have to connect with the local community and you have to know where they are and what their needs are,” Dupree said. “They handed out smartphones to millions of people in the country and a good portion of them just got sold for money because they didn’t have a use for it. I think what’s really good is that the government there recognizes this. They’re helping youth and young people in a particular community start businesses. It’s not just ‘set up a website and start selling stuff.’”