KIST was established in November, 1997. Major partners in its creation were the Ministry of Education, the UNDP Rwanda, and GTZ, a German enterprise.
The College of Science and Technology (CST) was established by the Government of Rwanda LAW N° 71/2013 OF 10/09/2013 ESTABLISHING THE UNIVERSITY OF RWANDA (UR) AND DETERMINING ITS MISSION, POWERS, ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONING as a Technology specialized college in teaching and training of highly skilled personnel in the fields of pure and applied sciences and engineering to fast track national development.
In line with the Government’s commitment to achieve the goals and objectives clearly set out in the country’s EDPRS 2 and the Vision 2020, the College of Science and Technology (CST) is one of the six specialized colleges that are under the University of Rwanda, CST therefore plays a key role in teaching and research, reaching out to the community and supporting the private sector with highly skilled labour.