AUST's 1st Commmencement Ceremony was held on Saturday, December 19, 2009 at the campus in Abuja, Nigeria. As the AUST community celebrated the graduation of its pioneering set of students together with the families of the students and other distinguished guests, the students looked forward to applying the knowledge and skills acquired at AUST to facilitate Africa's progress and development.

The Commencent Speaker was the distinguished Prof. Romain Murenzi. Romain Murenzi is currently Minister in President's Office in Charge of Science, Technology, and Scientific Research, Republic of Rwanda.

He is also Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland Institute of Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), Senior Scholar at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and Visiting Professor within the Physics Department at Howard University since August 2009.

• Chairman of Physics Department at Clark Atlanta University from 1999 to 2001
• In Rwanda, Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Scientific Research from August 2001 to March 2006
• In Rwanda, Minister in President's Office in Charge of Science, Technology, and Scientific Research from March 2006 to July 2009

Prof. Romain Murenzi serves on the Council of Third World Academy of Science (TWAS) as Vice-President for Africa, the Advisory Board of Scientists Without Borders, board member of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), South Africa, and member of the Scientific Board of the UNESCO International Basic Science Program.