[2] It is named after Julius Nyerere, the first President of Tanzania.

In 1968 the school became a national university in affiliation with the Gamal Abdel Nasser University in Conakry, with the name Institut Polytechnique de Kankan.

The school was renamed « université Julius-Nyerere de Kankan » on September 27, 1989.

[3] Alumni include the writer Mariama Kesso Diallo.

[4] The university is composed of four faculties, a higher school and masters:[5]