Eden University formerly known as Eden Institute was established in 2001 with support of the brethren from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. The mandate of the institute then, as legally registered under the name willows academy, was to provide Technical Education and Vocational Training at Certificate, Diploma and advanced Diploma level. The institute was registered with TEVETA and accredited to City and Guilds.

LCCIEB and LCM for various programs covering Engineering, Business courses among other vocational programs in a bid to contribute to the fulfillment of government policy of supplying qualified human resources.

In 2010, the University went through a management buy-out which gave birth to a new registration of the institution under the name Eden Institute. In the same year management secured affiliation with Rusangu University to operate as a satellite center for the University and we were allowed to be offering Secondary Teachers Diploma.

The University that started with a total of 15 full time students and 17 distant students now boasts of 5000 students. The university has three full-fledged specialised faculties namely School of Education,School of Medicine and Health Sciences and School of Post graduate Studies.