Kalangala, an idyllic archipelago often romanticised for its sunsets, today witnessed a historic leap in healthcare. Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, launched the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) Kalangala Clinical Research Centre—the island’s first modern research facility.

“This is more than a building; it’s a lifeline,” said Prof. Nawangwe. “IDI is not only Uganda’s leading health partner, managing over 20% of HIV cases, but research is first on its agenda. If people are not healthy, they can’t work—it’s useless to invest in anything else.”

Kalangala ranks third in HIV prevalence nationwide at 13.1%, with fishing communities hardest hit. Until now, residents endured perilous boat rides to the mainland for advanced care. “Accessing healthcare has always meant a journey across waves—long, costly, and sometimes dangerous,” said District Chairperson Jajab Ssemakula. “You have not only invested in Kalangala; you have brought Makerere University to Kalangala.”

Supported by the Gates Foundation, the centre is part of a multinational HIV prevention study conducted across 31 sites in Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. Its first mission: testing whether a monthly pill can protect adolescent girls and young women from HIV—a breakthrough that could transform vulnerable communities.

“This centre means access without barriers,” said Dr. Andrew Kambugu, IDI Executive Director. “Kalangala residents no longer need to travel long distances for clinical trials or advanced care.”

Prof. Samuel Luboga, IDI Board Chairperson, reassured residents of IDI’s long-term commitment:
“We are not a fleeting partner. This sentinel research centre aligns with our vision of freeing Africa from the burden of infectious diseases. The assurance I give Kalangala is—we are here to stay.”

Henry Ssebunya, Deputy Resident District Commissioner, praised IDI’s innovation and consistency:
“IDI has treated and cared for people living with HIV, deployed medical drones to deliver life-saving medicines, and now built a research centre. This is a new chapter for Kalangala.”

From a sleeping sickness camp in 1906 to a cutting-edge research hub in 2025, Kalangala’s story is one of resilience, innovation, and hope.

A New Chapter in Uganda–Malaysia Higher Education Collaboration

Makerere University has started preliminary discussions with Binary University of Management and Entrepreneurship (Malaysia) to deepen its global partnerships through high-level engagements, aimed at fostering innovation-driven education, entrepreneurship, and women’s leadership. Chaired by the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Prof. Sarah Ssali, the meeting explored a structured framework for collaboration that responds to Uganda’s urgent need for skills development, job creation, and industry-aligned learning.

This emerging partnership reflects a shared vision: to move beyond traditional academic models towards a practical, industry-integrated, and entrepreneurship-focused education system that equips graduates with real-world skills and global competitiveness.

Responding to Uganda’s Employment Challenge Through Entrepreneurship

“While chairing the meeting, Prof. Sarah Ssali noted that Makerere University and other Universities, together, currently graduate over 35,000 students annually, yet the private sector creates only about 700 new jobs per year. With an expanding population and intense job competition, where a single vacancy can attract over 4,000 applicants, the urgency for alternative employment pathways is clear.

Makerere’s Innovation Hub and Centre for Entrepreneurship have become critical pillars in addressing this challenge. Through platforms such as the Innovation Expo, now in its third edition and featuring over 600 student exhibitions, the university continues to nurture problem-solvers, innovators, and job creators. This ecosystem aligns strongly with Binary University’s entrepreneurial philosophy, making the Centre for Entrepreneurship a natural anchor point for collaboration.

Binary University’s Industry Specialist Professional (ISP) Model

Binary University brings a unique global model that directly integrates industry practitioners into the classroom. Its Industry Specialist Professional (ISP) programme, operational since 1999, ensures students graduate with skills tailored to specific industry needs. Industry experts with decades of practical experience teach across disciplines such as: Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, Oil and Gas, Renewable Energy, Engineering, Film and Media Production to mention but a few.

“ With over 10,500 practising entrepreneurs in its ecosystem in Malaysia, Binary offers students direct mentorship and exposure to active business environments, ensuring graduates are not only employable but also entrepreneurial.” Tan Sri Dato Professor Joseph Adaikalam, the Executive Chairman and Founder, Binary University of Management and Entrepreneurship, noted.

Key Areas of Proposed Collaboration

The discussions outlined a structured and scalable partnership model anchored on the following areas:

1. Dual and Joint Degree Programmes

• 2+2 Joint Bachelor’s Degrees in specialised fields through an International Department structure.
• 1+1 Joint Master’s Programmes including: MBA for Engineers, Renewable Energy MBA and Semiconductor MBA
• Dual award systems to ensure international recognition and student mobility.

2. PhD and Staff Development Programmes

• Winter/Summer PhD models in Renewable Energy and Waste Management
• Nominated students to benefit from 50% tuition waivers
• PhD pathways tailored for academic staff development

3. Executive Development Programmes (EDPs)

High-impact, short-term programmes targeting senior leaders, featuring joint certification with a focus on AI for CEOs, Global Issues & Entrepreneurship. These EDPs are designed to empower leaders with strategic insight into global trends, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Placing Women’s Leadership at the Centre

A key pillar of the proposed collaboration is engagement with Malaysia’s Centre for Women’s Leadership (CWL), which focuses on empowering women through entrepreneurship and gender compliance mechanisms.

Puan Sri Datin, Prof. Dr. Rohini Devi, the co-founder and Vice Chairman, Binary University, highlighted the unique opportunities this partnership presents for a Joint women’s leadership training initiative, feminist academic exchanges, gender-responsive entrepreneurship models and an initiative to strengthen Makerere’s Institute of Gender Studies as a regional hub.

This aligns with Malaysia’s progressive gender compliance policies for public funding and women’s leadership development, a model that holds strong relevance for African institutions.

Learning from Regional and Global Best Practices

The meeting underscored valuable lessons from global contexts, including Nigeria’s model, where every graduate leaves with a practical vocational skill, Zambia’s Winter-Summer academic model with tuition waivers, Malaysia’s government investment in higher education and entrepreneurship

These case studies reinforce the need for practical skills as survival tools while graduates transition into formal employment or entrepreneurship.

A Win-Win Partnership for the Future

This collaboration is envisioned as a mutually beneficial model that complements Makerere’s academic strengths while leveraging Binary’s industry-driven approach. It will enhance student mobility, staff exchange, joint research, innovation transfer, and entrepreneurship development, all while maintaining strong quality assurance mechanisms.

As Makerere University continues to reimagine higher education in a rapidly changing world, this partnership signals a transformative shift towards globally competitive, innovation-led, and socially responsive learning systems.

With optimism and strategic intent, both institutions commit to open dialogue, structured implementation, and long-term impact. The Makerere-Binary partnership stands as a powerful example of how South-South collaboration can redefine education, accelerate entrepreneurship, and empower future leaders, especially women, for Africa’s development trajectory.

Caroline Kainomugisha is the Communications Officer, Advancement Office, Makerere University.

On 21^st November, 2025, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, hosted a delegation from the Nottingham Trent University (NTU). The meeting underscored the need to re-model what purposeful, equitable and future-oriented international collaboration can look like between Universities. What began as a 15 year focused engagement in Public Health is set to evolve into a mature, multi-dimensional partnership guided by a shared commitment to knowledge exchange, cultural sensitivity, innovation and community transformation. With the current Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) running until 2028, now in its third iteration, both institutions are deliberately reimagining the next phase of collaboration, extending its impact over the next 15 years and beyond.

Moving Beyond Public Health: A Broader Vision for Collaboration

While past collaborations have significantly advanced areas such as community health, microbial research, leadership among health managers and non-communicable diseases, the future partnership envisions a more diversified and resilient framework.

Prof. Neil Mansfield, the Executive Dean, Research and International Reputation, NTU, noted that this growth strategy is anchored in building additional “legs” onto the partnership chair; creating stability through cross-disciplinary engagement involving the School of Science and Technology, Department of Engineering, Business School, the Makerere University Gender Institute, and the creative arts at both Universities.

The expanded scope reflects a shared belief that sustainable development and innovation demand integrated approaches that bring together engineers, social scientists, anthropologists, business leaders, climate scientists and creatives among others disciplines.

Equitable Partnership as a Guiding Principle

Both institutions reaffirmed the importance of equitable partnerships that prioritise shared ownership, mutual benefit and contextual relevance.

Prof. Linda Gisbon, Director, Global Public Health, NTU highlighted the importance of the shared ownership model for joint projects. She further noted that this approach has already gained scholarly recognition through published work advocating for afro-centric collaboration models, positioning the partnership as a benchmark for ethical international engagement.

The NTU–Makerere shared ownership model ensures that all projects are jointly created, jointly led and jointly benefitted from. Both institutions participate equally in decision-making, resource management, knowledge generation and dissemination, ensuring the partnership strengthens capacity on both sides rather than reproducing unequal power dynamics.(Gibson et al., 2023)

Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurial Readiness

Dr. Hellen Karditsas, a senior lecturer at NTU, extensively shared about a possible flagship proposal which could be integrated within the expanded collaboration.

“NTU’s Engineering Challenge is an intensive three-week program engaging first- and second-year students in real-world product development. Students, supported by academic staff, conceptualise solutions, develop business models and transform ideas into market-ready products.” She noted.

Dr. Hellen, concluded by sharing that the Challenge engages students and staff from disciplines such as Mechanical, Electrical, Sport, Biomedical and Aerospace Engineering, this initiative exposes participants to the full innovation ecosystem, nurturing a generation of engineering entrepreneurs equipped for both industry and enterprise.

Prof. Sarah Ssali complimented the conversation when she noted, the growing interest in anthropological engineering and vernacular architecture – an interdisciplinary lens that examines how cultural practices and people’s way of life shapes their construction techniques and designs.

She further noted that, by recognising that “development is anti-people” when detached from lived realities, this partnership should seek to integrate cultural sensitivity into infrastructure design, ensuring that modernisation aligns with community needs and values.

Expanding into Arts, Design and Creative Industries

Another strategic leg of the partnership is strengthening ties between NTU and Makerere’s School of Performing Arts and Film. Plans include equipment-sharing initiatives, joint creative labs and collaborative production spaces aimed at enhancing capacity, storytelling and community engagement through visual and performing arts. These collaborations will also support public health communication through creative multimedia approaches and capacity building.

During the meeting, Makerere University Press partnerships and writing summer schools were also proposed to nurture scholarly publishing, academic writing and creative expression, further strengthening intellectual exchange between the two institutions.

Future projects will continue to integrate sociologists, anthropologists and social scientists to shape interventions that are not only technically sound but socially responsive and culturally aware.

Industry Linkages and Global Networks

Recognising the importance of industry engagement, the partnership seeks to connect with British-owned companies operating in Uganda as well as Ugandan enterprises with footprints in the UK. These linkages will enable practical learning opportunities, internships, applied research and joint innovation ventures.

Exchange visits for business students will also be prioritised to foster global exposure, entrepreneurial thinking and cross-cultural competence, equipping students to operate in increasingly interconnected economies.

A Partnership for the Future

The future Makerere–NTU collaboration will be defined by diversity, scalability and shared vision. By pulling together multiple schools and centres from Business and Natural Sciences to Engineering, Gender Studies and the Creative Arts the partnership is positioned to evolve into a holistic, long-term platform for knowledge production, innovation and people-centred development.

As both institutions reaffirm their commitment to constructive dialogue, joint planning and continuous evaluation, this partnership stands as a testament to how international cooperation can move beyond transactional engagement into transformative, sustainable impact.

In building more legs onto the partnership chair, Makerere University and Nottingham Trent University are not only strengthening institutional ties – they are shaping a resilient model for global academic collaboration that is equitable, agile and firmly rooted in shared purpose.

Reference;

Gibson, L., Ikhile, D., Nyashanu, M. & Musoke, D., 2023. Health promotion research in international settings: A shared ownership approach for North-South partnerships. In: L. Potvin & D. Jourdan, eds. Global Handbook of Health Promotion Research. Vol. 3: Doing Health Promotion Research. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp.263-272.

Caroline Kainomugisha is the Communications Officer, Advancement Office, Makerere University.