General
Sir Tim Berners-Lee visits Makerere
The hall was filled with students eagerly waiting to at least catch a glimpse of this world famous gentleman, credited with inventing the World Wide Web from its humble beginnings to its current sophisticated nature with arms touching almost every corner of the globe.
The hall was filled with students eagerly waiting to at least catch a glimpse of this world famous gentleman, credited with inventing the World Wide Web from its humble beginnings to its current sophisticated nature with arms touching almost every corner of the globe.
Michael Niyitegeka, Head, Corporate Relations Office at the Faculty of Computing & IT Makerere and emcee for the day welcomed Sir Tim as he’s famously known to Makerere University and thanked the facilitator Stephane Boyera for making the visit possible. He then invited Dr. Idris Rai , Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Computing & IT make a few remarks.
Dr. Idris Rai thanked Sir Tim for making time to come to Uganda and Makerere University in particular. Citing his PhD work, which focused on designing and analyzing mechanisms to support Quality of Service in Edge Routers of IP Networks, he hoped that Sir Tim’s presentation would help everyone present to better appreciate how the World Wide Web operates, concluding by inviting him to deliver his presentation.
Sir Tim thanked everyone present for making time to come and listen to him, especially appreciating that a number of students from different Universities i.e. Makerere, Kyambogo, Nkumba and Gulu were present as well. Launching into the history of the World Wide Web first, in his own words "I just had to take the hypertext idea and connect it to the Transmission Control Protocol and domain name system ideas the World Wide Web was created, which ran on the NeXT machine. The specifications of Universal Document Identifiers (UDIs) now called the Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs), HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) published on the first server in order to promote wide adoption and discussion"
With the growing need for Web clients for other platforms, browsers such as Erwise, Viola, Cello and Mosaic eventually came on the scene. Then the need for servers to provide examples of WebPages arose, which led to the creation of the first Web server (info.cern.ch). Sir Tim then founded the World Wide Web Consortium (www.w3.org) in 1994, with its base at MIT, which is a neutral open forum where companies and organizations to whom the future of the Web is important come to discuss and to agree on new common computer protocols.
He then talked about The Semantic Web, which is an evolving development of the World Wide Web in which the meaning (semantics) of information and services on the web is defined, making it possible for the web to "understand" and satisfy the requests of people and machines to use the web content.
Sir Tim then went on to answer questions from the gathering, notable among whom, was Prof. James Patrick Mangeni Head, Research Education Network Uganda and an alumni of Sir Tim at Oxford University. Prof. Mangeni thanked Sir Tim for his visit and looked forward with sharing experiences especially with the advent of the undersea fiber cable that will improve bandwidth capacity and foster research.
A vote of thanks moved by Prof. Mangeni signaled the close of the talk and an opportunity for Sir Tim to interact with the Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Baryamureeba, members of staff and students who had graced the occasion.
General
Prof. Nawangwe urges young people to take up leadership in innovation for the transformation of Africa
By the Program Communication Team
On Sunday, February 2, 2025, Makerere University hosted the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Council Representatives meeting, which brings together young people from around 45 partner universities of the Mastercard Foundation.
During the event, Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe urged young people to prepare for leadership roles in innovation, especially starting with their communities, if they wish to see the positive transformation they desire in Africa.
“I urge you to connect and network with your peers and discuss how you can form inter-university teams to innovate solutions that will address the development challenges in our communities for the transformation of the African continent.” Prof. Nawangwe remarked.
Prof. Nawangwe applauded the Mastercard Foundation for its partnership with Makerere University and Uganda in general, which has uplifting effects on many young people.
“Makerere University and Uganda have made remarkable strides in providing Higher Education to Young People, thanks to the generous support of the Mastercard Foundation, which has contributed significantly to educating the next generation of African leaders. Through valuable initiatives and partnerships, such as the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, Makerere University is poised to continue educating young individuals who will significantly impact Uganda’s and Africa’s economic growth.” Prof. Nawangwe noted.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Nawangwe, further urged young people to seize the opportunities the Mastercard Foundation and other like-minded development partners presented to improve their lives and communities.
“The Mastercard Foundation has given you the platform and opportunity to be leaders and beacons of change. Embrace this responsibility with courage. Let the core values of the Scholars Program—humility, listening, kindness and respect, co-creation, and impact—guide your actions,” Prof. Nawangwe emphasized.
While speaking at the same event, the Program Director of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University, Prof. Justine Namaalwa, enumerated high-level achievements the Program had accomplished for the last decade at Makerere University. She pointed out that in terms of scholarship enrolment, the Program had recruited 1,032 Scholars, of which 76% were Females, 7% were Internationals, 4% were Refugees, and about 1% were Youth with Disabilities.
Prof. Namaalwa further pointed out other post-graduation achievements, including a 94% completion rate of the total number of Scholars enrolled in the Scholars Program. She pointed out that between 2018 and 2025, the Program had graduated 964 Scholars, of which 37% were employed, mainly in the private sector.
Prof. Namaalwa revealed that beyond the Scholars Program, the Mastercard Foundation had put other initiatives supporting the university in numerous ways. She pointed out other initiatives such as the e-learning initiative, a COVID-19 Response measure to ensure continuity of Teaching and Learning at Makerere University and the Climate Resilience and Sustainability Collaborative: Makerere University, in collaboration with the University of Ghana, the University of Cape Town, and the University of Cambridge, is implementing a new initiative that addresses one of the world’s most significant challenges in recent times—climate change.
Prof. Namaalwa revealed that the Research Collaborative would provide opportunities for MSc and PhD scholarships to African students and encourage young people to enrol as graduate students starting in the academic year 2025/2026.
The event was punctuated with fireside chats, during which young people had an opportunity to discuss a number of topical issues related to entrepreneurship and Transformative leadership. Thereafter, the visiting students were taken on a guided tour around Makerere University.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Council comprises student leaders from partner Universities. Each Partner University has one Council Representative. They represent the needs of Scholars and work with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program teams at each institution, the Mastercard Foundation, and Alumni.
On Monday 3rd February 2025, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe handed over three (3) university buses to the respective leadership in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), the College of Health Sciences (CHS), and the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB).
The new buses mark a significant improvement in mobility and learning for Makerere University students and staff, furthering the institution’s commitment to practical education and community service.
Speaking at the handover ceremony held at the University’s Freedom Square, Prof. Nawangwe highlighted the significance of the new buses in enhancing teaching and learning. “These buses will play a crucial role in improving students’ practical learning experiences by ensuring reliable transportation for fieldwork and community outreach,” he said.
Prof. Nawangwe expressed gratitude to the Parliament and the Government of Uganda for providing the resources for the new buses, emphasizing their importance in replacing the old fleet, which frequently breaks down. The new 2023 model buses, with a 67-seater capacity, were secured at a cost of UGX 626million each and are expected to save the university significant maintenance costs and improve the learning experience for students.
Principals from the respective colleges expressed their appreciation for the new buses. Prof. Frank Norbert Mwiine, Principal of CoVAB, emphasized the importance of the buses for practical training at locations such as Lake Mburo National Park. Associate Prof. Gorettie Nabanoga, Principal of CAES, and Associate Prof. Bruce Kirenga, Principal of CHS, highlighted the buses’ role in facilitating community engagement and outreach.
He explained that the decision to purchase Isuzu buses instead of those manufactured by Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) a Makerere University partner, was based on prior engagement with the former, as well as the need to utilize the allocated funds promptly within the Financial Year, which couldn’t be accomplished at KMC due to their high demand.
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