General

Makerere-Sida sign USD 25.7m Specific Agreement on Research Cooperation

Published

11 years ago

February 23, 2010

L-R Ms. Christine Johansson-Dep Swedish Amb/Sida Country Director, Prof. Eli Katunguka-Rwakishaya-SGS Director and Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson

Makerere University and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) signed an Agreement on Continued Research Cooperation on 18th February 2010. Phase III of the agreement slated for the four-year period starting January 2010 to June 2014 will be worth 180million SEK or USD 25.7million.

Makerere University and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) signed an Agreement on Continued Research Cooperation on 18th February 2010. Phase III of the agreement slated for the four-year period starting January 2010 to June 2014 will be worth 180million SEK or USD 25.7million.

The Director, School of Graduate Studies, Prof. Eli Katunguka Rwakishaya expressed gratitude at witnessing the signing of yet another agreement for continued research support, which started in 2000. He thanked the Government and people of Sweden for the previous phases of support valued at 300million SEK or USD 37.5million, which saw the strengthening of Makerere’s position as leading provider of Science education and research; Improvement of the quality of academic staff and graduates through PhD training and reduction of L-R Ms. Christine Johansson-Dep Swedish Amb/Sida Country Director, Prof. Eli Katunguka-Rwakishaya-SGS Director and Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson the degree of brain drain. He pledged that at the end of the 4 year period, Makerere was committed to have; increased the use of research outputs, technologies and innovations to contribute to national development; increased its Capacity to undertake research, generate and use new knowledge; and created an enabling environment for carrying out quality research.

Dr. Christina de Carvalho, Policy Specialist, Research, Sida Team Uganda, who was instrumental in providing valuable input for Phase III extension thanked Prof. Katunguka and the Makerere team, for their successful completion of previous phases. She lauded the Swedish Government for increasing the funding for Phase III, which will witness three more academic units namely; The Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Quality Assurance Directorate come on board.

The Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba thanked Sida for the long term support to projects, which has indeed established Sida as partner in Makerere’s adage to build for the future. He indeed appreciated the benefits Makerere has reaped thus far such as; the Campus-wide fiber optic backbone; the improved gender terrain due to support accorded to the gender mainstreaming division and support to university efforts to reform administrative, financial, research, teaching and learning processes. Prof Baryamureeba further valued the support, which this time round also benefit the four other public universities in the area of PhD and Masters training.

H.E. Andres Johnson, Swedish Ambassador to Uganda In his address, the Swedish Ambassador to Uganda H.E. Andres Johnson, reiterated the importance of Research and innovations, which form the basis for Sweden’s exports “Globalisation creates more of interaction and interdependencies. As a small country, Sweden has to be internationally competitive – more than 50% of our GDP is based on exports.” In relation to Uganda “Consequently, the cooperation between Sweden and Uganda is a tangible manifestation of the importance we attach to the role of research in development” he added. He lauded Makerere’s efforts aimed at administrative reform to ensure the effective and efficient running of the university and commended the institution for becoming the highest-ranked university on research publications in East Africa, during the January webometric rankings.

The Minister of State for Primary Education, Dr. Kamanda Bataringaya, who represented the Minister of State for Higher Education Hon. Mwesigwa Rukutana, expressed Government’s deliberate support to strengthen Makerere’s research capacity through Sida/SAREC funded programs. This, he admitted was done due to the university being identified as “key institution in Uganda best positioned to make a strategic contribution to the overall research capacity in the country.” He noted some of the benefits of Sida’s support such as “the Demographic Surveillance Site at Iganga/Mayuge, the biochemistry lab in the College of Health Sciences, the GIS lab in the Faculty of Technology,” which benefit not only Makerere but server researchers across Uganda and the globe.

Amb. Andres Johnson(L) exchanges the MoU with Prof. Baryamureeba(2nd R) as Hon. Bataringaya (2nd L) and an official from the Ministry of Finance look on

On behalf of government of Uganda, Hon. Bataringaya thanked the government and people of Sweden for their continued support to the government of Uganda and Makerere in particular in building research capacity.

Click here to view Hon. Bataringaya's full speech

Click here to view H.E Ambassador Andres Johnson's full speech

Click here to view Prof. Katunguka-Rwakishaya's full speech

General

Veteran Professor changed Makerere and Higher Education

Published

4 days ago

June 21, 2021

Mark Wamai

Professor Pancras John Mukasa Ssebuwufu (L) receives a plaque and citation from RUFORUM Board Member and Vice Chancellor Ndejje University-Professor Eriabu Lugujjo (Right) on 6th May 2021 at the RUFORUM Secretariat, Plot 155 Garden Hill, Makerere University Main Campus,

When Professor John Ssebuwufu ambled up to receive a certificate of recognition for his ‘exceptional’ contribution to higher education from the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) at Makerere University (MU), he was thinking of many things, such as rewarding staff, that he could have done differently to impact university education more.

But he did what he could have done, under the circumstances.

He presided over MU (in 1993) when student enrolment was 5,000 and left in 2004 when the population was surging to more than 15,000.

He emphasised the use of information communication technologies in almost all the institutions he had been involved in and sent many academic staff on exchanges to boost research and innovation. Now, more African universities engage in ground-breaking research.

So, he proceeded to accept his recognition and make his acceptance speech, which was mostly about gratitude.

Ssebuwufu, 74, who is currently the chancellor at Kyambogo University and the vice-chancellor of the University of Kisubi, is credited for his exemplary leadership and pragmatic methods that have shaped higher education in Uganda and Africa as a whole.

General

Japan Africa Dream Scholarship (JADS) Program 2021/2022

Published

4 days ago

June 21, 2021

Mark Wamai

Japan Africa Dream Scholarship (JADS) Program 2021/2022. Photo credit: AfDB

The Japan Africa Dream Scholarship (JADS) Program is a capacity building project by the AfDB and Japan which was initiated in 2017 with the aim of providing two-year scholarship awards to highly achieving African graduate students to enable them to undergo post-graduate studies (i.e. a two-year Master’s degree program) in selected priority development areas on the continent and Japan. The overarching goal the AfDB and the Government of Japan seek to attain is to enhance skills and human resources development in Africa in under the Bank’s High 5s agenda (i.e. “Feed Africa”, “Light up Africa”, “Industrialize Africa”, “Integrate Africa” and “Improve the quality of life of the people of Africa”) and key Japanese development assistance initiatives. JADS core areas of study focus include energy, agriculture, health, environmental sustainability, and engineering. The program also seeks to promote inter-university collaboration and university-industry partnerships between Japan and Africa. Upon completion of their studies, the JADS scholars are expected to return to their home countries to apply and disseminate their newly acquired knowledge and skills in the public and private sectors, and contribute to national and continental socio-economic development.

About the JADS program

The JADS Program is open to applicants from AfDB member countries with relevant professional experience and a history of supporting their countries’ development efforts who are applying to a graduate degree program in energy development and related discipline. The program does not provide scholarships to any other graduate degree program.

The scholarship program provides tuition, a monthly living stipend, round-trip airfare, health insurance, and travel allowance.

Upon completion of their studies, the beneficiary scholars are expected to return to their home countries to apply and disseminate their newly acquired knowledge and skills, and contribute to the promotion of sustainable development of their countries.

Who is Eligible to Apply?

The program is open to those who have gained admission to an approved Masters degree course at a Japanese partner university. Candidates should be 35 years old or younger; in good health; with a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in the energy area or related area; and have a superior academic record. Upon completion of their study programs, scholars are expected to return to their home country to contribute to its economic and social development.

Application Procedures

Applicant requests for information and application forms and procedures from the chosen JADS partner university. For any inquiries, please contact JADS@AFDB.ORG
Applicant completes required documents and sends them to the university.
University evaluates and selects applicants.
University sends selected candidates to the AfDB.
AfDB reviews submissions from universities, prepares and approves the final list.
AfDB contacts selected awardees, and informs the universities.