In February 2008, Makerere University was one the seven universities in Africa invited by The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) to participate in the development and implementation of Educational Technology. PHEA is a joint project of Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation.
In February 2008, Makerere University was one the seven universities in Africa invited by The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) to participate in the development and implementation of Educational Technology. PHEA is a joint project of Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation.
The other universities invited were Kenyatta University , Kenya, University of Dar-es-Salaam , Tanzania, The Catholic University of Mozambique , University of Ibadan and University of Jos in Nigeria
This invitation was honoured and Makerere University was asked to develop an Educational Strategy and identify a number of priority areas which could be funded by the PHEA. The three projects that have been identified for funding are:
i) Makerere University E-Content Project (MUECP)
ii) Makerere University E-Portfolio Project (MUEPP)
iii) Makerere University Research Project under Department of Gender & Women Studies.
These 3 projects totaling US$ 450,000 have been finalized and are awaiting implementation. It was in line with this that Mr Neil Butcher, Open Educational Resources (OER) Africa Strategist, paid a courtesy call on the Ag. Vice-Chancellor Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba and the Ag. Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic Affairs, Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza. He was accompanied by Prof. Ann Floyd, Former Pro-Vice-Chancellor, The Open University UK , Dr. Jessica Aguti, Director, Institute of Adult and Continuing Education (IACE) and Mr. Tito Okumu, E-learning Manager , IACE.
The two teams discussed the proposed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and strategies for Implementation of the three projects.
Prof. Baryamureeba thanked Mr. Butcher for his visit and hoped that the three projects would foster the development of electronic content especially at a time when Makerere University is opening up upcountry campuses in Jinja and Fort Portal.
The three projects will be overseen by the Grants Implementation Committee, which is also overseeing several University projects.