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Demystifying what is of contemporary importance to Ugandan women of different generations

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As one made their entrance into the Main Hall on Thursday 1st April 2010, your curiosity could not help but be tickled. Calmly seated on the stage was an ensemble of Ugandan ladies from various walks of life, age groups and Educational backgrounds.

As one made their entrance into the Main Hall on Thursday 1st April 2010, your curiosity could not help but be tickled. Calmly seated on the stage was an ensemble of Ugandan ladies from various walks of life, age groups and Educational backgrounds.Under their umbrella, Intergenerational Ugandan Women’s Theatre Project: female students from the Music Dance and Drama, MDD and Literature Departments; members of the Namukozi Theatre Group Mityana; and female students of Progressive Secondary School Nakasongola; the ladies showcased theatrical talent that not only entertained but also expressed a message, critical to many in the audience.

As the group acted, sang and danced to the amusement of the audience, they depicted the plight of the African woman as she strives to overcome hardships such as immorality, illiteracy, rape, forced marriages and the current problem of sugar daddies. From the dramatization, it was clear that these problems are deeply entrenched in our society and need to be urgently addressed by our government and law makers as well as the basic family unit.

“These performances reflect experiences of women in Uganda and what is important for them, which when highlighted will hopefully better the prospects of women in the country,” Prof. Jane Plastow of the University of Leeds said. Prof. Plastow, together with Ms. Alison Lloyd Williams of University of Lancaster facilitated the workshops, in conjunction with two of their Uganda counterparts Dr. Susan Kiguli and Dr. Evelyn Lutwama. Heads of Departments of Literature and MDD, Dr. E. Okello Ogwang and Dr. Patrick Mangeni coordinated the process of the success of the event.

The Dean, Faculty of Arts, in his message delivered by Dr. Mercy Ntangaare, stated that with such an initiative, the collaborative venture between Literature and MDD departments was implementing one of the university’s goals; transferring knowledge as we build for the future with students’ involvement. He hoped that the liaison between Makerere and the UK universities would be cemented by the signing a memorandum of understanding so as to sustain such partnerships for the academic growth of the university.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, who graced the performance as the Guest of Honor commended the departments of Literature and MDD for this collaborative initiative. In appreciation of this milestone, Prof. Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza observed that such partnerships seamlessly fit into the Makerere University’s Ten (10) year Strategic Plan goals; refocusing from a teacher centered instruction to a learner centered pedagogy; turning Makerere into a research driven university; and shifting from the current outreach paradigm to a two way knowledge transfer partnership and networking approach. “Each Academic Unit/Department has a duty to critically align its mandate to the realization of these strategic goals through initiating projects, developing strategies and undertaking activities/programmes that are in line with the trends in higher education and the demands in the global arena” she added.

Observing the trends, Prof. Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza highlighted that Makerere has done, and indeed continued to do a lot more research in the sciences than in the humanities. However, with projects such as the Intergenerational Ugandan Women’s Theatre Project she expressed her optimism that we would witness more collaborative research in the humanities hence an increase in knowledge transfer partnerships. “Partnerships such as this between Makerere students, the women from Mityana theatre group and the students of Progressive Secondary School will enable better exchange of knowledge and valuable skills.” “I am happy to mention the fact that Makerere University has been recognized in this region for spearheading both gender and women studies research” she further added.

In hosting such projects, Makerere University supports its aim to stay relevant to societal needs, increase public understanding of university activities, and promote education as a tool of emancipation. It is from these initiatives that fruitful deliverances of hope and inspiration for women in Uganda will be achieved.

Denis Wamala

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Special Exam Results -Diploma in Performing Arts 2025/26

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The results for the 2025/2026 special entry examination for the Diploma in Performing Arts held on Saturday 17th May, 2025. Candidates who scored a final mark of 50% and above passed the Examination and have been recommended to the university’s Admissions Committee for consideration.

Mak Editor

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Mature Age Scheme Exam Results for 2025/2026

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The Office of Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released full results for the Mature Age Entry Scheme Examinations for the Academic Year 2025/2026 held on Saturday 14th December, 2024.

The Candidates who scored a final mark of 50% and above passed the examination and have been recommended by the Pre-Entry & Mature Age Committee to the University’s Admissions Board for Consideration.

The Aptitude Exam  Results for 2025/2026 Academic Year released in February 2025 can be found here.

Mak Editor

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Directorate of Graduate Training Completes Training of First Cohort Training of Supervisors

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By Moses Lutaaya

The Directorate of Graduate Training (DGT) has in collaboration with Centre for Teaching and Learning completed the training of the first cohort of Graduate Supervisors.

Participants were academic staff from two colleges namely, College of Engineering, Art and Design (CEDAT) and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES).

The three-day training that took place at the Telepresence Centre, Senate Building ended on Friday 20thJune 2025.

In his closing remarks to the participants, the Director of Graduate Training Prof. Julius Kikooma said, “This is the first cohort we are working together with the Center for Teaching and Learning to put together continuous professional development Program so that we are able to enforce the new teaching and learning policy.”

He said that before lecturers are allocated students for supervision, they must first go through this form of formal teaching and learning training to equip them thoroughly with certification required of supervision of graduate students.

“We are coming up with process to ensure that the certificates earned by participants allow you to supervise graduate students. This is the direction of the university and we must ensure that such trainings are concluded and completed successfully by all participants”, Prof. Kikooma.

Prof. Julius Kikooma – Director of Graduate Training

“We can only have you certified upon completing all the exercises in the training process. This is when you will be eligible to receive the work load for supervision”, He added.

“This training of Supervisors is going to be continuous so that all academic staff in colleges and schools are equipped. This first cohort is going to be our building block to the future trainings in the colleges.”

With such capacity building trainings, Prof. Kikooma said that the university is on the right path to achieving its targets in the new strategic plan of increasing the number of graduate students while progressively reducing the under graduate students.

He further hinted that, “We are in the process of writing a curriculum on this, which will be presented for approval before it is rolled out.”

He echoed all participants to share the knowledge they have acquired adding, “Share all you have learnt, do not keep it. Be open minded, have proper communication channels and the sky will be the limit for you.” 

Dr. Robinah N. Kulabako, The Head of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CEDAT welcomed the training adding, “This training is very pertinent. I have had the opportunity to supervise Masters and PhD students for over 15 years and I must say that the need to be subjected to this training cannot be over emphasized because there is need to learn, unlearn and relearn many aspects involved in the supervision process.”

She added, “We are moving towards knowledge-based supervision rather than experience-based supervision. This means we must be informed and equipped to be able to advise, guide and mentor to be able to lead a successful supervision journey for both supervisor and supervisee.”

Dr. Andrew Gilbert Were – a lecturer at CEDAT and a participant said, “It is important that all supervisors of graduate students receive this certification from Makerere University through a systematic training process that enables them to attain diverse skills to facilitate learning of graduate students from diverse cultures and with unique set of circumstances.”

“This training is long overdue. In fact, it was an oversight that we could be allowed to supervise students without undergoing supervisors’ training.”

Dr. Dorothy Ssebowa, The Director Centre for Teaching and Learning support- CEES said, “The training this time round has had a mix of early career professionals including Lecturers, Supervisors and Professors share experiences. We have learnt a lot more from experienced supervisors who have shared practices on how they have done supervision over the years.”

“The knowledge and experience-based approaches have made this collaboration very active, interactive and learner centered which has resulted into a collaborative learning from the interdisciplinarity of staff from CEDAT and CAES. The issue now is to continue with professional development across all levels.” She added.

The Makerere University Directorate of Graduate Training (DGT) in collaboration with the Centre for Teaching and Learning completed the training of the first cohort of Graduate Supervisors. This activity was supported by the iCARTA – Institutionalization of Advanced Research Training in Africa, a NORHED II Project at Makerere University.

Mak Editor

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