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Prof. George Mondo Kagonyera installed as Makerere Chancellor

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Prof. George Mondo Kagonyera has been installed as the Chancellor of Makerere University, in a highly colorful ceremony presided over by the Vice President of Uganda, His Excellency Hon. Edward Ssekandi on Thursday 12th January, 2012 . He will be serving for a second term spanning for the next four years. His first term run from October 2007 – October 2011. 

In attendance at the University Main Hall were a number of Ministers, Foreign dignitaries, Makerere University Staff, the Lord Mayor of Kampala – Erias Lukwago and the press. The Department of Performing Arts and Film put up energetic performances that added colour to the event. The Chairperson of Council, Eng. Dr. Charles Wana Etyem revealed that members of the University Council unreservedly endorsed the candidature of Prof. Kagonyera because of his able leadership during his first term. In his acceptance speech Prof. Kagonyera, committed to serving the University unreservedly and called upon the University community to appreciate the uniqueness of Makerere University.

Makerere University has a unique responsibility to offer leadership in academic excellence as well as participating in finding solutions to problems that affect the economic, social and political development – not only in Uganda but also in the East African region and Africa at large. I appeal to the Staff and Students of Makerere University not to take our unique position lightly. We must at all times endeavour to focus our minds and actions on issues that are relevant to our calling and values as a university,’’ he said.

Vice Chancellor, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba (L) adorns Prof. Mondo Kagonyera with a cap after his installation as Chancellor, Makerere University.
Vice Chancellor, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba (L) adorns Prof. Mondo Kagonyera with a cap after his installation as Chancellor, Makerere University.

The fresh Chancellor appealed to Government to revise the law stipulating that Chancellors are Titular Heads, without powers, to at least accord them responsibilities. He re-echoed his   appeal for Government to use Makerere University and other Institutions of Higher learning for finding solutions to the development needs of the country. “Your Excellency, there are so many ideas at Makerere University in a range of fields, that would, if applied on an industrial scale, economically transform this country,’’ he emphasized. He thanked the Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Jessica Alupo, development partners, and Makerere University staff for the efforts in steering Makerere forward.

The Vice President, Hon. Edward Ssekandi described Prof. Kagonyera’s appointment as a reaffirmation of the trust the Management and Staff of Makerere University have in him as the Titular Head. He pledged continued Government support towards Makerere and the ongoing innovations. 

“During His Excellency the President’s last visit to Makerere University on 24th November 2011, he noted with great pleasure the excellent work being done by the staff and students of Makerere University. He particularly appreciated the advances made by the Vehicle Design Project in coming up with the Kiira Electric Vehicle. The Government of Uganda has therefore agreed to allocate at least 50acres of land to house the Centre for Research in Transportation Technologies (CRTT) and provide additional funding directly through the Ministry of Finance (up to the tune of 154 billion Uganda Shillings) over the next five years. The Centre’s welfare will be overseen by a Board of Trustees,’’ he said amidst applause.

The Vice President, H.E. Edward Ssekandi.
The Vice President, H.E. Edward Ssekandi.

“I wish to reassure the Chancellor of the Government’s full support to Makerere University. Do not be in any way limited if we can help. The President noted your concern during his visit, requesting the President’s Office to take up the task of handling Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, so that brilliant projects from students are not frustrated at the implementation phase. We are considering this request and at an opportune moment, we will revert to you,’’ he added.

Education Minister Hon. Jessica Alupo challenged Makerere University to be the centre of change throughout East Africa and called upon the private and public sectors to focus on Makerere. 

“Mr. Vice Chancellor, you are steering a University that has great potential, with a vibrant student base. One of the challenges before you right now is to see that this University continues to positively impact on our industrialization as a country. We all know that industrialization is key in driving world economies. I call upon the private and public sectors to look up Makerere and partner with her in advancing many of the ongoing innovations,’’ she said.

“Students on the other hand should seriously consider making use of the 40b put aside by government to address unemployment by financing innovative ideas. This is your money, go ahead and make use of it. We have now moved into regional cooperation and this means your innovations will have broader reach and relevance. I challenge you to think East Africa now. Here you will ride on the advantage of cohesion and compatibility to gain more ground with your innovations,’’ she advised.

The Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, pointed out that Prof. Kagonyera was identified as a suitable candidate way back.

“My first time to meet him was in 2007 when he appeared before the ‘’Chancellor Search Committee’’ of which I was a member. In an interview that lasted about 40 minutes, he repeated the sentence I love Makerere University 14 times.  He emerged the best candidate for the position of Chancellor of Makerere University. Professor Kagonyera has been providing constructive advice, which we as Management have taken seriously.  We are grateful to H.E the President of the Republic of Uganda for having appointed Professor Kagonyera Chancellor of Makerere University for another term after Makerere University Council unanimously recommended him for re-appointment,’’ he asserted. 

“When we came into office on 1st November 2009, we pledged to improve University-Government relations through constructive projects/ interventions with the different government ministries/ departments. We have lived up to our pledge. Today the different colleges are highly involved with government ministries/ departments. As Acting Vice-Chancellor, every six (6) months I provide a comprehensive progressive report to Makerere University Council that is copied to all stakeholders including the Rt. Hon Prime Minister and the Minister of Education and Sports among others,” he added. 

At the close of the function, the guests were treated to a delicious luncheon, befitting of such an installation.

Story by Marion Alina
Asst. Communications Officer, Public Relations Office

Mark Wamai

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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.

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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.

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Call for Application: 2025 SNRM session 4 Summer School

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Participants in focused group discussions. Leiden-Delft-Erasmus East Africa Research Network (LEARN) in collaboration with the Urban Action Lab at Makerere University a workshop to deliberate strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change in urban centres in the East African Region, Theme: “Resilient Urban Futures: Adapting Livelihoods to Climate Change”, 4th-5th September 2024, School of Public Health Auditorium, Kampala Uganda.

Context:
Natural resources in Africa are being depleted at an alarming rate due to several factors, including unsustainable human activities, climate change, and population growth. A primary condition of sustainable development is to ensure that the pressures do not exceed the environmental limits, and that demand for the resources does not exceed levels that can be sustainably provided by nature. Therefore, there is a pressing need for transformative, systems-thinking approaches and tools that can tackle the diverse challenges facing these systems. In Africa, this need is compounded by a lack of data and monitoring, which significantly hinders sustainable decision-making.

Investing in young scientists who are committed to take lead in sustainable management of Africa’s natural resources is very important. Capacity building of young scientists will enhance their knowledge and skill on sustainable natural resources and their involvement for implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDG’s) in Africa. To this effect, SNRM summer schools have been implemented in three sessions in 2019, 2020, and 2022 with support from Volkswagen Foundation; to build a critical mass of skilled and competent young natural resource scientists in Africa through training, capacity building and mentorship. Session 4 (2025) will target competent young scientists (MSc and PhD students) in Africa and Germany to further develop their knowledge and skills in systems thinking, advanced data collection and analysis, and application of emerging digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), internet of things (IoT), and embracing transdisciplinary approaches. In addition, we include an ideation workshop where students can work on real problems to come up with solutions for sustainable transformations in natural resource use.

Organizers: Leibniz Universität – Hannover (Germany), University of Antananarivo, University of Abomey Calavi (Benin), Makerere University (Uganda), University of Ghana (Ghana), University of Parakou (Benin), The Technical University of Kenya, with financial support from the Volkswagen Foundation (Germany).

Venue and dates: Nairobi, Kenya, 16-28 November 2025

Target: MSc and PhD students, early in the program of less than 35 years of age from any university/research institution in either sub-Saharan Africa or Germany with an interest in natural resources management.

Participants and Scholarships: The course is fully funded and open to 20 MSc and PhD students from Africa, and 5 from Germany. Funding will cover the costs of air ticket, accommodation, meals, visa, and transportation. However, participants will cover the cost of their travel health insurance.

Topics

SNRM Summer School Session 4: Transformative pathways in biodiversity management and conservation.
This summer school is designed to deliver four modules over a two-week period. The modules are designed to enable the students to acquire new ways of designing data collection protocols and analysis for transformative sustainable natural resources management.

Module 4.1: Data collection I
Skills in data collection for a transformative and sustainable management of natural resources (water, wildlife, forest, land, livestock, crops) monitoring and data collection techniques; remote monitoring tools, earth observation system data, e.g. satellite data sources, LIDAR, and UAV aerial images. Collect and analyse In-situ data on biotic and abiotic parameters, map and analyse data using R or Google Earth Engine, field data collection and retrieving data from online databases.

Module 4.2 Data management and processing
Introduction to tools and methods of managing large and diverse data sets of natural resources such as time series, spatial, directional, and multivariate data. Practicals will include data storage, organization and conversion into various formats using databases such as PostgreSQL and statistical programming software such as R and Python; scripts.

Module 4.3 Ecological monitoring, modelling and management
This module aims to teach participants how to anticipate and validate trends that can be observed in various ecosystems. Lectures include ecological monitoring and its design; population monitoring studies; metrics in population monitoring; methods for monitoring and assessing marine ecosystems; human ecology to socio-ecological systems; climate change impact of ecosystems; suitability assessments; overview of the principles underlying wildlife monitoring and prediction systems for climate change adaptation. Practicals will include field data collection (individual and group); ecological data analysis using R or PAST; modelling and experiencing the behaviour of complex systems using Vensim.

Module 4.4 Natural habitat restoration ideation lab
This module is designed to spur students’ innovation and creativity, and to help students comprehensively identify interdependencies across the 17 SDG goals. Participants will be trained on ideation processes for solutions and intervention for transformative natural resource management. They will work collaboratively in small groups on case studies and develop pathways of transformative sustainable natural resource management. Examples of projects include forest (mangrove) ecosystem and habitat restoration, improved technologies for agricultural production, nature-based solutions for improving water quality, and reversing land degradation.

Language: The course will be delivered in English. Participants are expected to be fluent in writing and speaking the English language.

How to apply

Applicants are kindly requested to fill in the application form available from https://snrmafrica.com/ and submit the following documents in English through the system.

  • a curriculum vitae (maximum 2 pages)
  • a letter of motivation (maximum 1 page)
  • a confirmation of university enrolment
  • a reference letter from the academic supervisor
  • project summary of MSc/ PhD project (1 page including objectives, methodology
    and key findings or expected outcomes).

Important dates
Application deadline: 30th June 2025.
Announcement of accepted applicants: 15th August 2025.
Confirmation of attendance by selected participants: 12th Sept 2025.
Summer school held: 16 – 28 Nov 2025.

Further information is available from

The secretariat info@snrmafrica.com
Dr Lydia Olaka lydiaolaka@tukenya.ac.ke
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Stuetzel stuetzel@gem.uni-hannover.de

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