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Joshua Baitwa Mugyenyi Foundation gives UGX 10m to Makerere Female Scholarship Foundation

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On 15th March 2013, Makerere University held the second Joshua Baitwa Mugyenyi Memorial Lecture in the University Main Hall. The Lecture, focused on the theme, A Living Monument of a Patriotic and Intellectual Mind, was delivered by the Guest of Honour, Hon Professor Ephraim Kamuntu, Minister of Water and Environment and long time friend of the Late Dr. Joshua Baitwa Mugyenyi.

Dr. Joshua Baitwa Mugyenyi was born on the 27th May 1947 in Kajara Country in Ankole Kingdom and died on 15th March 2002. He joined Makerere University in 1968 and pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public Administration.

While serving on the Student’s Guild Executive of 1969/70, Joshua Mugyenyi, late Ambassador Daudi Taliwako and Professor Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o conceived the Makerere Africa Lecture Series. Dr. Mugyenyi later became the Senior Lecturer at his alma mater, Makerere University. At the time of his death, he was serving on the Makerere University Council; the top policy making organ of his alma mater.

Prof. Oswald Ndoleriire
Prof. Oswald Ndoleriire

In a speech, read by Prof. Oswald Ndoleriire the Acting Principal, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University thanked the Guest of Honor, Hon. Professor Ephraim Kamuntu for accepting to deliver a presentation during the Memorial Lecture.

“Today, we join the nation in celebrating the life of an ever optimistic and passionate leader-transformer and eloquent discussant of the socio-economic transformation of Uganda and Africa,” read the Vice Chancellor’s speech.

Professor John Ddumba-Ssentamu thanked the Mugyenyi family for donating UGX.10million shillings to the Makerere University Female Scholarship Foundation, which will support bright female students who come from socially and economically dis-advantaged backgrounds to access higher education.

Dr. Charles Bwana
Dr. Charles Bwana

During the lecture, Dr. Charles Bwana, Dean of School of Social Sciences recalled the fond moments he shared with Dr. Joshua Baitwa Mugyenyi, “I was in the same class with him; he was frank and eloquent,” he said.

He thanked the Mugyenyi family for the exemplary work that they had carried out as the Joshua Mugyenyi Foundation and was proud to say that the College of Humanities and Social Sciences was associated with the foundation.

Presenting the day’s lecture, The Chief Guest, Hon. Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, fondly recalled the memories of his first days at school with “Josh”; in reference to Dr. Joshua B. Mugyenyi.

“Joshua Baitwa Mugyenyi and I met for the first time at the Notice Board of Ntare School in 1962 as each of us was trying to find out where everything was; dormitory where to sleep, classroom where to go for classes, dinning-hall where to eat etc. We became friends and remained friends for the six years (1962-1967) of our stay in the school.”

He went ahead and emphasized the moral values that Ntare school had placed in them, these include, Meritocracy and individual merit as a basis for recognition, Academic freedom and tolerance to listen to ideas of others, Non-sectarianism, Student participation in the administration and management of the school and Haven for vulnerable groups (Refugees and expellees from seminaries).

“While at Ntare School, Joshua Mugyenyi was a brilliant student and his peer-group at the school can testify to this fact. His peers included Richard Ntiru, the late Saul Mboijana, the late Frank Kamurari, Zake Bibangamba, Abedneg Bazibumba, Rev. Sam Kakiiza, Edward Kiiza and others who became prominent personalities in the country”.

Hon. Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu
Hon. Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu

The period 1962-1967 during the time Uganda was undergoing a lot of political change brought forth Joshua Mugyenyi’s passion for debating “He was one of the most active and eloquent students in debating these issues,” noted Prof. Kamuntu.

Prof. Kamuntu thanked Makerere University‘s innovation in the Rebirth of the Makerere Africa Lecture Series which started on 2nd December 2011.

“I would like to thank Hon. Professor Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, the only one of the trio still living, for presenting the Inaugural lecture in the Re-birth of the Makerere Africa Lecture Series,” he said.

The Chief Guest also commended the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences for organizing to be the 2nd Joshua Baitwa Mugyenyi Memorial Lecture, as held on the 11th Anniversary of his passing on. “I am truly honored!” he added.

While concluding in his speech, Prof. Kamuntu, pondered aloud on what exactly Dr. Mugyenyi would have asked if he were alive today.

“I believe that if he was alive today, he would point out to Government and Makerere University the urgent need to address the youth unemployment beginning with the need to transform our education and training system. He would point out the need for Uganda to start producing the skills needed for expanding our economy and create more jobs. And while he would underscore the onus on Government and our education system; I believe Joshua would also do something about it in his own capacity,” said Prof. Kamuntu.

Mr. Aaron Mukwaya
Mr. Aaron Mukwaya

Mr. Aaron Mukwaya, a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and a former student of Dr. Joshua Mugyenyi, speaking as the main discussant of the lecture said: “He was brilliant, friendly and not boring. His class was interactive. It was a fond time for me. You could not miss his voice. I am sure he is with us in spirit.”

Mr. Mukwaya pointed out how his simplicity and boldness made him a unique Lecturer. Dr. Mugyenyi was a Pan Africanist who always looked at the problems in Uganda on a wider context. His zeal and love for Education, made him focus on helping and teaching. “If you do not have a degree, you cannot build your village,” recalled Mr. Mukwaya of a statement the late Joshua Mugyenyi always made.

“He was a thinker and would always look for solutions,” added Mr. Mukwaya.

Mrs. Mary Mugyenyi
Mrs. Mary Mugyenyi

Speaking on behalf of the Mugyenyi family, Mrs. Mary Mugyenyi, thanked the Department of Political Science, for inviting Hon Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu to deliver the second Joshua Mugyenyi memorial lecture, further adding; “The institution made him what he was. It was his home as well mine.”

She highlighted the importance of The Joshua Mugyenyi Education Foundation which honours the passion for Education as well as enables the talented youth to contribute to the development of their communities, country and region.

The Foundation it also a targeted scholarship fund that will help the Bright but Disadvantaged Youth obtain Tertiary and University Education. Mrs. Mugyenyi thereafter handed over a dummy check worth Ten Million shillings to the Makerere University Female Scholarship Fund (FSF) on behalf of the Foundation.

The Chancellor, Prof. George Mondo Kagonyera
The Chancellor, Prof. George Mondo Kagonyera

The Chancellor, Makerere University, Prof George Mondo Kagonyera in his remarks challenged the audience to portray the level of intellectualism that the Late Mugyenyi portrayed.

“Our level of intellectualism has become shallow; we should go back to those times.”

He further went ahead to challenge the students to start thinking on their own and use their minds to create new ideas especially in a recognised institution like Makerere University.

The Chancellor thanked the Mugyenyi family for their support, as well as the College of Humanities and Social Sciences specifically the Department of Political Science, friends and relatives for honouring the late Dr. Joshua B. Mugyenyi.

The memorial lecture concluded with a cocktail in Senior Common Room, Main Building.

Related story:

Makerere honours late Dr Joshua Baitwa Mugyenyi

Angella Muganga, Intern, 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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