The 2 day event was held under the theme, “Showcasing one health research output of North-South collaborative initiatives” on 3rd and 4th of July 2014. The international conference is one of the components of the Summer School program that is characterized by a Summer School Course, an International ’Boma’ and an International Conference whose aim is to disseminate research output arising from the CIMTRAZ project.
Capacity Building in Integrated Management of Trans-boundary Animal Diseases and Zoonoses (CIMTRADZ) project was started in 2011. The project’s main partnering universities were Makerere University and North Dakota State University, until early this year when Mississippi State University took over from North Dakota State University.
Speaking at the Conference, Prof. Margaret Khaitsa, the American partnership director from Mississippi State University explained that the CIMTRADZ project has accomplished a lot since its inception in terms of capacity building, curriculum development, knowledge transfer, community engagement and outreach.
The Masters’ program in Infectious Diseases and Management offered at CoVAB is one of the fruits of this project. Since its inception, 21 students have successfully gone through the project; acquiring skills in handling infectious diseases using the One-Health approach. Prof. John David Kabasa, Principal CoVAB is the African Partnership Director of the CIMTRADZ project.
In addition to Makerere University and Mississippi State University, there are other partnering universities from North America and Africa under the AFRUS-IDM (Africa United States-Integrated Diseases Management) network. The universities work together to handle infectious diseases with support from Higher Education for Development (HED), which is USAID funded.
Speaking on behalf of HED, Dr. Alemneh Teshome said that HED supports American Universities that are in partnership with universities from developing countries.
“I am pleased to note that the CIMTRADZ project is one of the best run and most effective among all the 11 projects that HED supports”, he said.
While opening the conference on behalf of Makerere University’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. John David Kabasa, said that the discussions and decisions arrived at during the conference should be followed through.
“We should integrate our regional and international efforts so as to attract more funding.” He also noted that the Boma and conference were very enriching platforms that should be promoted to benefit more people. “What we need is a framework in which we can harmonize everything that we are doing at our respective institutions”, Prof. Kabasa added, arguing that this will help strengthen global citizenship and attract more funding.
“The fruits of our labor are beginning to be recognized”, noted Dr. Thomas Easley from USAID with regard to what has been achieved so far in the CIMTRADZ project which will run until June 2015. He was particularly impressed with the success of the Summer School program that equipped participants with practical skills through their interaction with local Ugandan communities.
Dr. Moses Olum, one of the Summer School participants from Kenya was grateful for the exposure he got through the program.
“The exposure I got especially through the field component of the summer course has broadened by perspective in the veterinary field,” he said. He was also happy about the interaction he got with peers from different countries as it gave them an opportunity to learn from each other. All 21 summer school participants received certificates of completion after the conference.
Dr. David Owiny, Dean School of Biosecurity, Biotechnical and Laboratory Sciences at CoVAB expressed optimism that next year’s summer school would be bigger than this year’s, owing to the networks successfully established. Prof. Khaitsa made an appeal to national governments to come to the aid of the CIMTRADZ project so as to further the goals of the project.
National University of Rwanda, Mikelle University, Nairobi University, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Columbus State University. University of Missouri, Washington State University, Michigan State University and University of Saskatchewan were all represented at the Conference.
The next Summer School will run next June to July 2015.
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 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.
R-L: Arch. Kenneth Ssemwogerere (Head of Department, Architecture), Dr. Kizito Maria Kasule (Deputy Principal, CEDAT), and Mr. Kayongo Daniel (Plascon Uganda National Sales Manager) during the official handover of a donation at the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), Makerere University, on Tuesday, 25th June 2025.
The Department of Architecture at Makerere University’s College of Engineering, Design, Art, and Technology (CEDAT) is set to begin a significant refurbishment of its design studios starting 1st July 2025. This initiative marks a pivotal step in enhancing the learning environment for architecture students and fostering innovation in design education.
The refurbishment project has received a significant boost from Kansai Placon Uganda Limited, which donated UGX 15 million worth of paint to support the transformation. This contribution highlights the growing partnership between academia and industry in shaping the future of architectural education in Uganda.