General
First Year Interns Shine, Impress NAADS Boss
“I was deeply impressed by the depth of knowledge exhibited by you the First Year Students and I congratulate the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Administration for the great mentorship to these students. This is a very good foundation for an equally good crop of future scientists,” remarked the Chief Guest Dr. Samuel Mugasi. The National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) Executive Director was speaking after a tour of various projects exhibited by over fifty First Year Students of Agriculture, Food Science and Technology, and Horticulture at the Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute Kabanyolo (MUARIK) on Friday 8th August 2014.
The exhibition held after a 10-week residential Internship at MUARIK gives First Year students the perfect platform to demonstrate to their peers, Lecturers, prospective employers and members of the general public all the skills they have been taught during the intense theoretical and practical sessions. The areas covered included Plant Tissue Culture, Nursery Bed Establishment, Mushroom Cultivation, Artificial Colostrum Making, Urea Molasses Mineral Block Making, Compost Manure Making, Soil Fertility Testing as well as the Use of Ox Ploughs. The Students also went on to exhibit skills in Soil and Water Conservation in Banana Plantations, Raised-bed Vegetable growing, Poultry Management, Feed Mixing, Silage Making, as well as knowledge of diseases that affect pig production like African Swine Fever.
On the Human nutrition front students of Food Science and Technology educated their audience on the importance of good nutrition and thereafter invited all present including the Chief Guest Dr. Mugasi to have their Body Mass Index (BMI) and Blood Pressure checked. At the conclusion of the exhibition, the students shared tips on how to turn juice making into a profitable business and thereafter participants were treated to a demonstration of the Mobile-fruit processor in action.
Commenting on all he had witnessed, The Chief Guest Dr. Mugasi said “I am confident that all of you will have jobs after you graduate, although I do not encourage you to look for jobs as the skills exhibited here today have proved that you are capable of self-employment.” He further shared that NAADS’ current transformation started 5 years back and under the new structure, 13,000 extension worker positions had been created.
“We currently have between 4,000 to 5,000 of these positions filled. Therefore assuming that the College graduates 400 students per year, you would need close to 20 years to fill all these positions,” added the Chief Guest.
Representing the CAES Administration, the Head, Department of Agricultural Production Dr. Denis Mpairwe congratulated the Internship coordinators Dr. Wasswa and Dr. Sadhat Walusimbi upon a job well done. He further commended the students upon their active participation and display of keen interest in all activities they were engaged in.
“Through your internship training you have learnt how to write business plans and demonstrated that you can put them into practice. I encourage all of you that have your plans ready to submit them so that you can compete for funding to advance your projects. All you will be required to pay back is the initial loan amount,” said Dr. Mpairwe, before adding “Mr. Apollo Segawa the Managing Director CURAD is also here with us today and has access to funding for agribusiness to help develop your projects” as the excited students cheered at the prospect.
He further affirmed the students that they would never regret having taken their respective courses as records showed that by Graduation, 60% of the students were already gainfully employed. “These courses prepare you for all sectors and so I advise you to love your course and in case you have any problem, please let your Student leadership and the Administration know. You have demonstrated great skills here and thanks to the presence of the Media, the whole world now knows how capable you are,” he concluded.
Dr. Sadhat Walusimbi on behalf of the Internship Coordinators commended the students upon their great discipline throughout their stay at MUARIK. He also thanked the CAES and MUARIK Administration for all the support in making the internship successful. “I also thank you the Gayaza community for honouring our invitations and attending this exhibition,” he said to the great number of community members represented.
Speaking on behalf of their fellow students Mr. Isabirye Hamidu and Mr. Alex Madolo urged their peers to take up the College’s offer of funding so as to advance their projects. They however appealed to the administration to improve and expand the ICT facilities at MUARIK.
Article by Public Relations Office
CURAD is the Consortium for enhancing University Responsiveness to Agribusiness Development Limited (CURAD) with a vision to be the leading generator of young agribusiness entrepreneurs creating wealth and jobs in East Africa. It is located at Block F13, Makerere University Agirucultural Research Institute Kabanyolo (MUARIK), CAES, Makerere University. Please visit http://www.curadincubator.org/ for more information
General
Makerere University and Xiangtan University Advance Strategic Partnership in Chemical Engineering
Makerere University and Xiangtan University are set to update their close to 20-year academic partnership, with a new focus on launching a joint Master’s degree program in Chemical Engineering and expanding student and staff exchange initiatives.
The commitment was reaffirmed during a recent visit by a delegation from Xiangtan University to Makerere University headed by Professor Dingyu Ou, in the company of Mr. Tang Fei and Professor Gilbert Gumshabe, the Chinese and Ugandan Directors of the Confucius Institute at Makerere University respectively.
While addressing the delegation, Professor Nawangwe highlighted that this initiative is part of a broader strategy to diversify academic offerings and contribute to national development through training in Chemical Engineering. Through this new initiative, the University will better prepare graduates for the petrochemical industry and support the country’s industrial growth.
The Vice Chancellor appreciated that the proposed collaboration aims to address Uganda’s growing need for industrial expertise, particularly as the country develops its petroleum sector. The two universities here are working toward a 1+2 training model, which will enable Makerere students to gain practical experience and access advanced laboratory facilities at Xiangtan University.
Professor Nawangwe further reiterated that “our relationship with the people of China, not just for Makerere but also for a big part of Uganda, has been opened wider by the establishment of the Confucius Institute, considering that many other collaborations like one being discussed now have come through this collaboration.”
The head of the Xiangtan delegation, Professor Dingyu Ou, expressed appreciation for the meeting, and acknowledged the history between the institutions. “As mentioned, we have a very long relationship and a very stable friendship between our two universities.”
Professor Ou extended appreciation for the support provided to the Confucius Institute at Makerere, the care shown to his colleagues, and looked forward to the successful start of the Chemical Engineering collaboration.
Assuring the delegation of Makerere’s readiness for the collaboration, Ms. Hawa Ndagire Kajumba the Lead, Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement, Makerere University Advancement Office, aligned with the Vice Chancellor’s emphasis of University goal to have both theory and practice imparted to the students.
She said “the curriculum of the university and Uganda as a whole is moving towards competence-based education training to ensure students are equipped to demonstrate those skills in the actual field, particularly regarding petroleum exploration.”
Ms. Ndagire Kajumba also emphasised a shift in strategy for the partnership office, saying, “we are moving away from just signing MOUs that collect dust, and moving towards those that are more collaborative to benefit our faculty and students, just like this one.”
Professor Gilbert Kumushabe aligned his remarks with those of the Vice Chancellor and Ms. Ndagire Kajumba, and described the method used at Xiangtan University as “actually competence-based teaching.”
Based on his recent visit, Prof. Gumoshabe shared that students in China are divided into groups with dedicated teachers to perform practical, hands-on work beyond the theoretical lecturers. He expressed gladness that the same was being adopted for the Ugandan context.
Both institutions are now working to finalise the specific agreements for the joint degree and exchange programs. Beyond academic training, the collaboration will advance cultural and professional exchange.
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