General
NORAD and MAK to prioritise synergies in research and higher education
At the climax of the first Annual Planning meeting, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and Makerere University (MAK) agreed to focus on building synergies in research, curriculum development, gender and ICT ahead of the second year of implementation of the nine (9) research projects.
The Annual Planning Meeting, which started on Monday 3rd November 2014 focused on reviewing the implementation of projects at Makerere University under the Capacity Building in Higher Education and Research for Development (NORHED) programme as well as providing an opportunity to focus on the second year of implementation. The meeting ended on Friday 7th November 2014.
Makerere University is the lead partner managing nine (9) research projects under the NORHED programme worth NOK 150million, approximately USD 26million (including NORAD’s Master programme for Energy and Petroleum).
Reflecting on the five-day Annual Planning Meeting, the NORHED Programme Coordinator at Makerere University, Dr. Elizabeth Bwanga applauded the Norwegian Government for supporting research and higher education; commended the NORAD team for their involvement and guidance; and also appreciated the Principal Investigators and research teams for their active participation and selfless service.
The overjoyed Bwanga then invited the NORAD team to share an overview of their assessment of the ongoing NORHED programme at Makerere University.
On behalf of NORAD, Edle Hamre, Head of Section for Research, Innovation and Higher Education highlighted that most of projects were successfully implementing the respective research activities/programmes, and as such, were progressing as per NORAD expectations.
Hamre thanked the Makerere University Management, Principal Investigators and the NORHED Institutional Development and Implementation Committee (NIDIC) for building capacity in South Sudan through their collaboration with the University of Juba.
“There is insecurity in South Sudan. You are facing challenges, but we are glad that you have come up with mechanisms to continue with the collaboration. We are also hopeful that the country will stabilize,” she said.
During the assessment, the NORAD team was equally impressed by the Makerere University financial reporting system, the user-friendly financial manual and also recommended the adoption of financial tracking system used in the management of Swedish International Development Cooperation (Sida) research projects at Makerere University.
With regard to the fulfillment of the gender component in the implementation of the NORHED programme, the NORAD team noted that although Makerere University was facing gender- related challenges in the implementation of some capacity building programmes such as attracting women applicants, they strongly believe that Makerere University through the School of Women and Gender Studies is positioned to contribute to gender capacity building in the various research projects and Africa at large.
The NORAD team also supported the strategic direction focused on building synergies in research, curriculum development, gender and ICT during the second year of implementation of the NORHED Programme.
The Vice Chancellor, Professor John Ddumba-Ssentamu reiterated Makerere University’s commitment to the successful implementation of the NORHED research projects.
“We fully support the idea of strengthening synergies and proper utilization of resources. The NORHED Institutional Development and Implementation Committee (NIDIC) will prioritise the ideas and valuable advice provided in the Assessment Report,” said Professor Ddumba-Ssentamu.
C
ommenting on the task ahead, the Chairperson of NIDIC, Professor Oryem Origa assured the Makerere University Management and NORAD team that they would continue to uphold the spirit of togetherness in the implementation of NORHED programme.
“We have different expertise. We will work with the Principal Investigators and research teams to pool resources to build the capacity of research in Africa and centres of excellence in different fields.”
In the same spirit, one of the Principal Investigators, Dr. Paul Muyinda, from MAK College of Education and External Studies (CEES) expressed readiness to share expertise on e-learning with Principal Investigators and research teams under the NORHED programme.
Responding to issues pertaining to the ongoing holistic review of academic programmes at Makerere University, Professor Edward K. Kirumira said the exercise was aimed at producing high quality and relevant graduates, but the Principal Investigators and NIDIC would work with the University Management to avoid delays in the implementation of the academic programmes under NORHED.
On concluding the first Annual Planning Meeting, Dr. Muyinda looked forward to a spectacular second Annual Planning Meeting. “From the briefing we have heard that most of the projects are moving on systematically. As I said, the first year of implementation has been a learning process. We have a reporting mechanism in place. The next Annual Planning Meeting will be richer.”
In memory of Makerere University, Silje S. Vevatne from NORAD took numerous photographs of strategic points/sites at this great institution. The photo session ended with a brief tour of the New Library Building Extension where Vevatne was impressed to meet Ms Asabaawebwa Jeska, a student with disabilities accessing library services in the space specifically made for People with disabilities.
The Makerere University Librarian, Professor Maria Musoke then led Vevatne to the Research Commons for Graduate Students on Level 4 of the New Library Building Extension. Professor Musoke informed Vevatne that the glamorous research commons were partitioned and furnished with support from the Government and people of Norway. Full of smiles, Vevatne took a photo of the research commons, shared her business card and informed Professor Musoke that she would keep in touch.
Article by: Ritah Namisango, Public Relations Office
Photos by: Joseph Buwule, Landmark Media Consultancy
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.
“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.
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