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MakSPH-CDC Mark 12years of Mentoring Public Health Leaders

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The School of Public Health (MakSPH), College of Health Sciences, Makerere University together with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the MakSPH-CDC fellowship program organized the Fellowship@12 and grand dissemination workshop to celebrate 12 years of great service to the nation in the area of capacity building for health leadership and management in Uganda.

The workshop held on 17th December 2014 at Silver Springs Hotel, Kampala was also aimed at disseminating the findings of 13 fellows from the 2013/14 intake.
According to the acting Dean, School of Public Health (MakSPH), Prof. Christopher Garimoi Orach, the MakSPH-CDC fellowship program as the oldest and largest capacity building program at the school, has yielded tremendous results in terms of the number of individuals trained and their impact on the Ugandan health sector.

“Individuals who have gone through this program have been able to acquire leadership and management skills in various areas of public health. This has not only credited Makerere University as a training institution but also added value more value to the health and education sectors in Uganda,” he said.

Supported and funded by the US Government, the MakSPH-CDC Fellowship program was initiated in 2002 to develop health leadership and management capacity in Uganda. The program of offers various training sessions including the long and medium term fellowships, short courses and technical placements which all avail students with management and leadership skills in the public health sector.

At the function 13 fellow graduates shared experience, skills and knowledge they attained in social marketing, behavioral change communication, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation programs and communication strategy in public health, for the two years they have been under training. The MakSPH-CDC Fellowship program presented three awards to i) the Most Outstanding Fellow 2013-14, Ms. Joan Kabayambi-attached to the Center for Health, Human Rights & Development (CEHURD), ii) the Best Academic Mentor, Dr. Frank Kaharuza and iii) the Best Host Institution, Jinja District. The 13 graduating fellows of the year 2013-14 were also awarded certificates in recognition of their respective achievements.

In his speech the Makerere University Chancellor Prof. George Mondo Kagonyera, acknowledged the tremendous support from US Government to this program, “I would like to thank the US Government, which has generously supported the Makerere University School of Public Health-CDC fellowship program, for the last 12 years.”

“Through this support we have not only trained over 300 young fellows who have made a great contribution to health sector in the country but also led to the re-establishment and expansion of the field training,” the Prof. Kagonyera added

The US Ambassador to Uganda His Excellency Scott DeLisi, congratulated the fellowship partner members for the visible and wonderful achievements accomplished during the program. The Ambassador therefore urged the fellows to utilize the skills they attained during the training to develop the community.

“Despite your personal successes, however, the challenge of developing Uganda’s human capital more broadly is daunting and will require your committed and focused leadership to make a difference in the years ahead,” the Ambassador said.

Ambassador DeLisi outlined population growth, education and delivery of health services as important variables affecting human capital development in Uganda. He noted that an additional 200million dollars would be needed to fund the Government’s 90-90-90 HIV goal urged Ugandans to think of creative ways to fund this ambitious target. The Government of Uganda’s 90-90-90 goal envisages that by the year 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their status; 90% of all people diagnosed cases will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy; and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

In his remarks, the Associate Director for Communications at CDC Uganda and Acting Country Director, Mr. Erik Friedley applauded Makerere University School of Public Health for the doubled efforts in controlling health threats from infectious diseases in the country and the world at large.

“What you have done in shaping the country’s education and health future is typically important, besides the many challenges. You have indeed made new strides in the development of your community,” he said.

Honourable Victoria Sekitoleko is a former Minister of Agriculture in the Ugandan Government and former representative for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in China, Mongolia, and South Korea. In her motivational talk to the audience; Seizing Opportunities and Living a Life that matters, she shared that the only way to deal with one’s challenges is to turn them into opportunities. She encouraged the day’s graduates to take advantage of their training as leaders to fight against the inferiority complex which limit individuals from attaining their goals.

“Wherever you are, whichever way life treats you, insist on being leaders. I have been seeing all your articles in the newspapers so please do not stop writing. Family is very important so those of you intending to get into academic writing or research should learn how to optimally balance your time,” Hon. Sekitoleko advised.

The 13 Mak-SPH fellows for 2013-14 and their respective host institutions were; Daniel Mwanja-Mumpe-National Tuberculosis & Leprosy Program; Francis Lwanga-The AIDS Support Organisation; Joan Kabayambi-Center for Health, Human Rights & Development; Michael Kasusse-Central Public Health Laboratories; Sharon Nakanwagi-Reach Out Mbuya; Sharon Ahumuza-AIDS Information Center; Elizabeth Asiimwe-Jinja District; Vincent Kiberu-Ministry of Health Resource Centre; David Roger Walugembe-Knowledge Translation Network, MakSPH; Michael Owor-Baylor Uganda; Anne Nabukenya-Mildmay Uganda; Stephen Alege-Uganda Health Marketing Group; and Rosette Mugumya-Ministry of Health STD/AIDS Control Programme.

Article by Nabatte Prossy, Intern-Public Relations Office

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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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Directorate of Graduate Training Completes Training of First Cohort Training of Supervisors

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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.

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.

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