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Mak Celebrates Mr. Mayanja Lumanyika’s Distinguished Service

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Staff from the Directorate of Internal Audit and invited guests convened at Makerere University Guest House on Friday, 30th June 2017 for an evening full of celebration in honour of Mr. Mayanja D. Lumanyika’s virtuous and long-term service to Makerere University, spanning a period of over 30 years.

Amidst cheerful ululations, Mr. Mayanja who retired from the University Service in March 2017 introduced his wife of 36 years as well as 2 children who accompanied him to the celebration. The couple is blessed with six children. Mr. Mayanja who served Makerere University for 34 years; all spent in the Directorate of Internal Audit, thanked the Directorate for honouring him. He was humbled to realize that his long-term service was immensely appreciated.

“I joined Makerere University service in 1983 and was immediately posted to Internal Audit. At that time, the department had only four staff members. We were working just opposite the salaries office in the Main Building,” Mr. Mayanja recalled. He happily noted that the Department has since then transitioned into a Directorate with over 10 members of staff.
Mr. and Mrs. Mayanja Lumanyika at the celebration, Friday 30th June 2017, Makerere University Guest House
Sharing a touching story about his health, Mr. Mayanja recalled the day that he was diagnosed with kidney failure at Mulago Hospital in 2014, a condition which required a kidney transplant. He thanked Makerere University for having mobilized the money needed for surgery in India.

“I went for a kidney transplant in India and my lovely daughter Josephine Nakiberu donated one of her kidneys to me and thank God, the operation was successful. She is my greatest hero because she saved my life. The following year, I retired to my home in Kasangati,” said Mr. Mayanja.

He expressed gratitude to Makerere University, the Directorate of Internal Audit and his family for their support. He thanked the Almighty God for his life and what He has enabled him to do.
Ag. Dir. Internal Audit-Mr. Benson Barigye was the day's host
Prof. John Ddumba-Ssentamu, the Vice Chancellor commended Mr. Mayanja for the dedication, commitment and resilience portrayed throughout his service to Makerere University.

“It’s not easy to serve an organisation for 34 years. He joined Makerere University during difficult times when Uganda was politically unstable, but he endured and served diligently. I greatly thank him for his commitment to serving this institution and ask him to always remember this great institution,” the Vice Chancellor said.

At the party, Prof. Ddumba-Ssentambu gladly revealed that their paths had once crossed while the two attended St. Mary’s College School Kisubi. Although he admitted to not knowing Mr. Mayanja then owing to the age difference, he expressed happiness at eventually interacting with him during his service at Makerere University.
Prof. John Ddumba-Ssentamu hands over a certificate of appreciation to Ms. Lydia Mugabirwe
The Vice Chancellor thanked the Directorate of Internal Audit for organizing the function in honour of their long-serving colleague and thanked the Acting Director, Mr. Benson Barigye for uniting both current and former staff. He urged them to uphold the spirit of teamwork as exhibited during the celebration. Prof. Ddumba-Ssentamu similarly thanked Mr. Mayanja’s family for the love and care accorded to him under all circumstances.

On behalf of the Directorate, the Vice Chancellor awarded Mr. Mayanja a certificate of long term service to Makerere University as well as a gift which was termed as ‘a cow’. In the same spirit, Ms. Lydia Mugabirwe and Ms. Consolata Nakiyemba who previously worked as Secretaries in the same Directorate were awarded certificates of appreciation for the services rendered. The duo is still serving Makerere University, albeit under different departments.

The Acting Director-Internal Audit, Mr. Benson Barigye described Mr. Mayanja as a person who is very passionate about time management and professionalism. He in particular singled out the passion his retired colleague had for Crossword puzzles and Sudoku. He shared that Mr. Mayanja is a very knowledgeable and informed person who can always be depended upon to accomplish his assignments in a timely manner.
Prof. John Ddumba-Ssentamu hands over a certificate of appreciation to Ms. Consolata Nakiyemba
“When I came to Makerere University Internal Audit for the first time in 2013, I found Mr. Mayanja in office. He always reached the office in time and when it comes to time management, he has a distinction. He adored working together as a family and he was like a father to us all. We would still love to stay with him, but time has come for us to say goodbye.” Mr. Barigye remarked.

He expressed his appreciation to Mr. Mayanja for guiding and mentoring him in a professional perspective, which broadly shaped him into the person he is today. He recalled the times Mr. Mayanja advised him to do the right things at the right time. He always advised him that doing the right thing was the best thing to do.

In her tribute, Ms. Lydia Mugabirwe recalled Mr. Mayanja’s priceless help during the time they worked together. He taught her how to handle a number of activities.
Mr. and Mrs. Mayanja receive a token of appreciation from Ag. Dir. Internal Audit-Mr. Benson Barigye (L) at the climax of the celebration
“I joined Internal Audit in 2011 and discovered that the activities in my new department were so different from those of the previous one. I received a lot of orientation and guidance from Mr. Mayanja. He was always there for me to consult and was more like a parent to me. I really enjoyed working with him,” Ms. Mugabirwe said.

Mr. George Turyamureeba Mugabi thanked the guests for honouring the invitation to the farewell ceremony of their colleagues and appreciated the scrupulous services that Mr. Mayanja, Ms. Mugabirwe and Ms. Nakiyemba had offered during their time at the Directorate of Internal Audit. He thanked the Vice Chancellor for always supporting and working together with the Directorate.

Article: Mak 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.

Mak Editor

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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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