General
Mak-Binghamton Explore Collaboration to Strengthen Internationalisation
As the current 10 year strategic plan nears its end of life in 2019, the Makerere University Management held a three-day Strategic Planning Retreat from 20th to 22nd February, 2018 that embarked on the yearlong process of formulating the next ten year Strategic Plan (2020/21-2029/30). One of the key areas of focus for the new strategic plan is the Internationalisation of academic programmes, collaborations, student admissions as well as faculty recruitment.
On 7th March 2018, Makerere University hosted Prof. Aondover Tarhule, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at Binghamton University; one of the top public research universities in the U.S. Prof. Tarhule’s mission was to explore ways of diversifying Binghamton’s international graduate student population (40%), currently comprised largely (65%) of students from India and China.
Welcoming Prof. Tarhule to Makerere University, the Principal College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS)-Assoc. Prof. Eria Hisali, who represented the Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance and Administration)-Prof. William Bazeyo noted the timeliness of this visit, in the wake of commencement of the aforementioned strategic planning process.
“We appreciate you reaching out to us and I must say that your visit fits well within our aspirations for the next ten years, where our key focus is going to be Internationalisation,” remarked Assoc. Prof. Hisali.
He informed Prof. Tarhule that Makerere runs a collegiate system, whose introduction was aimed at combining discipline synergies with intention of boosting the implementation of University core functions, with a particular focus on research. “I therefore encourage you to kindly consider visiting some of our colleges in case your schedule permits” added Assoc. Prof. Hisali.
Starting off his presentation, Prof. Tarhule highlighted that Binghamton is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system comprised of 64 institutions with a combined student population of 400,000. Located in Binghamton where IBM was founded, the city is also home to other high-tech companies such aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, Johnson & Johnson among others. Binghamton is also ranked one of the top six most affordable universities in the world for international students; thanks to subsidies by the New York State.
“Unlike Makerere’s 45,000 students, Binghamton’s student population is only 17,000 with 13,000 of these undergraduate; a population we plan to maintain, but we have room for growth of the graduate student population up to 6,000. The low cost of living in the greater Binghamton area allows our graduate students to enjoy reasonably priced housing in a safe community with free bus transportation to campus. These buses are driven by our students to help them finance their education” said Prof. Tarhule.
Prof. Tarhule further shared that Binghamton has come up with a number of innovation to make education more efficient in the face of changing market demands. One such innovation is the Accelerated Degree Programs, where undergraduate students are admitted well knowing that they will proceed directly to a Masters program in the same discipline. “This means that undergraduate students begin taking graduate courses during their senior years, which has made it easier and cheaper for students to come in” he added.
The second innovation shared by Prof. Tarhule was a refined pedagogy which seeks to produce graduates with T-Shaped skills, who can meet both academia and industry demands. Under the T-Shaped pedagogy, students are take both general education courses (horizontal part of the T), which equip students with a broad range of knowledge, and deep learning courses (vertical part of the T) which seek to ground the student in concepts specific to their discipline.
Prof. Tarhule nevertheless noted that education in the U.S. was also embracing the AGILE pedagogy, characterised by increased oral presentations that necessitate students to think on their feet whenever prompted. “The goal of this kind of training is to build transferable skills within one disciplinary area” he added.
In the reactions that followed, the Deputy Principal, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS)-Assoc. Prof. Josephine Ahikire sought to understand how the Humanities and Social Sciences can be helped to nurture the new generation of scholars to become experts in their field. “Can our collaboration consider including the aspect of resident scholars to help mentor the young generation of academics?”
Mr. John Bosco Oryema an Assistant Lecturer, CoBAMS noted that the field of Business Analytics is not well developed in the region. He therefore hoped that collaboration with Binghamton would expose students at Makerere to this vibrant sector. He further sought the possibility of introducing joint supervision of graduate students; with US-based and Makerere-based supervisors, a practice, he noted, quickens the process of finalising theses.
Mr. Charles Ssemugabi from School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences (CHS), sought to find out Prof. Tarhule’s Internationalisation diversification strategy moving forward. “Most partnerships start in the form of research at departmental level, then progress to staff and student exchanges and eventually summer schools” he commented.
Wrapping up the responses, Assoc. Prof. Hisali thanked Prof. Tarhule for his presentation, noting that Makerere indeed had a lot to learn from Binghamton’s innovations. “We need to come up with a broad Memorandum of Understanding at institutional level then work out the specifics at unit level, which can then help us identify issues of support and financing” he concluded.
Prof. Tarhule thanked the staff present for their responses, noting that they had been both “profound and insightful.” He reiterated that his visit was exploratory and it was important for both institutions to identify mutual strengths and complementarities, so as to forge a mutually beneficial collaboration. “Whatever you decide to do, think mutuality; what are you offering? What do you want to get? Think as an equal partner who is seeking to bring something to the table.”
He shared that Binghamton was very strong in the fields of Engineering, Business and Smart Energy. “We are also in the final stages of developing a degree in Data Analytics and so the comment in that direction was timely.” Prof. Tarhule however, urged his audience to look beyond the competences within their individual disciplines to those within the entire University or region, “think of what you can do broadly as a region. Foundations out there will always seek to sponsor programmes that have a broader regional or even continental impact” he advised.
He concurred that mentorship for graduate programmes had been observed to be a major challenge for African Universities. He however hoped that many more students would stand to benefit from programmes such as the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), funded in part by the Carnegie Corporation of New York through which he is personally mentoring three African students as a Diaspora-based professor.
Prof. Tarhule further admitted that whereas training students abroad was expensive, it is essential. He noted that we live in a globalised world where intellectual power is no longer limited by political power and hoped that African institutions would increasingly emulate nations like China and India, who despite having large economic resources, still aggressively take advantage of cost effective models such as joint degree programmes.
“Setting up high-tech labs is a very expensive venture. Therefore summer programmes that expose African students to these high-tech facilities in the U.S. are a win-win, especially as internationalisation increasingly becomes a major contributor to institutional rankings. Therefore, my key message is that we are as much interested in internationalisation as you are. Thank you” concluded Prof. Tarhule.
Please see Downloads for Binghamton presentation
Article by Public Relations Office
On 20th August 2026, Makerere University welcomed another cohort of 258 recipients of the prestigious Mastercard Foundation scholarship for the 2026/2027 academic year with pomp and fanfare. The colourful Scholarship Award Ceremony was presided over by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, who was represented by Prof. Ibrahim Mike Okumu, the Dean of the School of Economics and the Chairperson of the Scholars Selection sub-committee of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University.
While addressing the gathering, Prof. Nawangwe reminded the Scholars that the scholarship was both an honour and a responsibility, and that they ought to make the most of it to improve their lives and communities.
“Now that you have stepped through the gates of Makerere University, remember that a scholarship is both an award and a responsibility. You have been chosen because we believe in your potential to lead, innovate, and serve. Makerere University offers you world-class academic resources, mentorship, and networks—but the impact you make with these resources will depend on your discipline, integrity, and vision,” Prof. Nawangwe remarked.
A Call for Responsible Living
The Vice Chancellor further urged the new recruits to embrace university life responsibly and form lasting bonds that will support future networks.
“I encourage you to engage fully and responsibly in University life, build lasting bonds with your peers, and, equally important, keep your home communities close to your heart. Let the knowledge and skills you gain here become the seed for innovative solutions to the challenges facing your communities, our country, Uganda, and the African continent.” Prof Nawangwe emphasised.
Prof. Nawangwe further expressed his gratitude to the Mastercard Foundation for recognising Makerere University as a worthy partner and pledged to continue supporting all the Mastercard Foundation’s initiatives at Makerere University.
Leadership starts with self
Mr. Adrian Bukenya, the Senior Director of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program globally and the Country Director for Uganda, urged Scholars to embrace leadership, particularly through self-leadership. He emphasised that the Scholars Program is fundamentally a leadership development program.
“The Scholars Program offers more than just a scholarship; it is a leadership development Program. I encourage you, Scholars, to embrace leadership, and leadership starts with leading yourself, then your community, your country and the continent,” Mr. Bukenya emphasised.
Mr. Bukenya expressed his gratitude to the Management of Makerere University for partnering with the Mastercard Foundation on various initiatives. He emphasised that the Foundation is committed to continuing this partnership to educate young people and nurture the next generation of leaders on the African continent.
Selection Process Highlights
On his part, the Chairperson of the Scholars Selection Committee, represented by Mr Charles Ssentongo, the Deputy Academic Registrar responsible for Undergraduate admissions, congratulated all the Scholars who had made it through a very competitive and watertight selection process. To illustrate how tight the selection process had been, he shared compelling statistics that clearly demonstrated its competitiveness.
“We received 3,664 Applications for the Scholarship; 2,904 Undergraduates and 760 master’s students. Of these scholarship applicants, 1,440 Undergraduates and 280 Master’s students were admitted to Makerere University on private sponsorship, and they were all eligible for the Scholarship,” Mr Ssentongo pointed out.
Mr Ssentongo informed the attentive audience that one of the biggest challenges the Committee faced was the very high number of applicants, while the number of scholarships available was always very small. Mr Ssentongo then highlighted further statistics that characterised the tedious selection process.
“For the Undergraduates, 650 applicants were shortlisted for interviews, while 58 Master’s applicants were also shortlisted. Of these, 245 undergraduates and 13 Master’s students were selected for the final award,” Mr Ssentongo highlighted.
Celebrating A Diverse Cohort
The Program Director of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere, Prof. Justine Namaalwa, used the occasion to highlight achievements made in the years gone by.
“Today, we are overjoyed to have successfully recruited 258 Cohort 9 Scholars—bringing us to the mark of 546 Scholars, 54.6% of the target recruitment of 1,000 Scholars under Phase II of the Program. To date, a total of 1,596 Scholars have been recruited since 2013, when the Scholars Program started at Makerere University,” Prof. Namaalwa announced.
Prof. Namaalwa showcased the diversity created by the Scholars Program, highlighting the arrival of international students from across the African continent at Makerere University through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.
“For Cohort 9 Scholars, it’s time to celebrate our diversity in the Program. Let me call out the nationalities represented in the room: Lesotho (1 Scholar), Malawi (1 Scholar), Ghana (1 Scholar), D.R. Congo (13 Scholars), Cameroon (7 Scholars), Burundi (3 Scholars), Rwanda (10 Scholars), South Sudan (40 Scholars) and Tanzania (1 Scholar).” Prof. Namaalwa revealed.
Scholars Speak Out
Nathan Tamba, an international student from Cameroon, conveyed his enthusiasm regarding the opportunities afforded by the scholarship, particularly the prospect of pursuing his studies at Makerere University, recognised as one of the leading institutions on the continent.
“On behalf of my fellow scholars, I would like to express our gratitude to Makerere University and the Mastercard Foundation for awarding us this scholarship. It has given me the opportunity to study at this prestigious university and to experience Uganda for the first time.” Tamba remarked.
Tamba, clearly delighted like his fellow scholars, committed to using the scholarship opportunity to gain knowledge and skills he will use to benefit himself and his community.
The function was punctuated by entertainment from the Makerere University Choir, networking, and plenty of joyous celebration.
Bernard Buteera is Principal Communications Officer for the Scholars Program at Makerere University.
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