General

Mak Among Top Ten Winners of 2018 Opentrons + iGEM Team Challenge

Published

8 years ago

May 21, 2018

Mark Wamai

The iGEM Team 2018 poses for a group photo with one of their College Advisors, Dr. Anne Kazibwe (Extreme Right) and Instructor Mr. Otim Geoffrey (Rear 2nd Right), CoVAB, Makerere University, Kampala Uganda

The Makerere University iGEM Team emerged among the top 10 winners of Opentrons OT-2 Robot in the just concluded iGEM Team global Challenge. The OT-2 is a robotic innovation that can automate hundreds of life science protocols and workflows and has high-precision electronic pipettes that can execute liquid transfers as quickly and accurately as robots ten times the price. According to the Opentrons website, the OT-2 costs between US$3,500 and US$5,500.

The Mak team who will be engineering PET plastic degradation pathways in E. coli to solve the waste accumulation problem in developing urban centers will represent Uganda and East Africa in the forthcoming global iGEM (https://igem.org) science competition in the U.S, aimed at promoting Synthetic biology research.

Mr. Otim Geoffrey, Instructor iGEM Makerere Team and Coordinator Synbio Uganda SB.7 Synthetic Biology and Biosecurity Fellow 2017, Singapore.

Mr. Otim Geoffrey, Instructor, iGEM Makerere Team acknowledged the support from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) in promoting this unique science competition to the next level in Africa. The Instructor made the application on behalf of his iGEM Team and Makerere University.

"We are super excited and proud for this first achievement. We therefore call for more support from the University as our team will be traveling to U.S in October for the grand iGEM competition/Jamboree. Our team is the first to participate and represent Makerere University, Uganda and East Africa in this global science competition."

Mr. Otim additionally shared that Twist Bioscience (https://twistbioscience.com) covered the cost of the Mak iGEM Team's registration for the competition to the tune of over UGX20million.

The OT-2 Robot won by Makerere University at the iGEM Team Challenge Image:Opentrons

The selection was based on:

   – Demonstrated technical capability
   – Commitment to Reproducibility
   – Open-source integrations with other hardware and software
   – Impact-full projects that make the world a healthier, happier, more ecologically sustainable place
   – Plans to add protocols to the Opentrons Protocol Library <http://protocols.opentrons.com/> for the entire scientific community to use.

We congratulate the team and wish it good luck

Please follow the link below for more information.
http://blog.opentrons.com/igem_winners_2018/

Article by CoVAB Communications Office pr[at]covab.mak.ac.ug

Education

Special University Entry Examinations for the Diploma in Performing Arts 2026/27

Published

5 days ago

April 28, 2026

Mak Editor

Students from the Department of Performing Arts on 4th April 2025.

The Academic Registrar Makerere University invites applications for the Special University Entry Examinations for admission to the Diploma in Performing Arts.

The examination will take place on Saturday 16^th May, 2026.

Application process is online for those intending to sit the examination. Kindly note that there is payment of a non-refundable application fee of Shs. 110,000/- excluding bank charges in any (Stanbic Bank, Dfcu Post Bank, UBA and Centenary Bank). After filling the online application, you will be provided with 2 Past Papers.

To be eligible to sit the examinations, the candidate must possess an O’ Level Certificate (UCE) with at least 5 Passes.

The deadline for receiving the online applications is Tuesday 12^th May 2026.

How to Apply

Application is online for ALL applicants.
Other relevant information can be obtained from Undergraduate Mature Age Office, Level 5, Room 505, Senate Building, Makerere University or can be accessed from https://see.mak.ac.ug
A non refundable application fee of Shs. 110,000= for Ugandans, East Africans Applicants (Including S. Sudan & DRC) OR US $ 75 or equivalent for international applicants plus bank charges should be paid in any of the banks used by Uganda Revenue Authority.
Apply through the application portal https://see.mak.ac.ug

Please see download below for the application portal user guide.

Diploma-Performing-Arts-2026-2027 Download

Further inquiries may be sent to email: see@mak.ac.ug

Prof. Mukadasi Buyinza
ACADEMIC REGISTRAR

General

Diploma Holders Admission Lists under Government Sponsorship for 2026/2027 AY

Published

5 days ago

April 28, 2026

Mak Editor

The Office of Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released lists of Diploma holders admitted under the Government Sponsorship Scheme for the Academic Year 2026/2027.

Under the Diploma Holders Government Sponsorship Scheme admission does not exceed 5% of the intake capacity to the respective Degree Programme.

The list can be accessed by following the link below:

Makerere-University-Diploma-Holders-Government-Sponsorship-2026-2027 Download

General

Mature Age Examination Results for 2026/2027 Academic Year

Published

6 days ago

April 27, 2026

Mak Editor

The Office of Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released results for the Mature Age Entry Scheme Examinations held on Saturday 13^thDecember 2025.

Candidates who scored a minimum of 50% passed and have been recommended by the Pre-Entry & Mature Age Committee to the University’s Admissions Committee for consideration.

The Aptitude Exam (Paper 1) results for the Mature Age Entry Scheme 2026/2027 can be accessed by following this link.

Please follow the link below for the list:

Makerere_University_Mature-Age-Entry-Composite Results-2026-2027 Download