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Mak Regional Centre for Crop Improvement (MaRCCI) acquires vehicles worth over one billion shillings

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The vehicles, Model 2018, include a 29 seater minibus Registration No. UBD 487Q procured at a cost of $106,000 USD and two double cabins Registration Nos. UBD 485Q & UBD 488Q procured at $50,000 USD each.

The three vehicles were supplied by Toyota Uganda Ltd and received by Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe at the University Freedom square in the afternoon of Wednesday 1st August, 2018.

Receiving the vehicles, Prof. Nawangwe hailed the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and MaRCCI Programme Coordinators for the immense research and infrastructural achievements.

A month ago, MaRCCI procured and delivered the first class agricultural equipment worth one billion shillings that will help in students’ field experiments and cultivation on the university farm at MUARIK.

“ This is a demonstration that there is value for the money that Government of Uganda has borrowed. It also shows that money has been put to correct use”, Prof. Nawangwe stated.

The Vice Chancellor disclosed that given the tremendous work being undertaken by the CAES at MUARIK, he had interested the Minister of Education and Sports Hon. Janet Museveni to visit the University farm to see what was taking place.

Prof. Nawangwe implored CAES Management, the MaRCC project coordinators and all staff to continue doing their work professionally to lead Makerere to its vision of being a research led university.

“Agriculture is not only the backbone of this country but the only sector that can deliver this country from her economic challenges to improve livelihoods and feed the ever rising population,” Prof. Nawangwe noted.The newly purchased vehicles by the MARCCI Centre

The Principal CAES Prof. Bernard Bashaasha congratulated the MaRCCI Centre Director, Dr. Edema upon this achievement saying, the college prides in this centre.

“The centre is one of the biggest and trains the biggest number of post graduate students especially plant breeders from across the continent and we are proud to be associate with it”. The Principals said.

MaRCCI centre Director who is also the Principal Investigator of the project Dr. Richard Edema said, as part of the centre, they have been trying to strengthen on the teaching and training infrastructure.

“We have a lot of research and scientists need vehicles for movement, field trails and monitoring. The minibus will help in transportation of our students and staff during teaching and field trials,” Dr. Edema said.

He said the center’s efforts in improving the training and research infrastructures is in response to the university call to position itself as a research led university.

“This is the second procurement. We are now left with equipping the laboratory, establishing an office and classroom block at MUARIK to help CAES in teaching her programmes”, Dr. Edema said.

Makerere University won a $ 6 million USD World Bank Grant to support the establishment of the Makerere University Regional Centre for Crop Improvement (MaRCCI) within the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Through MaRCCI, the university will strengthen the PhD program in Plant Breeding in Biotechnology, the MSc. in Plant Breeding and Seed Systems, applied research in various crops, and outreach activities to improve Ugandan agriculture through enhancing the skills of public and private personnel supporting crop breeding and production activities.

The grant also provides for additional scientific and support staff and enhancement of facilities and equipment with the goal of modernizing and expanding the teaching, research, and service activities of MaRCCI in a sustainable manner.

Report compiled by:

Jane Anyango
Communication Officer, CAES

Elias Tuhereze

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Call For Abstracts: National Symposium on Climate Migration among Youths in Uganda

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Call For Abstracts: National Symposium on Climate Migration among Youths in Uganda. Submission Deadline: 9th June 2026

Makerere University, in collaboration with the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Tufts University, and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), invites researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and community actors to submit abstracts for the National Symposium on:

Climate Migration among Youths in Uganda: Local Voices for Policy Impact

Date: Wednesday, 12th August 2026
Venue: Makerere University Main Hall

The symposium will examine the drivers, patterns, and impacts of climate-induced youth migration in Uganda, while advancing evidence-based and community-informed policy responses.

Theme: Climate-Induced Youth Migration and Urban Futures in Uganda: Evidence, Voices, and Pathways for Action

Submission Deadline: 9th June 2026

Submit Abstracts To: citiesofyouth@musph.ac.ug

Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to contribute research findings, case studies, policy analyses, and practice-based experiences. Abstracts will be considered for oral and poster presentations.

Mak Editor

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Call for Research Support Applications from Master’s Students who have Completed their First Year of Taught Classes at Makerere University

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Call for Research Support Applications from Master’s Students who have Completed their First Year of Taught Classes at Makerere University. Photo: Nano Banan 2

Makerere University, in partnership with Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Independent University of Bangladesh, Eduardo Mondlane University, and Pokhara University, with funding from Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development (NORHED), is implementing a project: ‘Co-creating Knowledge for Local Adaptation to Climate Change in LDCs (COLOCAL).

The expected outputs of the project include strengthened educational and research capacity, improved knowledge on inclusive Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) and Community Based Adaptation (CBA) including delivering skilled knowledge co-creators, and partnerships to support needs-driven, locally-based and contextually sensitive adaptation. The outputs are anticipated to influence policy, planning and practice around LLA and CBA through collaborative learning and knowledge translation.

In line with targets and activities for 2026/2027, COLOCAL project is offering research support for three (3) Master’s students who have completed their first academic year of taught classes at Makerere University and are interested in undertaking research under one of the following thematic areas. The students MUST have undertaken the course offered under the auspices of the project on Disability, Social Justice and Climate Resilient Development.

Requirements:

  • A first degree from a reputable university in a field related to the focus of the project
  • Ugandan citizen below 35 years
  • Good command of English (spoken and written)
  • Demonstrated interest in inclusive and climate resilient development
  • Evidence of practical experience in conducting relevant research during and after undergraduate level
  • Evidence of full payment of all university fees for the first academic year
  • The Masters programme being undertaken MUST have explicit content on climate change mitigation and adaptation
  • Special consideration will be given to students with disabilities, financial challenges, students from ethnic minority groups, internally displaced students, among others

Scholarship and study/research conditions

Availability to complete all research activities in a maximum of 10 months.

Scope of the scholarship

The project will specifically cover stipends and support for field activities only. Support with tuition fees, for the research year, will be provided for students who will complete and submit the research thesis for examination within 10 months from the date of receiving the scholarship offer letter.

How to apply

Interested and eligible candidates should submit the following documents: Application letter, research concept note of not more than 2 pages, academic transcripts/certificates, an updated CV (including contacts of at least two referees) and two recommendation letters.

Send applications via email to: colocal.caes@mak.ac.ug, not later than 20th May, 2026. This contact can as well be used for inquiries, where necessary.

Mak Editor

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Request For Consultancy Services: Training & Digital Solutions Expert

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Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) Request For Consultancy Services: Training & Digital Solutions Expert. Makerere University, Kampala Uganda, East Africa

The Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) Limited implemented a Gates Foundation training program dubbed “Principle of Management Excellence for Research training” PRIMER in francophone countries, namely, Mali, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This training was delivered by content experts and experienced practitioners, not professionally trained experts. As such, limiting the quality of slide decks, which were largely fragmented with text rather than graphical and infographic elements that suit a mature audience. To effectively deliver a research training program, advanced, engaging, and efficient tools are critical for fostering audience engagement and participation, and for learning and assessment in research management excellence. To achieve this, IDI seeks to hire an expert to:

  1. design and deliver a set of integrated advanced slide decks combining text, visual learning materials (graphical and infographics) and case scenarios
  2. develop a virtual bilingual community learning platform (VBCLP), i.e. with in-built French and English to engage alumni,
  3. develop and automate a pre-course assessment system that potential trainees fill out, and it automates results that are presented in statistical form for easy interpretation and decision making.

Details: https://shorturl.at/Rzn8d

Apply to: EAkankwasa@idi.co.ug

Deadline: 5 June 2026, 5 PM EAT

Mak Editor

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