General
3rd FISU WUNC Unwrapped in a Spectacular Way
The 3rd FISU (International University Sports Federation) World University Netball Championship (WUNC) slated to run from Monday, 17th to Friday, 21st September 2018 kicked off with a mega opening ceremony in the Makerere University Freedom Square. Officially opened on17th September 2018, by the President of the Republic of Uganda H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, represented by the State Minister for Sports Hon. Charles Bakkabulindi, the colorful ceremony was graced by both international and national delegates, invited guests, staff and students, as well as teams from the participating countries.
By 6:00pm (EAT), the Freedom Square was teeming guests all eager to witness the long awaited games officially being unveiled in Uganda. The opening ceremony started in earnest with the participating teams making a match pass amidst deafening cheers from the audience and resounding drums of Ndere Troupe. The FISU flag was then presented to the guests as a symbol of acceptance to kick-off the competitions and thereafter hoisted by the Uganda Police Force alongside the Uganda flag. Ms. Atieno Suzan and Ms. Thulie Retshabile took the oaths on behalf of participants and technical team of the 3rd FISU World University Netball Championships respectively.
In a speech read by the State Minister for Sports Hon. Charles Bakkabulindi, the President of Uganda H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni applauded the FISU Committee for attributing the 3rd World University Netball Championship to Uganda. He commended Makerere University, the Association of Uganda University Sports (AUUS) and the Uganda Netball Federation (UNF) for ensuring that Uganda hosts the Championship successfully.
“Hosting the World University Netball Championship is a sign of development in sports as a country. On behalf of the Government of Uganda, I would like to extend our sincere appreciation to local, regional and international sports organizations and institutions that have journeyed with us while nurturing the Uganda’s Sports field,” he said.
The President welcomed the international guests to Uganda; the Pearl of Africa, and encouraged them to visit the some of the numerous tourism sites before they return to their home countries. “Uganda is renowned worldwide for its remarkable flora and fauna, beautiful environment, hospitable people with cultural diversity. I therefore encourage you to visit some our tourism sites before you leave,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe welcomed the international delegates to Uganda and Makerere University in particular. He congratulated AUUS for winning the bid to host the 3rd FISU World University Netball Championship 2018.
“Hosting the game, has not only elevated Makerere University’s brand and image around the world but also presented us with an opportunity to own a world-class sports facility that can host over 2000 participants. I acknowledge the funders, Sponsors and the Organizing committee for enabling this dream to become a reality. I applaud the UPDF Engineering Brigade for constructing the Makerere University Arena in the shortest time possible,” he said.
“In the same spirit, I appreciate the team that entrusted me with the position of being the President of the Local Organizing Committee, a position that has opened my eyes to the world of netball,” he added.
Mr. Liberty Maidza, the FISU Representative thanked the Government of Uganda for hosting the 3rd World University Netball Championships. “This is the second time the championships are organized in Africa, the first one was in 2014, where South Africa organized the inauguration ceremonies of the games,” he mentioned.
He commended participants for their passion for netball and encouraged them to use the opportunity of the games to network and front their abilities.
Guests were then treated to a glamorous performance by the Ndere Troupe with a spice of art and Ugandan cultural dances and instruments. They were also astonished by the creativity of the Youth Development Network which added color to the cultural atmosphere with a Hindu performance. Geusts were also rocked by Vinka, one of the leading artists in Uganda. The event climaxed with a brilliant display of fireworks that officially ushered the guest and participants into the 3rd FISU World University Netball Championships 2018.
Article by Mak Public Relations Office
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.
“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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