General
Mak Signs MoU with Tsinghua-China’s Top University
Makerere University on Monday, 8th October 2018 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Public Safety Research (IPSR), Tsinghua University, Beijing China. Tsinghua is China’s leading University recently ranked twenty second globally by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019.
The MoU was signed by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe on behalf of Makerere University and by Assoc. Prof. Huang Yu on behalf of IPSR. Prof. Peter Atekyereza who represented Prof. Edward Kirumira-Principal, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), Mr. Henry Mwebe-Director Legal Affairs, Makerere University and Zhang Pengbin, Senior Business Manager-Beijing Global Safety Technology Co., Ltd (GSAFETY) also signed the MoU as witnesses.
GSAFETY is a research spin-off of IPSR that is dedicated to technological advancement and promotion of public safety industry in China, backed by the renowned integrative research-production mechanism of Tsinghua University.
Welcoming the visiting delegation, Prof. Nawangwe noted that IPSR has over the years developed a lot of expertise both in digital security and security systems, thanks to its close collaboration with Chinese agencies and organisations. He shared that Makerere University has a lot to gain by collaborating with Tsinghua University.
“As the Ugandan population continues to grow rapidly, cities and urban centres are getting more crowded each passing day. Nevertheless, any visitor to China will notice that despite the large population, public transportation as well as law and order work promptly.
The China and Tsinghua experience therefore gives us a lot to learn from in terms of ensuring security for highly populated areas in Uganda” remarked the Vice Chancellor.
The Vice Chancellor further noted that Makerere and Tsinghua share a lot in common owing to their reputations as leading research Universities in Africa and Asia respectively, as well as a wide range of disciplines taught. This he said would enable the two partners to come up with more areas of collaboration beyond just security.
“The opportunities of collaboration are immense!” remarked the Vice Chancellor, before adding “Through Staff and Student exchanges, we can take advantage of Tsinghua University’s top most expertise to work with Ugandan Government agencies and security organs to jointly develop our own programmes on security.”
Speaking on behalf of Tsinghua University, Assoc. Prof. Huang Yu expressed his pleasure at visiting Makerere University to sign the MoU and looked forward to a fruitful collaboration between the two institutions.
IPSR’s Zhang Pengbin reaffirmed that the MoU signing ceremony was indeed only the beginning of a long journey of collaboration between the two partners. “From security we can move on to areas such as terrorism and anti-terrorism, traffic control and many other areas in which Tsinghua has developed great expertise” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS), the Principal, Prof. Tonny Oyana welcomed the opportunity to collaborate Tsinghua University in the field of public security with. “Uganda is a landlocked country surrounded by five countries with various security and public safety concerns. CoCIS can provide a lot of research, hardware, software and human resources to this collaboration” he offered.
In his contribution, Prof. Atekyereza added that the School of Social Sciences also stood to gain from Tsinghua’s expertise. “In particular, the Department of Political Science and Public Administration has done a lot of research in the security domain and improvements on technology in surveillance will be of paramount importance
We also have the element of criminology under the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Cybercrime is increasing and our engagement will see how we can improve our research in this regard” he added.
After the MoU signing and exchange ceremony, the Vice Chancellor expressed optimism that the collaboration would enable both Staff and Students gain critical skills through retooling, joint supervision and possibly in the not-too-distant future, lead to the establishment of the first forensic laboratory in Uganda.
Article by Public Relations Office
Business & Management
PIM Centre Holds 9th Steering Committee Meeting, Set to Benefit from World Bank Support
The Public Investment Management (PIM) Centre of Excellence at Makerere University today, October 10th, 2025, held its 9th Steering Committee Meeting to review progress made in the first quarter of the financial year and plan for the months ahead.
The meeting was chaired by Ms. Getrude Basiima, who represented Mr. Hannington Ashaba, Director Budget at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED). Ms. Basiima commended the Centre for its continued commitment to strengthening public investment management capacity across government institutions.
In her remarks, Ms. Basiima applauded the Centre for successfully hosting the Public Investment Management Conference held in August at Makerere University. The conference attracted key policymakers, development partners, and academics who deliberated on how to enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and impact of public investments in Uganda.
She further shared exciting news that the Government of Uganda has secured funding from the World Bank to support the public investment management function. The PIM Centre, she announced, will be among the key beneficiaries of these funds — receiving support for the construction and acquisition of a permanent home to enhance its institutional sustainability and training capacity.
Reviewing the Centre’s quarterly performance, Ms. Basiima congratulated the team for successfully conducting three specialized trainings in the first quarter, reaching officials from various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. These trainings continue to strengthen the technical competencies required for effective project preparation, appraisal, and implementation in line with Uganda’s National Development Plan.
She encouraged the Centre to integrate climate change considerations into its future training programmes, noting that sustainable public investment must now account for environmental resilience and climate adaptation.
The centre team presented the proposed structure/ organogram, the financial performance of 2024/2025, research areas for 2025/2026 and the strategic plan for 2025 – 2030.
The Steering Committee reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the PIM Centre’s vision of becoming a regional leader in building capacity for efficient, transparent, and sustainable public investment management.
A significant development unfolded at Makerere University during a strategic, hour-long meeting in the vice chancellor’s boardroom on 7th October 2025, marking a deepening bond with the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. The primary goal was to move beyond existing collaborations and formalize a new Double Doctorate (PhD) program. Prof. Sarah Saali, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, set the tone by emphasizing that institutional partnerships are crucial to Makerere University, which she proudly called the leading research and most collaborative university in the world.
The discussion promptly formed the core structure of the program: a four-year PhD (or three if the master’s was research-based), with supervision duties split 50-50% between the two institutions. A key feature is the mobility requirement, stipulating that PhD candidates would spend a total of six months in the Netherlands, potentially divided into two three-month periods. Crucially, the University of Groningen confirmed there would be no teaching requirement during this stay, allowing students full access to focus on their research. A major financial hurdle was overcome with the adoption of a fee-waiver policy; Makerere would waive tuition for incoming Groningen candidates, and Groningen would reciprocate for Makerere‘s students, significantly boosting the program’s financial viability.
However, the critical issue of the stipend remained. Dr. Anita Veltmaat explained that to meet the required living standard of approximately €1,875 per month in Groningen, the incoming candidate must secure a partial external scholarship of around €250 per month. The positive news is that if the candidate secures this minimum scholarship, the University of Groningen is prepared to top up the amount to the full living standard for the six months the student spends in the Netherlands. It was noted that this initial financial hurdle might be simplified for Makerere students, as many are already staff members receiving a salary, which could help cover the required €250.
The path forward was clear: it was to complete the agreement template guided by the setup committee from both institutions. The plan culminated in scheduling an online follow-up meeting for Tuesday, November 11th, to review the first revision of the agreement, capping a highly constructive discussion that solidified the two universities’ shared future in graduate education.
Makerere University was represented by Prof. Sarah Ssali, the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academics Affairs; Dr. Ruth Nsibirano, Head of the Department of Gender Studies; Dr. Patricia Ndugga, School of Statistics; Dr. Stella Achen and Dr. Joseph Watuleke, School of Distance and Lifelong Learning; Agatha Ainemukama, School of Engineering; Racheal Nuwagaba, School of Psychology; Awel Uwihanganye, Martine Rugamba, and Hawa Ndagire from the Advancement Office; and Muhammad Kiggundu from the Institute of Gender and Development Studies.
The University of Groningen was represented by Dr. Dinie Bouwman, Senior Policy Advisor, Internationalization and Quality Assurance; Dr. Anita Veltmaat, Faculty of Social Behavior and Social Sciences, Department of International Studies, involved in mentorship programs for women; and Dr. Alette Arendshorst, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, working on graduation/collaboration for students/staff.
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