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Mak Assistant Lecturers advised on the need to support students

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Makerere University Assistant lecturers have been advised to support students’ academic activities and ensure that students successfully meet the desired academic progress. This was during the 6th Pedagogical Skills Training held on 2nd November 2018 in the Quality Assurance Tele-Presence Center, Senate Building.

The three-day Training that started on 31st October and ended on 2nd November 2018 is part of the ongoing training that is organized by the Directorate of Human Resources to equip Makerere University Assistant Lecturers with skills and techniques that will enhance their teaching ability and improve the quality of teaching at Makerere University.

The 6th Pedagogical Skills Training was attended by 35 Assistant lecturers from the College of Engineering, Design Art and Technology (CEDAT) and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES).

In an interactive session on students’ support, Dr. Stella Amero urged Assistant Lecturers to always develop a mutual academic relationship with their students. According to her, the kind of relationship a teacher develops with students provides a better teaching/learning environment.

“It is good to understand the learners, appreciate them and their backgrounds. We should have a student’s-teacher relationship to improve on our teaching/learning environment.  The relationship you have with your student will definitely impact their lives. Teaching is like mothering, so don’t neglect your students,” said.

She however, encouraged lecturers to remain professional and ethical while interacting with students.

Reiterating the issue professionalism, Dr. David Onen, a Coordinator at the East African School of Higher Education Studies and Development urged the Assistant Lecturers to adhere to job ethics and professional guidelines for better service delivery.

“Your relationship with students should be in line with your area of profession. Do not cross boundaries. Be ethical and have self-respect,” said Dr. Onen.

The 6th Pedagogical Training was officially closed by the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Ernest Okello Ogwang on 2nd November 2018. Dr. Okello Ogwang commended the program as a rich training with informative content to lecturers and teachers.

“I am sure you have leant many things in the past three days to help you in your work of teaching. You have been given an opportunity for self-evaluation which should help you enhance your skills when conducting lectures or practical sessions,” he said.

Representing the Director of Human Resources Mr. Andrew Abunyang, the Manger Staff, Development and Retirement Benefits Mrs. Dora Senoga Zake, appreciated the facilitators for building a strong practical foundation for lecturers and teachers.  She applauded the organizers for the successful workshop.

“To participants thank you for accepting to attend this workshop. We sincerely hope that it has been worthwhile for you and will have a positive impact in your work,” he stated.

On behalf of participants, Mrs. Amanda Ngabirano, an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Architecture and Physical Planning, CEDAT, thanked Makerere University Management and the Directorate of Human Resources for helping Assistant lecturers realize the need to review their teaching skills. In a special way she appreciated the facilitators for the educational, knowledgeable, and extraordinary training sessions.

“We are blessed to be facilitated by the best people. The training was so educative and has enabled us to recognize our call as teachers; equipped us with the capacity to take our students through their academic journey in a manner that will help them succeed in their careers. We are very positive that with this training, we shall take the University at greater heights.  And, we pledge to take forward the knowledge gained to improve our career and ensure quality education at Institutions of Higher Learning,” she said.

The Dean of the East African School of Higher Education Studies and Development Dr. Ronald Bisaso urged participants to take the Pedagogical Skills Training seriously and encouraged them to put into practice what they would have learnt during the three days training.

Some of the topics that were discussed during the three days training include;

  • Higher education (its environment and dynamics)
  • Learning theories, style and changing philosophy of learning
  • Curriculum design and development, modes and practices
  • Learning goals and learning outcomes
  • Pedagogical Design
  • Technology for improved training and learning
  • Student support

Article by Kanyi Rachael-Volunteer; Mak Public Relations Office

 

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Special Exam Results -Diploma in Performing Arts 2025/26

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The results for the 2025/2026 special entry examination for the Diploma in Performing Arts held on Saturday 17th May, 2025. Candidates who scored a final mark of 50% and above passed the Examination and have been recommended to the university’s Admissions Committee for consideration.

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Mature Age Scheme Exam Results for 2025/2026

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The Office of Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released full results for the Mature Age Entry Scheme Examinations for the Academic Year 2025/2026 held on Saturday 14th December, 2024.

The Candidates who scored a final mark of 50% and above passed the examination and have been recommended by the Pre-Entry & Mature Age Committee to the University’s Admissions Board for Consideration.

The Aptitude Exam  Results for 2025/2026 Academic Year released in February 2025 can be found here.

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Call for Application: 2025 SNRM session 4 Summer School

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Participants in focused group discussions. Leiden-Delft-Erasmus East Africa Research Network (LEARN) in collaboration with the Urban Action Lab at Makerere University a workshop to deliberate strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change in urban centres in the East African Region, Theme: “Resilient Urban Futures: Adapting Livelihoods to Climate Change”, 4th-5th September 2024, School of Public Health Auditorium, Kampala Uganda.

Context:
Natural resources in Africa are being depleted at an alarming rate due to several factors, including unsustainable human activities, climate change, and population growth. A primary condition of sustainable development is to ensure that the pressures do not exceed the environmental limits, and that demand for the resources does not exceed levels that can be sustainably provided by nature. Therefore, there is a pressing need for transformative, systems-thinking approaches and tools that can tackle the diverse challenges facing these systems. In Africa, this need is compounded by a lack of data and monitoring, which significantly hinders sustainable decision-making.

Investing in young scientists who are committed to take lead in sustainable management of Africa’s natural resources is very important. Capacity building of young scientists will enhance their knowledge and skill on sustainable natural resources and their involvement for implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDG’s) in Africa. To this effect, SNRM summer schools have been implemented in three sessions in 2019, 2020, and 2022 with support from Volkswagen Foundation; to build a critical mass of skilled and competent young natural resource scientists in Africa through training, capacity building and mentorship. Session 4 (2025) will target competent young scientists (MSc and PhD students) in Africa and Germany to further develop their knowledge and skills in systems thinking, advanced data collection and analysis, and application of emerging digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), internet of things (IoT), and embracing transdisciplinary approaches. In addition, we include an ideation workshop where students can work on real problems to come up with solutions for sustainable transformations in natural resource use.

Organizers: Leibniz Universität – Hannover (Germany), University of Antananarivo, University of Abomey Calavi (Benin), Makerere University (Uganda), University of Ghana (Ghana), University of Parakou (Benin), The Technical University of Kenya, with financial support from the Volkswagen Foundation (Germany).

Venue and dates: Nairobi, Kenya, 16-28 November 2025

Target: MSc and PhD students, early in the program of less than 35 years of age from any university/research institution in either sub-Saharan Africa or Germany with an interest in natural resources management.

Participants and Scholarships: The course is fully funded and open to 20 MSc and PhD students from Africa, and 5 from Germany. Funding will cover the costs of air ticket, accommodation, meals, visa, and transportation. However, participants will cover the cost of their travel health insurance.

Topics

SNRM Summer School Session 4: Transformative pathways in biodiversity management and conservation.
This summer school is designed to deliver four modules over a two-week period. The modules are designed to enable the students to acquire new ways of designing data collection protocols and analysis for transformative sustainable natural resources management.

Module 4.1: Data collection I
Skills in data collection for a transformative and sustainable management of natural resources (water, wildlife, forest, land, livestock, crops) monitoring and data collection techniques; remote monitoring tools, earth observation system data, e.g. satellite data sources, LIDAR, and UAV aerial images. Collect and analyse In-situ data on biotic and abiotic parameters, map and analyse data using R or Google Earth Engine, field data collection and retrieving data from online databases.

Module 4.2 Data management and processing
Introduction to tools and methods of managing large and diverse data sets of natural resources such as time series, spatial, directional, and multivariate data. Practicals will include data storage, organization and conversion into various formats using databases such as PostgreSQL and statistical programming software such as R and Python; scripts.

Module 4.3 Ecological monitoring, modelling and management
This module aims to teach participants how to anticipate and validate trends that can be observed in various ecosystems. Lectures include ecological monitoring and its design; population monitoring studies; metrics in population monitoring; methods for monitoring and assessing marine ecosystems; human ecology to socio-ecological systems; climate change impact of ecosystems; suitability assessments; overview of the principles underlying wildlife monitoring and prediction systems for climate change adaptation. Practicals will include field data collection (individual and group); ecological data analysis using R or PAST; modelling and experiencing the behaviour of complex systems using Vensim.

Module 4.4 Natural habitat restoration ideation lab
This module is designed to spur students’ innovation and creativity, and to help students comprehensively identify interdependencies across the 17 SDG goals. Participants will be trained on ideation processes for solutions and intervention for transformative natural resource management. They will work collaboratively in small groups on case studies and develop pathways of transformative sustainable natural resource management. Examples of projects include forest (mangrove) ecosystem and habitat restoration, improved technologies for agricultural production, nature-based solutions for improving water quality, and reversing land degradation.

Language: The course will be delivered in English. Participants are expected to be fluent in writing and speaking the English language.

How to apply

Applicants are kindly requested to fill in the application form available from https://snrmafrica.com/ and submit the following documents in English through the system.

  • a curriculum vitae (maximum 2 pages)
  • a letter of motivation (maximum 1 page)
  • a confirmation of university enrolment
  • a reference letter from the academic supervisor
  • project summary of MSc/ PhD project (1 page including objectives, methodology
    and key findings or expected outcomes).

Important dates
Application deadline: 30th June 2025.
Announcement of accepted applicants: 15th August 2025.
Confirmation of attendance by selected participants: 12th Sept 2025.
Summer school held: 16 – 28 Nov 2025.

Further information is available from

The secretariat info@snrmafrica.com
Dr Lydia Olaka lydiaolaka@tukenya.ac.ke
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Stuetzel stuetzel@gem.uni-hannover.de

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