General
Mak-Tsinghua Partnership to Establish Public Safety Lab
A delegation from Tsinghua University’s Institute of Public Safety Research (IPSR) on Tuesday, 18th December 2018 met the Vice Chancellor, Members of Management together with representatives from the Uganda Police Force (UPF) and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and held discussions on the proposed establishment of a Public Safety Laboratory at Makerere University. The delegation led by Prof. Chen Jianguo also consisted of Prof. Pang Wenjun and Prof. Zhang Tengbin. They were accompanied by Ambassador Henry Mayega, Uganda’s Deputy Head of Mission in the Peoples Republic of China.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe shared that the Tsinghua delegation was on a five-day; 17th to 21st December 2018, return visit to Makerere, following his visit to China earlier this month.
“I would like to thank Prof. Jianguo for the warm reception accorded to the Makerere delegation during our recent visit and tour of the Hefei Institute for Public Safety Research. I also thank Ambassador Mayega for receiving us in China and accompanying us throughout our stay in China. Ambassador Mayega is not only an alumnus but also our very own ambassador who is very enthusiastic about creating opportunities for Makerere in China, especially with Tsinghua, Asia’s top university” remarked the Vice Chancellor.
Prof. Nawangwe informed the visiting delegation that Makerere is a comprehensive University whose research output is ranked among the top five institutions in Africa. “Our students excel internationally and we probably have the largest number of collaborations in Africa, over a hundred of them being active, and as many as thirty with institutions in the USA, particularly in the fields of health and HIV/AIDS.”
The Vice Chancellor further noted that Makerere and Uganda had a lot to learn from the expertise developed by IPSR over the decade, especially in the area of public safety and emergency management technology and research. He therefore reiterated the University’s commitment to work with Tsinghua University to jointly establish a Public Safety Laboratory at Makerere. This, he envisaged, could serve as a Central National Laboratory for Ugandan Government agencies in the area of public safety management and research.
In his remarks, Prof. Jianguo thanked the Vice Chancellor and all present for the warm reception accorded to his delegation. He shared that Tsinghua; founded in 1911, is a comprehensive University with a special focus on Engineering and Technology.
“Tsinghua and the Chinese Government are very good friends and in 2003, we helped to establish the China National Emergency Response Platform, with more than two hundred and fifty City-level platforms extended to several areas such as public safety management, public transport management, environment safety management and early warning systems for natural disaster management” shared Prof. Jianguo.
He noted that Uganda, just like China is developing rapidly, which presents more challenges for public safety. “We therefore need technology to solve these challenges and support public safety management efforts by Government” added Prof. Jianguo.
A presentation by the Tsinghua delegation showed that the IPSR was founded in 2003 with four focus areas namely; education of public safety students, academic research, provision of services to governments, enterprises and stakeholders, and being the Chinese Government’s Public Safety Think Tank.
Tsinghua University has more than fifty profitable companies, the largest being the Unisplendour Corporation Limited (UNIS) worth approximately US$50billion. IPSR is the Chinese National base for public safety, science and technology development. The Institute has provided Smart solutions such as the; Ecuador 911 Emergency Management System, Angola Public Safety Management, Macao Command Centre, Singapore Intelligent Video Monitoring System among others.
In the reactions that followed the presentation, UPF’s Commissioner of Planning CP Henry Tumwesigye thanked Tsinghua University for the presentation. He noted that although the Force has various capabilities in the areas of public safety management, there was still need to develop an integrated approach that synchronises all the various operations. He therefore hoped that collaborations with Makerere University and partners such as Tsinghua would go a long way in helping to unpack and repackage the Force’s various solutions.
The KCCA representative Mr. Henry Kizito expressed his privilege at attending the meeting and noted that the Mak-Tsinghua partnership would benefit the proposed Kampala Smart City Project. In September 2018, the former KCCA Executive Director Mrs. Jennifer Musisi signed two major pacts with the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) at the Seoul Digital Summit in South Korea. WeGO’s mission is to promote and facilitate the transformation of cities to Smart Sustainable Cities worldwide.
The Tsinghua delegation also toured the Directorate for ICT Support (DICTS) Network Operating Centre at the College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS) and the Main Library. The delegation is also scheduled to visit the; Ministry of Health’s Emergency Response Centre, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS), College of Engineering, Design Art and Technology (CEDAT), School of Public Health (MakSPH) and the UPF Emergency Response Facility.
Article by Public Relations Office
General
Makerere University and Xiangtan University Advance Strategic Partnership in Chemical Engineering
Makerere University and Xiangtan University are set to update their close to 20-year academic partnership, with a new focus on launching a joint Master’s degree program in Chemical Engineering and expanding student and staff exchange initiatives.
The commitment was reaffirmed during a recent visit by a delegation from Xiangtan University to Makerere University headed by Professor Dingyu Ou, in the company of Mr. Tang Fei and Professor Gilbert Gumshabe, the Chinese and Ugandan Directors of the Confucius Institute at Makerere University respectively.
While addressing the delegation, Professor Nawangwe highlighted that this initiative is part of a broader strategy to diversify academic offerings and contribute to national development through training in Chemical Engineering. Through this new initiative, the University will better prepare graduates for the petrochemical industry and support the country’s industrial growth.
The Vice Chancellor appreciated that the proposed collaboration aims to address Uganda’s growing need for industrial expertise, particularly as the country develops its petroleum sector. The two universities here are working toward a 1+2 training model, which will enable Makerere students to gain practical experience and access advanced laboratory facilities at Xiangtan University.
Professor Nawangwe further reiterated that “our relationship with the people of China, not just for Makerere but also for a big part of Uganda, has been opened wider by the establishment of the Confucius Institute, considering that many other collaborations like one being discussed now have come through this collaboration.”
The head of the Xiangtan delegation, Professor Dingyu Ou, expressed appreciation for the meeting, and acknowledged the history between the institutions. “As mentioned, we have a very long relationship and a very stable friendship between our two universities.”
Professor Ou extended appreciation for the support provided to the Confucius Institute at Makerere, the care shown to his colleagues, and looked forward to the successful start of the Chemical Engineering collaboration.
Assuring the delegation of Makerere’s readiness for the collaboration, Ms. Hawa Ndagire Kajumba the Lead, Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement, Makerere University Advancement Office, aligned with the Vice Chancellor’s emphasis of University goal to have both theory and practice imparted to the students.
She said “the curriculum of the university and Uganda as a whole is moving towards competence-based education training to ensure students are equipped to demonstrate those skills in the actual field, particularly regarding petroleum exploration.”
Ms. Ndagire Kajumba also emphasised a shift in strategy for the partnership office, saying, “we are moving away from just signing MOUs that collect dust, and moving towards those that are more collaborative to benefit our faculty and students, just like this one.”
Professor Gilbert Kumushabe aligned his remarks with those of the Vice Chancellor and Ms. Ndagire Kajumba, and described the method used at Xiangtan University as “actually competence-based teaching.”
Based on his recent visit, Prof. Gumoshabe shared that students in China are divided into groups with dedicated teachers to perform practical, hands-on work beyond the theoretical lecturers. He expressed gladness that the same was being adopted for the Ugandan context.
Both institutions are now working to finalise the specific agreements for the joint degree and exchange programs. Beyond academic training, the collaboration will advance cultural and professional exchange.
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