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HERS-EA Third Academy Urges Women Leaders to Soar!

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The Higher Education Resource Services-East Africa (HERS-EA) Third Academy got off to a flying start on Monday, 1st July 2019 with women leaders drawn from various institutions in Uganda and abroad being urged to let go of all burdens so as to soar professionally and academically. Set to be held under the theme: Enabling you soar to new heights, the week-long academy got off with an opening ceremony presided over by the Vice Chancellor, Makerere University, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe and a keynote address delivered by Prof. Judith White, Former President and Executive Director, HERS-USA.

Welcoming participants and facilitators to the opening ceremony, HERS-USA Alumnus and HERS-EA Coordinator, Ms. Naomi Lumutenga could not help but express the inner joy that came with holding the Third Academy. This, she noted, was a giant leap forward from the humble beginnings of the East Africa Chapter in 2014 as an affiliate of HERS based in Denver, Colorado, USA.

HERS-EA provides intensive residential leadership and management development training focused on women, mainly in higher education institutions and administration. “This week, you will listen to presentations by seasoned women who have a wealth of knowledge and experience but above all else, they are willing to share it freely” added Ms. Lumutenga.

The HERS-EA coordinator further urged participants to view the Academy as a space to develop ‘take home’ skills as well as think through a leadership project, which will be nurtured and refined at the Academy and hopefully, be implemented at their home institutions. “To help you keep record of this, you will be issued with a journal to use during the week and we hope that you will continue to update it when you leave the Academy.”

The curriculum for the Third Academy will be broken down into the three main areas of; Institutional Development which will cover managing and leading change among other topics as well as Personal Development with topics such as professional women’s economic empowerment through enterprise development and management for profit maximization. The curriculum will thirdly cover Networking, with sessions on personal growth and professional development and many others.
 
Addressing the gathering, the Chairperson HERS-EA Dr. Ruth Muwazi whose enthusiasm outweighed the fact that she had retired from Makerere University service in 2018, shared that her organisation was committed to raising the proportion of women in leadership and managerial positions in Higher Education Institutions, the same way she and a few others were empowered.

“We want to be a resource for developing women leaders in Higher Education and other Institutions” she enthused. “Our HERS cohort that trained in South Africa was helpless until Prof. Margaret Khaitsa, Dr. Florence Wakoko-Studstill and Ms. Naomi Lumutenga came along and brought us together to form HERS-EA. I may be a little soft spoken but HERS has taught me that no matter what your character is, you are a fighter” added Dr. Muwazi in encouragement.

Delivering his address at the Third Academy, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe thanked Prof. Judith White, Amb. Dr. Gennet Zewide, from Ethiopia, and other facilitators for flying thousands of kilometres to Uganda, so as to empower women leaders in higher education at no cost.

“I also thank Prof. Margaret Khaitsa, Dr. Florence Wakoko-Studstill and Ms. Naomi Lumutenga for being patriotic by leaving the comfort of the Diaspora in the USA and UK to come to their roots and empower women leaders and contribute to socioeconomic transformation in East Africa” added Prof. Nawangwe.

The Vice Chancellor noted that more than thirty years ago, Makerere University took the step to address gender imbalance at the institution by introducing affirmative action, which awarded an additional 1.5points to females who qualified for admission.

“When I came to Makerere University there was no female member of staff and only one female student in the then Faculty of Technology” noted the Vice Chancellor, adding that ratios had significantly improved since then.

“We have therefore made a contribution to addressing the gender imbalance not only at Makerere University but also the entire country. It is not an easy task to erase the injustices of gender imbalance that have been practiced over time but we are aware that we need to do more and are committed” added Prof. Nawangwe.

He further reassured HERS-EA of Makerere University’s support in as far as training women leaders for socioeconomic transformation is concerned. “The only way we will emancipate our people from poverty is by ensuring that the gender that makes up the majority of our population is empowered to make a greater contribution to our countries’ economic development.”

Kicking off her address, the energetic Prof. Judith White who made use of a number of props shared that there was no better way to commemorate one year since retiring as Executive Director of HERS-USA than to deliver the keynote at the HERS-EA Third Academy hosted by Makerere University.
 
“Today we have an incredible assembly of wonderful women. You all come with a story of what empowered you and HERS will give you a chance to think about how to exercise leadership in the institutions you come from; you are now part of HERS’ soaring sisterhood” exuded Prof. White.

Prof. White’s keynote address then took on a historical tone for she deemed it was important that “we all need to think about our relationships in terms of history.” She then took her audience back to 1972; a turning point in her life marked by three events namely; the passing of Title IX, the founding of HERS and her graduation from Princeton University.

The passing of Title IX; a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, as part of the education amendments of 1972 in the USA mandated the delivery of education to women such as Prof. White and people of colour. As such, she was able to ‘legitimately’ graduate along with the last group of men in the hitherto male-dominated graduation since the University’s founding in 1746.

Citing Women of influence, Women of vision: a cross-generational study of leaders and social change by Astin Helen and other authors, gave a sneak peek into the categories of women such as; Instigators and Inheritors whom she would expound more on during her sessions on Personal Development. She then went on to share some valuable lessons learnt over thirteen years of interaction with over two thousand women at HERS.

“You have to be strong” she started off, before quickly adding. “Make sure that you are using your strengths in ways that you want or else others will use your strengths in ways that they want.”

“Soaring takes sight” she continued on to the second lesson. “Soaring takes vision, insight and foresight. Whatever goes up does not stay up forever; it must come down. Plan for a soft landing: you don’t plan for if it happens; for it surely will, plan for when it happens. You want to always have a soft landing”

She then went on to tackle the third and possibly most important lesson. “Flight takes lightness; a lightness of spirit. You will have scars, sad moments and feeling that you have been let down, betrayed and not properly appreciated. The best way to stay light, to take the burden away is to share. Find other women with whom to soar… it is by finding strong women to surround yourself with that you will soar,” concluded Prof. White, the audience simultaneously according her rapturous applause.

The barriers to female advancement in higher education are not the preserve of developing countries. Nevertheless factors like strong cultural influence, segregation according to caste, socioeconomic background and institutional biases make them more endemic in Africa and Asia. There was therefore no better candidate to deliver a presentation on the aforementioned than Amb. Dr. Gennet Zewide, who has in the past served as Ambassador of Ethiopia to India; Chair Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and Minister of Education for Ethiopia.

Dr. Zewide whose PhD focused on the impact of education on women appreciated the role of FAWE in mentoring her as a female professional and underscored the importance of successful senior career women in uplifting their junior peers. She noted that the mindset of women not being decision makers was so entrenched in society, that in her personal experience, she rejected the first callup to serve as Minister of Education for Ethiopia, only agreeing after a few weeks of dealing with her deeply rooted fears. She went on to serve as Minister for thirteen years between 1992 and 2005.

Citing the caste system of India the former Ambassador of Ethiopia to India from 2006 to 2016 observed that women in certain jurisdictions face even greater barriers in advancement in higher education due to belonging to particular certain caste. She noted that it is important that affirmative action trickles even further down in such societies.

Borrowing from personal experience as a former academic and mother, she shared that society unknowingly expects women to not only perform as per their job descriptions but to also excel in order to be recognized. “As a mother, I had to bring my two daughters to my workplace whenever I had classes to teach in the evening and keep checking that they were doing their home work. I also had negotiated with students of my early morning classes to push them into mid morning because as a mother, I could not make it to work early enough!”

Dr. Zewide therefore urged the women to use their job placements to break the stereotypes of men as sole breadwinners and women as only being capable of home keeping. “I found it hard to convince my daughter who was in Grade 3 at the time that I had to work because her school textbooks portrayed women solely as the nurses, maids, cleaners and not bread winners. As soon as I became Minister, I made sure that this stereotype was changed in our children’s textbooks.”

Makerere University enjoys a good reputation as the champion of gender mainstreaming in the region. Delivering a presentation on Gender Mainsteraming: Situation analysis of the host university, the Director Gender Mainstreaming Directorate (GMD), Dr. Euzobia Mugisha Baine shared that Makerere’s first women studies programme was launched in 1991. This was however not without incidence as the first cohort was constantly asked why they were studying women.

Dr. Mugisha Baine however noted that rather than offend, this lingering question brought to light the need to progress from simply teaching and conducting research about women and gender to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in Makerere University.

“The Gender Mainstreaming Programme was approved by Senate and Council in 2001 and since 2000, institutionalization of gender as a cross cutting theme, has been a priority area in the University’s Strategic Plans” added Dr. Mugisha Baine.

On the research and innovation front, the Director noted that Makerere’s Gender Mainstreaming Programme (GMP) supports gender focused research and publications. She noted that although publishing in high impact journals lends credence to Makerere as an academic institution, research that leads to socioeconomic transformation was increasingly being promoted as part of institutional relevance to society. “This is where our Gender Mainstreaming Programme links up well with the HERS-EA model to bridge the gap between women in higher education and those at the grassroots.”

Dr. Mugisha Baine further noted that Makerere University was one of the institutions that was compliant with the Public Finance, Management Act because it is keen on addressing gender and equity concerns in the budget making processes. “We however have to go beyond simply budgeting and ensuring that gender-specific interventions are seen to their successful end.”

The HERS-EA Third Academy will run until Saturday, 6th July 2019, where participants will on the final day of training, be tipped on the how to land that much-desired job.

Article by Public Relations Office.

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Mark Wamai

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The 3rd Fundis and Technicians sensitization event and exhibition held successfully

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The 3rd annual Fundis and Technicians sensitization event and exhibition by manufacturers of building materials organized by the Department Architecture and Physical Planning at the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), Makerere University came to a close with a call for increased partnerships between training institutions and the community.

The event that attracted 200 participants including masons, fundis, painters, builders, metal and electrical fabricators ran from Thursday 24th to Friday 25th October 2024 at CEDAT. It was supported by several stakeholders and was characterized by training sessions and an exhibition of building materials by different companies that make cement, paint, water tanks tiles and many more.

Prof. Henry Alinaitwe, the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Finance and Administration, Makerere University.

Prof. Henry Alinaitwe, the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Finance and Administration represented the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe at the opening of the training. In his remarks, he extended appreciation to the technicians for accepting to take part in the training which he said was key in ensuring that they gain from continuous learning. Prof. Alinaitwe observed that although some of them did not get through formal training, it was important that they took part in such training programs to keep abreast of the developments in the construction industry where they undertake the bulk of the work as masons, technicians, plumbers, and metal fabricators.

‘Keep improving, we need to up our game in terms of quality’, he said while making reference to the need for quality output.  He cautioned them on issues of cost and cheating of their clients by making realistic costs.  ‘We need to cost the work well taking into account the materials, the labor, the equipment used, and the overheads’.  The other area that needed to be taken care of by the technicians included time management, which reflects on attitudes towards work, team work.   While addressing the gathering in his capacity as Chairman of the Engineers Registration Board, Prof. Alinaitwe said the upcoming engineering Registration Bill, if approved, has a provision for the registration of all artisans and hence the need to have the minimum requirements for the stakeholders to be registered. He also stressed the need to bring on board as more women as possible.  ‘We want to see more women, who can do some aspects in construction better than men like painting.

Prof. Moses Musinguzi, the Principal of the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology, Makerere University.

Prof. Moses Musinguzi, the Principal of the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology while welcoming the trainees to the college said the training is a good initiative that will help address challenge of skill and work match.  He encouraged the trainees to do smart work, and take due consideration of ethics and customer care. He encouraged the department to extend the training opportunity to other units of the college and the university and also make it more formal, as part and parcel of the training program of the college in liaison with bodies like UBTEB.

Assoc. Prof. Kizito Maria Kasule, the Deputy Principal CEDAT while appreciating the initiative of the department said countries like Germany have apprenticeship training that help the training of students to gain skills equivalent to those acquired while in formal institutions of learning.  He said the academia in Uganda is increasingly recognizing the importance of the informal sector in the growth of the country. ‘We need to learn from you. Almost 90% of the people in the construction industry have been informally trained’. He said by learning from each other, the two sectors jointly make a contribution towards the development of the country.

Dr. Amin Tamale Kiggundu, the head of the Department of Architecture and Physical Planning said the initiative, a community outreach program of the college started three years ago in the year 2022 with 60 Fundis and masons, in 2023, the number was increased to 120 Fundis and the current 2024, was 200 Fundis of various categories, including painters, builders, metal fabricators, plumbers and electrical fabricators. He said this community outreach program aims at sharing the accumulated scientific knowledge in building, design and construction technologies at CEDAT, sharing the expertise, knowledge and experiences with communities in greater Kampala and hence bridging the existing knowledge and skills gap between the training institutions and the communities.

Dr. Amin Tamale Kiggundu, the head of the Department of Architecture and Physical Planning, Makerere University

The 21st century is characterized by collaboration, partnerships, and establishment of knowledge economies.  He said based on the trainings held so far, it is clear that partnerships between the training institutions and the communities were possible especially the Fundis who are closer to the communities. ‘We also want to learn from the Fundi’s experiences, how they are able to connect to the communities in some cases better than those who have gone through the training institutions’, he said. He further noted that the majority of fundis are young people that need to be supported with skills and other ways of nurturing them. The dream of the department, he said is to introduce an open door policy that allows fundis and other university students to come to learn.  

Several organizations supported the event and participated in the exhibition and they included Habitat for Humanity, Uganda, Green Building Council Uganda, The National Building Board, Uganda Clays Limited, Centenary Bank, Steel and Tube Industries Ltd, Simba Cement, Plascon, Goodwill, Cresttanks among others.

Alex Isemaghendera

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MURBS has declared 13.40% interest on members’ balances for the financial year that ended on 30th June 2024.

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By: Ritah Namisango

Dr. Elizabeth Patricia Nansubuga, Chairperson of the Makerere University Retirement Benefits Scheme (MURBS) Board of Trustees, announced this milestone during the 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the year 2023/24 held on Thursday, 24th October 2024, at Makerere University Main Campus, School of Public Health Auditorium.

The AGM attracted various stakeholders, including trustees, Audit Committee Chairperson CPA David Ssenoga, Board Evaluation Consultant Vincent Kaheeru, URBRA Representative Mark Lotukei, Audit Committee members, co-opted members, and university administrators.

Presenting the performance report, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Nansubuga highlighted that this is the highest interest declared by the scheme in the past five years, and she anticipates continued improvements. She noted that for the previous financial year, which ended in June 2023, the Board of Trustees declared an interest an interest of 12.34%.

Dr Nansubuga also announced that the scheme has achieved a Net Investment Income of UGX 44.6 billion, far higher than the UGX34.4 billion collected in Contributions during the year.

The Chairperson of the Board also revealed that the fund value had grown from UGX352.4 billion recorded at the end of the last financial year to UGX409.2 billion, indicating an increase of 16.1%.

“By 30th June 2023, MURBS had a fund value of UGX 352.4 billion. The Board of Trustees targeted Fund growth of 17%, and I am glad to inform you, that the fund value of MURBS, as per the Audited Financial Statements of 30th June 2024 is UGX 409.2 billion, which is an increase of 16.1%. This achievement was made possible by strategic periodical activities undertaken by the Board and our fund managers, supported by the strong oversight committees of the Board,” she reported.

Dr. Elizabeth Patricia Nansubuga(Centre) responding to questions from members.

She attributed the positive growth to factors such as improved debt recovery, operational efficiency, timely remittance of contributions by the sponsor (Makerere University), an increase in project and contract contributions, and the recovery of UGX8.85 billion in debts.

Dr. Nansubuga also expressed gratitude to Makerere University, the scheme’s sponsor, for consistently remitting contributions, a key factor that has significantly contributed to MURBS’ smooth operation. “I am happy to announce that the sponsor-Makerere University remitted your retirement benefits for the financial year 2023/24,” she said.

In the same development, Dr. Nansubuga reported that MURBS registered a legal victory against Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) over a real estate investment in Sonde undertaken in 2019, and which URA sought to tax heavily. She notified the AGM that MURBS won the case and was awarded costs which also set a precedent.

Consultant Mr. Vincent Kaheeru and CEO of Profiles International

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to inform you that during the financial year, we received a favorable outcome on a key court case. How did we end up with this case? In 2019, MURBS invested in real estate, we bought land in Sonde,” Dr Nansubuga explained.

“Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) then charged us with a tax assessment worth UGX600 million. It has been four (4) years in the tax appeals tribunal. Since then, the lawyers, the former and current trustees, have been appearing before the appeals tribunal, but in December 2023, MURBS won the case. We challenged URA, and this case was awarded with costs. URA has to pay MURBS. We therefore saved UGX600 million,” she added.  

In terms of governance, Dr Nansubuga said that the scheme made changes in the board. Initially, the trustees were six and they needed a seventh member, and following a competitive race, they recruited another trustee; CPA Edina Rugumayo who has over thirty years in accounting.

Part of the MURBS members who physically attended the Annual General Meeting

“In terms of governance, we continue to uphold good governance practices and we align with international standards. Last year during the presentation, I said we were six and we needed to have the seventh trustee because the Board composition is supposed to be seven,” she explained.

“So, following a competitive process, we recruited an independent trustee. It was a very competitive position. You must have served on board which has over UGX50 billion. So, from that process, we were able to recruit CPA Edna Rugumayo Simbwa. She is a certified public accountant with over thirty years of experience in accounting, taxation, and corporate governance,” she mentioned.

She also thanked other stakeholders for making sure that MURBS activities run smoothly. These entities include Makerere University, KPMG, Gen Africa, Arcadia Advocates, Zamara, URBRA, and Stanbic Bank among others.

While discussing investments, Dr. Nansubuga mentioned that 86% of MURBS’ funds are currently invested in government bonds, but added that the Board is exploring diversification to reduce risks. 

“86% percent of our money is invested in government bonds, and sometimes, you do not have to put all your eggs in one basket, there is a high concentration of risk. so that is one of the key material risks that we want to address to reduce the amount we have in government securities. We want to diversify our portfolio and avoid investing heavily in government securities. The Board will venture into other fields in order to earn money or return on investment from the diverse undertakings,” she said.

Mr. Mark Lotukei, represented the CEO of Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority

In terms of membership, Dr. Nansubuga reported a 4.4% increase, with the number of members rising from 8,229 to 8,590. She attributed this growth to the reinstatement of in-house beneficiaries and an increase in project and contract staff.

Dr. Kakuba also thanked the sponsor-Makerere University for remitting the membership contributions timely which has helped the scheme to grow.

Dr. Godwin Kakuba -Secretary, MURBS Board of Trustees, who presented the record of the 13th Annual General Meeting stressed that the AGM climaxes a financial year and the Board of Trustee has been vigilant on this and has not missed any AGM for 14 years now.

“We applaud the sponsor because many of these positives in the chairperson’s report can only be attributed to the support by the sponsor through fulfilling the obligation of remitting members’ contributions to the scheme,” he added.

Dr. Godwin Kakuba (L) and Asad Ssenoga

Partner Asad Ssenoga, an independent auditor who audited the scheme said that he was impressed with the level of compliance that the scheme exhibited in all aspects. He said they focused on ensuring that the member contributions are supported with statements and allocated to members appropriately.

“Overall we were satisfied with the work we did on the audit, the numbers that were presented by the Chairperson are the correct numbers that we audited. We were comfortable with those numbers, due process was followed during the audit,” he said.

Mr. Mark Lotukei who represented the CEO of Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) thanked the Trustees for always prioritizing governance, which has helped them to reach several milestones.

Members of the MURBS Secretariat led by Ms Susan Khaitsa(Centre)

“As URBRA, we look at governance as the biggest component of our compliance. MURBS Trustees from the former to the current, have taken governance as the most important aspect. We really encourage them to continue with this good practice because governance informs all the other aspects,” he said.

Mr. Arthur Kibira, a member in attendance, expressed his appreciation for the Board’s efforts. He urged them to explore higher-risk investments for potentially greater returns. He expressed concern over the scheme’s heavy reliance on government bonds.

“Dr Elizabeth Nansubuga, I want to congratulate you, and your team and also congratulate ourselves. But, I want to believe that there is room for improvement. I am one of those who do not believe that the sky is the limit, we are limited by our own thinking. I am thinking that high risks give high returns. Is there a way of managing those risks, so that we could push this 13.40% interest to a figure much higher? If we do so, we shall say we have learnt how to manage risks,”, he guided.

Ritah Namisango

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Makerere University at the 2024 O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs Annual Gathering in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

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Uganda’s Chair elect, Prof. David Meya of Makerere University’s College of Health Sciences (extreme left) and other O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs

The Research Chairs concept is similar to Centers of Excellence (for instance in supporting world-class research in a priority area), but also has many distinguishing features. Most notably, it recognizes individual excellence, leadership and talent. The O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs Initiative (ORTARChI) builds on the work of Oliver Tambo, a prominent South African and pan-Africanist with a science education background, who believed in creating change through education and in cooperation and solidarity among African nations. The Initiative focuses on celebrating his legacy in building knowledge-based economies for the advancement of Africa.

ORTARChI builds on and leverages existing continental frameworks and interventions geared towards institutional capacity strengthening; recruitment and retention of excellent researchers; and incentives to support research that contributes to socio-economic and transformative development. 

Ten (10) O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs across seven (7) countries in Africa, namely; Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia have been selected for funding through a rigorous and competitive two-stage review process. These research chairs are focused on research priorities identified by each host institution in conjunction with, especially the Science Councils, and in alignment with AU Agenda 2063 and STISA 2024.

[L-R] Prof. Henry Alinaitwe (DVC F&A, Mak), Dr. Dorothy Ngila (Director, NRF), Ms. Natasha Allie (CEO Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation), Dr. Martin Ongol (Ag. Executive Secretary, UNCST), Associate Professor David Meya (Uganda Chair Elect, ORTARChI) and Assoc. Prof. Robert Wamala (Director, DRGT)

Prof. Noble Banadda from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences had been inaugurated as one of the first 10 (ten) Oliver Tambo (ORTARChi) Chairs. Unfortunately, Prof. Banadda (R.I.P) passed on in July 2021, which created a vacuum. To ensure that Uganda and Makerere University continue to tap into the ORTARChi, we are glad to announce the appointment of Associate Professor David Meya from the College of Health Sciences at Makerere University for the purpose. The appointment will attract USD 170,000 annually for 5 years for graduate research with a target of training 5-6 PhDs, 10-15 Post-doctoral fellows and 10-12 Masters of Medicine and Master of Science Students at Makerere University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology.

Makerere University has had the pleasure of attending 2024 O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs Annual Gathering in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The annual gathering is co-hosted by the Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, National Research and Innovation Fund for Development (FONRID) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. The theme for this year’s gathering is: African Sovereignty: A Catalyst for Research Collaborations and Social Impact in the Continent“. At the annual gathering, Uganda was represented by Associate Prof. David Meya (Uganda Chair Elect, ORTARChI), Prof. Henry Alinaitwe (Deputy Vice Chancellor Finance and Administration, Mak), Associate Prof. Robert Wamala (Director, Research and Graduate Training) and Dr. Martin Ongol (Ag. Executive Secretary, UNCST). Assoc. Prof. David Meya – ORTARChI Chair Elect – is from Makerere University’s School of Medicine at the College of Health Sciences.  

[L_R] Prof. Henry Alinaitwe (DVC F&A, Makerere University), Dr. Dorothy Ngila (Director, NRF), and Assoc Prof. Robert Wamala (Director, Mak DRGT)

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