At its meeting of September 12, 2019, the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Corporation of New York approved a grant to the tune of US$1,000,000.00 to the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training (DRGT). The award followed a successful appraisal of our proposal “Supporting Early-Career Academics at Makerere University”. The grant will run from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2021.

Over the last decade, DRGT has implemented a broader scope of interventions aimed at developing and retaining the next generation of academics. This time round, the grant will enable us to train and produce critical thinkers. We have adopted a research team approach with the sole aim of enhancing knowledge sharing, holistic peer-learning and mentorship.

Generally, the project will focus on expanding Mak’s community of research leaders and doctoral supervisors. In this regard, the project goal will be accomplished through four specific capacity development objectives including

(i)    To consolidate the capacity of the fellows to conduct quality research with appropriate mentorship;
(ii)    To strengthen the enabling environment to encourage the retention of fellows;
(iii)    To strengthen research management and research leadership capacity;
(iv)    To increase capacity for scientific communication of research outputs into publically accessible piece of writing.

Secondly, mentoring support will help guide the mentee though their research career development activities, offer advice and help identify on-the-job learning opportunities.

This award is the culmination of an intense interactive submission and review process, and undeniably another life-time recognition of our growing excellence in supporting early-career academics. We thank the Carnegie Corporation of New York for its enduring support to our core functions.

Professor Buyinza Mukadasi, Director, DRGT, Makerere University