General
Utilise Your Authority Wisely – Archbishop Emeritus Orombi to Mak Staff
“Makerere University is a prestigious institution in East Africa and has a lot of demands that it has to fulfill. It therefore needs focused and passionate leaders who will look at raising its glory day by day,” echoed Archbishop Emeritus, His Grace Dr. Henry Luke Orombi. The Seventh Archbishop of the Church of Uganda was the Guest Speaker at the Prayer Meeting hosted for Staff of Makerere University by St. Francis Chapel on Friday, 13th September 2019 as part of MAKFEST 2019.
The Meeting hosted at School of Food Technology Conference Hall also served as an occasion to relaunch the Joint Staff Fellowship. The Fellowship was formed for purposes of bringing together all Makerere University staff members regardless of denomination to reflect on their lives, responsibilities and pray for their institution.
Preaching to the congregation, Archbishop Emeritus Orombi, urged the listeners to have diligence and passion when fulfilling their duties as this can be done through self-sacrifice.
“Jesus’ mission on earth was a great sacrifice as he offered all his best for the good and wellbeing of others. In the same way, you should serve this great institution with passion.”
He challenged the worshippers to bring transformation to the University and the offices they occupy by being exemplary and faithful servants to others.
“It is not by mistake that you are in Makerere and in that office; you are there to minister to people who expect a lot from you. This will be done when you are a good servant instead of a boss to them. Jesus had to eat with prostitutes and tax collectors among others, and it was through this that he was able to spot Mary Magdalene’s and Matthew’s value in the spreading of the gospel. Jesus had to go that deep in order to go that high,” explained Dr. Orombi.
The Archbishop Emeritus further condemned acts of corruption among people with authority and reminded them of the fast growing generation, which is looking at its leaders as role models. He therefore urged all staff to set good examples for the young generation, by putting every government resource to its rightful use.
“If every resource that is injected into this country works for the good of development, without a few people taking it for personal use, Uganda will go far,” remarked Archbishop Orombi.
Representing the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Dr. Norah Jessica Aguti from the College of Education and External Studies (CEES) noted that Makerere University plays a central role in building human capital for the nation, as most of the top positions in the country are occupied by Makerereans. This, she said, is a sign that quality services are delivered by staff to the students.
She noted that the University is now looking towards feeding the inner souls of not only the students but the staff, as one of the ways of reducing on the high number of cases of corruption in our Motherland.
Making reference to the University motto “We build for the future,” Dr. Aguti echoed the need to have a strong foundation laid for the betterment of everyone’s well-being in the country, noting that this can be done through feeding of people’s inner souls.
Dr. Aguti challenged Makerere University staff to make a difference in all they do as its one way they will raise the flag of the mighty University to great heights. She urged staff to fight the evil acts of corruption, hooliganism and rebellion among others in order to bring back the glory of Makerere University.
Addressing the congregation, the Chaplain St. Francis Chapel Makerere University Reverend Canon Onesimus Asiimwe thanked staff members for turning up and in a very special way, welcomed the Archbishop Emeritus. He thanked Dr. Orombi for always sparing time to attend Makerere University functions when invited, stating that this was a clear demonstration of his love for the institution.
He applauded the Makerere University Joint Fellowship for the great work done in bringing different college staff together and pledged to support them when the need arises.
Rev. Canon Asiimwe revealed that he had his first encounter with the Archbishop Emeritus in 1997 and noted that his life had changed ever since Dr. Orombi anointed, mentored and introduced him to several people and churches.
The Acting Manager Employment Division, Directorate of Human Resources, Mrs. Josephine Apolot Opolot thanked staff for attending the Prayer Meeting and shared that a Steering Committee had been put in place to organise Joint Staff Fellowships every last Thursday of the month.
The members appointed to the Steering Committee were anointed and commissioned by Archbishop Emeritus Orombi. They included;
1. Dr. Norah Jessica Aguti
2. Dr. Jessica Kaahwa
3. Dr. Chris Tuhirirwe
4. Ms. Josephine Apolot Opolot
5. Ms. Christine Ninsiima
6. Mr. Samuel Kapasa
7. Mr. Grace Musiime
8. Dr. Proscovia Katumba
9. Dr. Barbara Nerima
Article by Rachael Kanyi, Volunteer, Mak Public Relations Office
Photos by Kabara Walter, St. Francis Chapel
By Moses Lutaaya
The Directorate of Graduate Training (DGT) has in collaboration with Centre for Teaching and Learning completed the training of the first cohort of Graduate Supervisors.
Participants were academic staff from two colleges namely, College of Engineering, Art and Design (CEDAT) and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES).
The three-day training that took place at the Telepresence Centre, Senate Building ended on Friday 20thJune 2025.
In his closing remarks to the participants, the Director of Graduate Training Prof. Julius Kikooma said, “This is the first cohort we are working together with the Center for Teaching and Learning to put together continuous professional development Program so that we are able to enforce the new teaching and learning policy.”
He said that before lecturers are allocated students for supervision, they must first go through this form of formal teaching and learning training to equip them thoroughly with certification required of supervision of graduate students.
“We are coming up with process to ensure that the certificates earned by participants allow you to supervise graduate students. This is the direction of the university and we must ensure that such trainings are concluded and completed successfully by all participants”, Prof. Kikooma.
“We can only have you certified upon completing all the exercises in the training process. This is when you will be eligible to receive the work load for supervision”, He added.
“This training of Supervisors is going to be continuous so that all academic staff in colleges and schools are equipped. This first cohort is going to be our building block to the future trainings in the colleges.”
With such capacity building trainings, Prof. Kikooma said that the university is on the right path to achieving its targets in the new strategic plan of increasing the number of graduate students while progressively reducing the under graduate students.
He further hinted that, “We are in the process of writing a curriculum on this, which will be presented for approval before it is rolled out.”
He echoed all participants to share the knowledge they have acquired adding, “Share all you have learnt, do not keep it. Be open minded, have proper communication channels and the sky will be the limit for you.”
Dr. Robinah N. Kulabako, The Head of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CEDAT welcomed the training adding, “This training is very pertinent. I have had the opportunity to supervise Masters and PhD students for over 15 years and I must say that the need to be subjected to this training cannot be over emphasized because there is need to learn, unlearn and relearn many aspects involved in the supervision process.”
She added, “We are moving towards knowledge-based supervision rather than experience-based supervision. This means we must be informed and equipped to be able to advise, guide and mentor to be able to lead a successful supervision journey for both supervisor and supervisee.”
Dr. Andrew Gilbert Were – a lecturer at CEDAT and a participant said, “It is important that all supervisors of graduate students receive this certification from Makerere University through a systematic training process that enables them to attain diverse skills to facilitate learning of graduate students from diverse cultures and with unique set of circumstances.”
“This training is long overdue. In fact, it was an oversight that we could be allowed to supervise students without undergoing supervisors’ training.”
Dr. Dorothy Ssebowa, The Director Centre for Teaching and Learning support- CEES said, “The training this time round has had a mix of early career professionals including Lecturers, Supervisors and Professors share experiences. We have learnt a lot more from experienced supervisors who have shared practices on how they have done supervision over the years.”
“The knowledge and experience-based approaches have made this collaboration very active, interactive and learner centered which has resulted into a collaborative learning from the interdisciplinarity of staff from CEDAT and CAES. The issue now is to continue with professional development across all levels.” She added.
The Makerere University Directorate of Graduate Training (DGT) in collaboration with the Centre for Teaching and Learning completed the training of the first cohort of Graduate Supervisors. This activity was supported by the iCARTA – Institutionalization of Advanced Research Training in Africa, a NORHED II Project at Makerere University.
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