General
Persuasion-an effective tool to communicate research for social change
The Executive Director for National Planning Authority (NPA) Dr. Joseph Muvawala has highlighted the importance of using persuasion to communicate research for social change. This was during the Makerere University PhD Convention held on 14th November 2019 under the theme; “Communicating Research for Social Change.”
Speaking to Makerere University Postdoctoral Fellows, Dr. Muvawala said that while research is an instrumental factor in causing social change for development, its communication and delivery can either yield positive or negative results. He was much concerned about the vast amount of research that remains unutilized largely due to weak communication procedures when he suggested persuasion as an effective communication tool, researchers can adopt during the dissemination process of their findings.
“Persuasion can shape and reinforce the response of your audience by altering their beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivation and behaviors. It also helps the researcher to drive his or her audience towards a certain direction,” he said.
He pointed out the critical modes of persuasion developed by Aristotle and how they can be used to effectively communicate research for social change: The three modes are;
Pathos: emotional appeals designed to arouse feelings among the recipients. Emotional appeals are effective when you are trying to influence a behavior or when you want your audience to take immediate action.
Ethos: the credibility of a researcher/ speaker. This includes three dimensions; competence, trustworthiness and dynamism.
Logos: the reasoning, logic and rationality behind the research paper and answers to questions of what is stated.
“To anticipate the reader’s expectations, the author must ensure credibility and authority while undertaking research. His work should reflect well contextualized and evidence based recommendations. the information to be disseminated should have relevant, specific, unbiased and credible facts which are also warranted by citations,” he stated.
Dr. Muvawala outlined some of the research communication strategies for social change and these included;
- Providing a clear, concise and defined thesis
- Providing a clear, organized and conceptualized structure/framework
- Ensuring logical and well-controlled progression of ideas
- Using meaningful transitions and strong sentence-to sentence connections
- Building strong introductions
- Constructing a well-developed argument with strong evidential support
- Building strong conclusions
- Using purposeful and precise word choice
The PhD Convention is an annual event organized by the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training in conjunction with the PhD Forum at Makerere University. According to Mr. Simon Peter Okiror, the President of the PhD Fellows, the PhD Convention presents a platform for both late and early stage PhD students to reflect on their identified research topics.
“The convention also aims at establishing a supportive worldwide community of doctoral students and promoting social and intellectual interactions among students and researchers from academia, industry and government,” he said.
The Director of Research and Graduate Training Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi who is also the Patron of the PhD Fellows at Makerere University recognized the PhD Convention as an important platform to discuss how the on-going research output at Makerere University can be translated into policy that will socially, economically and politically empower the citizens of Uganda to lead better lives. He stressed that the day’s theme; “Communicating Research for Social Change” rightly depicts the role that Makerere University has to play in national and regional development.
“The challenges to society today are increasingly becoming more complex in a world that is witnessing emerging and re-emerging development challenges resulting from health-related epidemics and pandemics, climate change, energy and renewable energy concerns, natural disasters, food insecurity, human rights abuse and conflict and insecurity among others. Makerere University continues to address these challenges through impact oriented research,” he said.
According to Prof. Buyinza, the current drive by Ugandan Public Universities to quickly transition into centre of excellence in graduate training is a commendable sustainability plan. He mentioned that the ultimate benefit of research lies not only in the generation of new knowledge but also in the translation of knowledge into technologies, interventions and strategies effectively and appropriately delivered to the communities.
He applauded the Government of Uganda for recognizing the crucial role of Universities as vital sources of new knowledge and innovative thinking when he said, “The government-funded initiative to strengthen doctoral training and supervision and to develop the institutional capacity of participating universities to conduct and lead internationally-competitive, cutting-edge research will go a long way in supporting Makerere University to realize its vision and strategic goals, 2020-2030.”
Over 100 students presented their research work, proposals and research topics for constructive feedback.
Article by Mak Public Relations Office
On 20th August 2026, Makerere University welcomed another cohort of 258 recipients of the prestigious Mastercard Foundation scholarship for the 2026/2027 academic year with pomp and fanfare. The colourful Scholarship Award Ceremony was presided over by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, who was represented by Prof. Ibrahim Mike Okumu, the Dean of the School of Economics and the Chairperson of the Scholars Selection sub-committee of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University.
While addressing the gathering, Prof. Nawangwe reminded the Scholars that the scholarship was both an honour and a responsibility, and that they ought to make the most of it to improve their lives and communities.
“Now that you have stepped through the gates of Makerere University, remember that a scholarship is both an award and a responsibility. You have been chosen because we believe in your potential to lead, innovate, and serve. Makerere University offers you world-class academic resources, mentorship, and networks—but the impact you make with these resources will depend on your discipline, integrity, and vision,” Prof. Nawangwe remarked.
A Call for Responsible Living
The Vice Chancellor further urged the new recruits to embrace university life responsibly and form lasting bonds that will support future networks.
“I encourage you to engage fully and responsibly in University life, build lasting bonds with your peers, and, equally important, keep your home communities close to your heart. Let the knowledge and skills you gain here become the seed for innovative solutions to the challenges facing your communities, our country, Uganda, and the African continent.” Prof Nawangwe emphasised.
Prof. Nawangwe further expressed his gratitude to the Mastercard Foundation for recognising Makerere University as a worthy partner and pledged to continue supporting all the Mastercard Foundation’s initiatives at Makerere University.
Leadership starts with self
Mr. Adrian Bukenya, the Senior Director of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program globally and the Country Director for Uganda, urged Scholars to embrace leadership, particularly through self-leadership. He emphasised that the Scholars Program is fundamentally a leadership development program.
“The Scholars Program offers more than just a scholarship; it is a leadership development Program. I encourage you, Scholars, to embrace leadership, and leadership starts with leading yourself, then your community, your country and the continent,” Mr. Bukenya emphasised.
Mr. Bukenya expressed his gratitude to the Management of Makerere University for partnering with the Mastercard Foundation on various initiatives. He emphasised that the Foundation is committed to continuing this partnership to educate young people and nurture the next generation of leaders on the African continent.
Selection Process Highlights
On his part, the Chairperson of the Scholars Selection Committee, represented by Mr Charles Ssentongo, the Deputy Academic Registrar responsible for Undergraduate admissions, congratulated all the Scholars who had made it through a very competitive and watertight selection process. To illustrate how tight the selection process had been, he shared compelling statistics that clearly demonstrated its competitiveness.
“We received 3,664 Applications for the Scholarship; 2,904 Undergraduates and 760 master’s students. Of these scholarship applicants, 1,440 Undergraduates and 280 Master’s students were admitted to Makerere University on private sponsorship, and they were all eligible for the Scholarship,” Mr Ssentongo pointed out.
Mr Ssentongo informed the attentive audience that one of the biggest challenges the Committee faced was the very high number of applicants, while the number of scholarships available was always very small. Mr Ssentongo then highlighted further statistics that characterised the tedious selection process.
“For the Undergraduates, 650 applicants were shortlisted for interviews, while 58 Master’s applicants were also shortlisted. Of these, 245 undergraduates and 13 Master’s students were selected for the final award,” Mr Ssentongo highlighted.
Celebrating A Diverse Cohort
The Program Director of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere, Prof. Justine Namaalwa, used the occasion to highlight achievements made in the years gone by.
“Today, we are overjoyed to have successfully recruited 258 Cohort 9 Scholars—bringing us to the mark of 546 Scholars, 54.6% of the target recruitment of 1,000 Scholars under Phase II of the Program. To date, a total of 1,596 Scholars have been recruited since 2013, when the Scholars Program started at Makerere University,” Prof. Namaalwa announced.
Prof. Namaalwa showcased the diversity created by the Scholars Program, highlighting the arrival of international students from across the African continent at Makerere University through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.
“For Cohort 9 Scholars, it’s time to celebrate our diversity in the Program. Let me call out the nationalities represented in the room: Lesotho (1 Scholar), Malawi (1 Scholar), Ghana (1 Scholar), D.R. Congo (13 Scholars), Cameroon (7 Scholars), Burundi (3 Scholars), Rwanda (10 Scholars), South Sudan (40 Scholars) and Tanzania (1 Scholar).” Prof. Namaalwa revealed.
Scholars Speak Out
Nathan Tamba, an international student from Cameroon, conveyed his enthusiasm regarding the opportunities afforded by the scholarship, particularly the prospect of pursuing his studies at Makerere University, recognised as one of the leading institutions on the continent.
“On behalf of my fellow scholars, I would like to express our gratitude to Makerere University and the Mastercard Foundation for awarding us this scholarship. It has given me the opportunity to study at this prestigious university and to experience Uganda for the first time.” Tamba remarked.
Tamba, clearly delighted like his fellow scholars, committed to using the scholarship opportunity to gain knowledge and skills he will use to benefit himself and his community.
The function was punctuated by entertainment from the Makerere University Choir, networking, and plenty of joyous celebration.
Bernard Buteera is Principal Communications Officer for the Scholars Program at Makerere University.
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