The COVID-19 Pandemic has clearly demonstrated Africa’s vulnerability to global pandemics and other natural emergencies such as floods and desert locusts, which struck the Eastern part of Africa in recent years. While it remains true that the Africa’s education sector has been severely affected by COVID-19, the state of higher education on the Continent has long been a cause for concern even before the Pandemic. The Pandemic is exacerbating the already existing vulnerabilities in the education sector thus creating an urgent need to build a reformed education system on the Continent. This reformation entails a change in the perspectives and practices of the policy makers and educators, and requires much thought concerning the why, who, what and how of education. Digitization can help rebuild the disrupted education system, ensure that teaching and learning continues in the new normal, and possibly provide the much needed resilience. Indeed, a number of efforts have been made towards the transformation of higher education in Africa through integration of digital technologies. The COVID-19 Pandemic has accelerated a shift by universities to digitalization. Digital technologies for online teaching and learning are a way to recover from the COVID-19 crisis and to provide the resilience needed for Universities to forge ahead. It should be recognised that digitization must cover all aspects of the university business and should not only be limited to teaching and learning.
It has been argued that for digital technologies to cause a significant transformation in higher education, approaches to their implementation must be given sufficient attention involving a level of change in practice. It is against this background that RUFORUM held an online dialogue to discuss the advances and opportunities of integration of digital technologies, especially for teaching and learning. The dialogue focused on exploring successes and challenges Universities continue to experience in the implementation of online teaching and learning.
Side Event Objectives:
The online dialogue on Realignment towards Online Teaching and Learning in Universities focused on the following:
Establish what digital technologies are currently influencing universities in Africa;
Discuss the ways in which digital technologies can be integrated into university system in Africa;
Outline the opportunities and challenges in implementing online teaching and learning particularly in universities in Africa;
Explore the skills and competences required for leadership, staff and students to enable universities and other sectors integrate the use of digital technologies; and,
Examine the policies and other reforms needed to facilitate effective online teaching and learning in African universities.
72 undergraduate students of Makerere University have successfully been admitted to the Millennium Fellowship Class of 2026, an initiative of the Millennium Campus Network (MCN) and United Nations Academic Impact. Makerere’s Fellows were selected from a record-breaking 76,000 applicants from over 6,000 campuses across 174 countries to participate in the ambitious programme.
According to the Fellowship website, the programme aims to make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and UN Academic Impact Principles a reality on campuses, in classrooms and throughout communities. Millennium Fellows are university undergraduates selected for their leadership on sustainable development projects in their communities. As Fellows, they complete a semester-long leadership development programme that strengthens their student organizing, partnership-building and community-impact skills.
In his congratulatory message to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Sam Vaghar the Executive Director, MCN shared that Over 330 campuses across 60 nations have been selected to host 2026 Millenium Fellows. “Congratulations to you and Makerere University for having a cohort of Millennium Fellows from your student body again this year!”
Below is a sample of the work of the Class of 2026.
At Harvard University, a UN Academic Impact member institution in the United States of America, Millennium Fellows are expanding OpenDoor, an AI-powered platform that helps people navigate retraining, job opportunities and pathways into high-demand careers. The project grew from their work with people experiencing homelessness and from seeing how difficult workforce programmes can be to navigate even when support exists. Advancing SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, it expects to reach about 7,500 people during the Fellowship.
At the University of Ilorin, a UN Academic Impact member institution in Nigeria, Millennium Fellows are building what they describe as Africa’s first green AI policy framework, helping policymakers and developers understand how artificial intelligence can advance while reducing energy use, pollution and material waste. Aligned with SDG 13: Climate Action, it expects to reach about 75 people during the Fellowship.
At BRAC University, a UN Academic Impact member institution in Bangladesh, a Millennium Fellow is advancing SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production through a start-up replacing single-use products with environmentally friendly alternatives. Its current focus is a paper pen that uses roughly 90 per cent less plastic than a conventional pen, with a seed built in so it can grow into a plant when properly disposed of. The project expects to reach about 450 people.
At Nicolae Testemițanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, a UN Academic Impact member institution in Moldova, a Millennium Fellow is advancing SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being by studying how environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity may affect recovery after brain surgery. By bringing simple digital monitoring tools into postoperative care, the project aims to help doctors make timelier decisions.
We wish our Millennium Fellows an impactful fellowship.
The Office of Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released admission lists of candidates admitted under the Talented Sports Men & Women, Disability and District Quota Schemes with Government sponsorship 2026/27 Academic Year including appeals and remarked cases.
Other admission lists released include A-Level Applicants with Ugandan and those with Foreign Qualifications, Diploma in Performing Arts, Mature-Age Entry and Bachelor of Education (EXTERNAL Batch 2) for the Academic Year 2026/2027 under self sponsorship.
Makerere University‘s position in the July 2026 edition of the Webometrics Rankings has improved from 925th to 776th globally and from 13th to 11th on the Continent, compared to the January 2026 edition. Makerere remains the top-ranked University in Uganda and East Africa.
The new rankings are as a result of improved performance in the Impact Rank, which measures the number of external domains referring/linking to Makerere (from 1,593 to 1,185) and the Excellence Rank, which measures Research papers in the top 10% most cited between 2019 and 2023 (from 1,095 to 715).
Please see the attached screenshots for details or view Makerere‘s rankings online using the link below:
The Webometrics Ranking of World Universities aims to recognize and promote the digital transformation of higher education institutions by evaluating how effectively they reflect their academic, research, and societal contributions online.
We remain committed to ensuring that all our good work in teaching and learning, research, knowledge transfer, and partnerships continues to be reflected online through various journals and other platforms.
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