General
International Students Lauded for Reporting Despite COVID-19
Makerere University on Thursday 18th March, 2021 held an orientation meeting for International Students in the Central Teaching Facility 2 (CTF2) at the College of Business and Management Sciences. Hosted by the Head, International Office, Ms. Martha Muwanguzi, the event was presided over by Acting (Ag.) Dean of Students, Mrs. Winifred Namuwonge Kabumbuli.
According to the latest Self-Assessment report, Makerere University is home to students from over 40 nationalities; up from 34 in 2020. At 17.8%, students from South Sudan make up the largest percentage of the University’s 895 international student population. The College of Health Sciences (CHS) is a popular choice for international students, who make up 9% of the student population therein.
This is followed by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) with 4% of its student population being international. The Colleges of; Engineering Design Art and Technology (CEDAT), Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), Natural Sciences (CoNAS) and Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) each have 3% of their student populations being international .
The College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) has 2% of its student population as international, while the Colleges of; Education and External Studies (CEES) and Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS) as well as the School of Law have 1% international student population.
Welcoming the students, Mrs. Martha Muwanguzi said that they would not only be rewarded with the best education and world class qualifications, but will also be enriched with the cultural diversity and experience.
“You are taking on a special challenge of studying in a foreign country with a foreign culture. This takes courage and a great deal of commitment! These are of course anxious times for all of us and particularly for you as international students. We are keenly aware of the hardships many of you have had to overcome in order to get where you are today and applaud the determination that you have shown.” she commended.
The Head, International Office further informed the students that Makerere in addition to students receives international scholars and researchers. “Many of our successful research projects are based on international collaborations. Your presence in our programmes and activities strengthens internationalization of our university. We see internationalization as both an opportunity and a mark of quality.”
She pledged together with the Office of the Dean of Students and all Administrative Units to accord them all the necessary support, respond to their concerns as and when they arise, and provide up-to-date information on various situations.
“Do not be quiet or shy if you are facing hardships. We are here to help you. Always observe the health precautions of wearing your face mask, sanitizing your hands regularly and observing social distance. Together, we will emerge stronger beyond the pandemic.” she concluded.
The students were also tipped on how to create their own email addresses using the self-service portal https://sso.mak.ac.ug by Mr. Arthur Opio who represented the Directorate for ICT Support (DICTS). With a personal University email, students are able to sign up on the Makerere University E-Learning Environment (MUELE) and access other services.
Nations Represented at Makerere University
Belgium, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, China, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leon, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
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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