General
Embassy of Japan Donates Books to Mak Library
The Ambassador of Japan to Uganda H.E. Fukuzawa Hidemoto during his first official visit to Makerere University on 20th April 2020 handed over a donation 52 books and launched the Japanese Corner in the Main University Library. The donation of books on contemporary Japan was made possible by the Nippon Foundation through the “READ JAPAN PROJECT”.
Welcoming the Ambassador, the University Librarian Dr. Helen Byamugisha shared that at over 12,000 square metres and seating capacity of over 2,800, the Library was one of the biggest in Africa. She added that the Library has special access and facilities for persons with disabilities (PWDs) and offers the Document Delivery Service for any materials that library users both on and off campus may require, among other services.
Turning to the benefits of digitization, the Librarian shared that though physically closed, the University Library continued serving users during the COVID-19 orchestrated lockdown thanks to its vast array of over 27,000 electronic journals and other digital resources. She therefore thanked the Ambassador for the book donation, which would enhance the library’s ability to serve the needs of its diverse users.
“The book donation has already been processed by our staff and can be accessed through the electronic catalog on the Library’s website from anywhere in the world” added Dr. Byamugisha.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe said that Makerere University has enjoyed a good relationship with the Government and people of Japan, which resulted in the construction of the JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) building, home to the College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS). The building was officially handed over on 23rd January 1992.
He informed the Ambassador that the University, which will celebrate 100 years of existence in 2022, conducts a lot of research and is world-renowned for the large number of publications in clinical research as well as tropical medicine. The Vice Chancellor added that Makerere enjoys an excellent relationship with Japanese Universities through which staff and student exchanges are conducted.
“Japanese institutions have trained a lot of our staff and students particularly in geology and seismology and we sincerely thank you Ambassador and the people of Japan for this generous support” said Prof. Nawangwe.
The Vice Chancellor concluded by emphasizing that Makerere values her relationship with the Government and people of Japan and sincerely thanked the Ambassador for the book donation that will enhance knowledge about Japanese culture and economic success. “Makerere is an international university and we are always happy to bring more cultures and languages on board so as to further enhance the diversity of our community.”
In his remarks, H.E. Fukuzawa thanked the Vice Chancellor, University Librarian and staff for the warm reception and noted that the donation was aimed at promoting the understanding of Japan among the people of Uganda, and especially students at Makerere.
“In particular, it (the donation) aims to reach out to young researchers who are interested in Japan, as well as opinion leaders and intellectuals specializing in areas other than Japanese studies” explained the Ambassador.
He reiterated that Japan has close ties with the University, by observing that eleven out of the twelve Japanese Universities that have partnerships in Uganda each have one with Makerere. “We have been sending Japanese government sponsored scholarship students to Uganda every year and many of them are graduates of this University.”
H.E. Fukuzawa expressed happiness that the COVID-19 pandemic had not halted the enhancement of academic relations between Japan and Uganda and looked forward to continued collaboration with Makerere University.
The Ambassador was accompanied by his First Secretary-Ms. Tomoko Ohyama and Public Affairs Officer-Ms. Martha Nankasa. In attendance at the handover were the Deputy University Libarian-Dr. Ruth Nalumaga, Ms. Ferrie Nalusse-Head Technical Services, Ms. Maria Nankya Mwebe-Head Book Bank and Ms. Clementine Namusisi-Head Law Section. Also present was Dr. Edith Natukunda-Togboa, the Head, Department of European and Oriental Languages, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS).
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.
General
CEDAT’s Department of Architecture to Undergo Major Studio Refurbishment with Industry Support
-
General2 weeks agoMirror Frank Kalimuzo’s life of service-MUBS Principal
-
General2 days agoFreshers’ Joining Instructions 2025/2026
-
General3 days agoMastercard Foundation Board pays its inaugural visit to Makerere University
-
Agriculture & Environment2 weeks agoNew Mak-CAES Project to Spur Green Growth in East Africa
-
General1 week agoCall For Expression of Interest: MURBS MIS Requirements Gathering