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Engineering, Art & Tech

Mak & Partners receive a grant worth EUR 6.9 Million

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Makerere University, together with 28 other partners across Africa and Europe have been awarded funding of EUR 6,962,820 by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 to collaborate and implement a five-year project “Renewable Energies for Africa: Effective Valorization of Agri-food Wastes (REFFECT AFRICA).”

The project seeks to demonstrate innovative, reliable, and adapted sustainable energy solutions based on the valorization of biomass wastes from the agri-food industry. REFFECT AFRICA will build biomass gasification demonstrators at three African locations including Ghana, Morocco, and South Africa. The project will cover both urbanized and rural contexts in Africa, as well as the different socio-economic backgrounds. The demonstrators will be adapted and optimized to a wide variety of biomass wastes available in the specified locations, producing electricity for productive use.

Beyond electricity, the installed demonstrators will provide a range of secondary uses to communities to close the energy-food-water cycle. These include heating or cooling, biochar, steam for sterilization or food processing, water and pathogen analysis. Other business model approaches in REFFECT AFRICA include biomass supply and logistics. Beyond these, the partners in REFFECT AFRICA will take advantage of digital tools to;1) achieve more useful and profitable exploitation pathways for plant operators and entrepreneurs, 2) impact policymakers in order to boost the transition to renewables in Africa and 3) train and raise awareness on a new generation of African stakeholders.

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Harriet Musinguzi

Engineering, Art & Tech

Uganda Engineering Sector Takes Bold Steps toward Reform and Collaboration

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Makerere University’s School of Engineering is leading a transformative initiative to reshape Uganda’s engineering landscape through legislative engagement, academic collaboration, and industry integration.

The School, headed by Prof. Dorothy Okello, at the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), recently presented a comprehensive memorandum to Parliament on the proposed Engineering Professionals Bill 2024. The document, developed through extensive consultations with academia and industry, reflects the collective voice of Uganda’s engineering stakeholders.

Following the submission, a high-level meeting was convened on Thursday, July 3rd, 2025 at Makerere University’s CEDAT Boardroom. The gathering brought together officials from the Ministry of Works and Transport, university deans, and representatives from the Engineers Registration Board (ERB) to address key recommendations and matters arising from the parliamentary presentation. The Deans of Various Engineering Schools that were at the meeting included the Universities of Gulu, Muni, Busitema, Kyambogo, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda Christian University, together with the host, Makerere.

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Alex Isemaghendera

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Engineering, Art & Tech

CEDAT and KOICA Partner to Advance E-Learning at Makerere University

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A selection of the newly installed micro studio equipment on display during the official handover ceremony held at CEDAT on Wednesday, 25th June 2025.

The College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) at Makerere University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Project Management Committee of the “Enhancing the Distance Education Environment at Makerere University” initiative. This agreement formalizes the operational and managerial framework for the newly installed micro studio at CEDAT, aimed at strengthening the university’s digital learning infrastructure.

Assoc. Prof. Kizito Maria Kasule, Deputy Principal of CEDAT, signed on behalf of the college, while Dr. Shon JinGon, Project Manager at the Korea Institute for Development Strategy (KDS), represented the implementing partner during an event held on Wednesday, 25th June 2025.

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Alex Isemaghendera

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Engineering, Art & Tech

Uganda Urged to Strengthen OSHE Enforcement Amid Rising Workplace Injuries

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Dr. Abubaker Waswa Matovu (R) Head of the Department of Computer and Electronics Engineering at Makerere University, emphasized the importance of the training in promoting workplace safety.

In response to Uganda’s growing workplace safety concerns, staff at the College of Engineering, Design, Art, and Technology (CEDAT) participated in an Occupational Safety, Health, and Environment (OSHE) training session aimed at increasing awareness and improving adherence to safety standards in professional and academic environments.

The workshop, organized by the School of Engineering, was part of a larger effort led by the OSHE Centers of Excellence, an initiative launched at Makerere, Kyambogo, and Busitema Universities on May 4, 2023. This program seeks to enhance workplace safety education, with a focus on hazard prevention, PPE usage, risk mitigation, and integrating OSHE principles into engineering curricula and industrial practices.

Speaking at the training, Dr. Abubaker Waswa Matovu, Head of the Department of Computer and Electronics Engineering at Makerere University, emphasized the importance of the training which was aimed at creating awareness about the need for the College, the university and the industry to proactively plan for safety at the place of work. It was indicated that Uganda was faced by alarming workplace injury rates, with over 25,000 workers suffering from job-related injuries annually, yet fatality statistics remain largely unreported.

Dr. Matovu highlighted the urgent need for OSHE integration in higher education, pointing out that 99% of engineering and science graduates enter the workforce without formal safety training. This lack of preparedness has led industries to withdraw internship placements, fearing liability if trainees suffer injuries or fatalities while on the job, he noted.

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Alex Isemaghendera

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