Number of continuing students under the different granting portfolios of RUFORUM. Source: RUFORUM Secretariat Quarterly Report
1st October-31st December 2021.
This report highlights key achievements and progress made during the period 1st October-31st December 2021 (the second quarter of the Financial Year 2021/2022, the fourth year of implementing the Operational Plan-2018-2022 of RUFORUM Vision 2030). The Operational Plan is designed around four (4) flagship programmes underpinned by activities to support regional collective action and learning. The flagship programmes drive the achievement of the RUFORUM vision for vibrant transformative universities catalysing inclusive agricultural development to feed and create prosperity for Africa. The four flagship programmes are:
Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s Growth and Development (TAGDev) seeks to transform African agricultural universities and their graduates to better respond to developmental challenges through enhanced application of science, technology, business and innovation for rural agricultural transformation. This flagship programme is largely supported by the Mastercard Foundation.
Cultivating Research and Teaching Excellence (CREATE) seeks to realign universities’ research and teaching functions into a more integrated model with a focus on problem solving and enhancing the capacity of the entire university academic practice and outreach system mainly.
Regional Anchor Universities for Higher Agricultural Education (RANCH) seeks to escalate the setting up of a network of linked universities as African anchor universities/African centres of excellence and academic leadership in agricultural higher education and learning.
Knowledge Hub for University Networking, Partnership and Advocacy (K-Hub) builds on RUFORUM’s convening power and facilitates the creation, capture, organising, sharing and refining of information and content across teams and geographic locations – thus increasing access to latest evidence based information and knowledge.
Key highlights for the Quarter were in light of the Seventh Africa Higher Education Week and RUFORUM Triennial Conference held 6th-10th December, 2021, namely:
The Conference attracted a total of 2401 participants from 46 countries with 901 physical (40% female) and 1,500 virtual participants. The event further involved 23 pre-Conference meetings and side events. It was officially opened by the Hon. Abdoulaye Bio Tchane, Minister of State in charge of Development and Coordination of Government Action, Benin. Her Excellence Madamme Chabi Talata, Vice President, Republic of Benin was the Chief Guest for the session on Promoting Inclusivity in Research and Development. Invited keynote speakers included Her Excellency, Prof Ameenah Gurib, former President of Mauritius.
RUFORUM facilitated dialogue of Ministers responsible for Agriculture, Education, Science, Technology and Innovation in Africa to review progress and map out a pathway for the operationalisation of the Cape Coast Ministerial Communiqué and other continental initiatives for universities to contribute to the regional and global agendas. The meeting approved the Action Plan developed by Technical Experts from the Countries of Benin, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Togo and Uganda.
The 17th Annual General Meeting held on 10 December 2021 (a) elected a new RUFORUM Board Chair – Prof Theresia Nkuo-Akenji, Vice Chancellor-University of Bamenda, Cameroon and will be deputized by Vice Board Chair Prof Avlessi Felicien, Vice Chancellor, University d’Abomey Calavi, Benin; (b) admitted 17 new member universities bringing the network membership to 147 member universities in 38 African countries; and, (c) appointed Ernst & Young Uganda as RUFORUM External Auditor for the period 2021/2022.
In collaboration with the African Development Bank and Mastercard Foundation, dialogue on academia-policy partnership for transformative institutional leadership, skills development and youth employability was held on 6th December 2021. The Global Dialogue provided an opportunity for joint learning and sharing of successful models such as the university-research institutes-industry linkages model of Korea and EARTH University of Costa Rica and, the Science and Technology Backyard (STB) and RUFORUM TAGDev Model.
Convened a session on 9th December 2021 on Promoting inclusivity in research and development which brought together a high-level panel of female leaders in policy and agricultural higher education. The session highlighted strategies to enable policy makers at university and public sector level promote inclusive participation in research and development.
Seventeen (17) senior policy, higher education leaders and researchers were recognised for their distinguished contribution to agriculture, education and science development in Africa. Additionally, five (5) young scientists and three (3) farmers from the Republic of Benin and twenty two (22) young innovators from across the continent were recognised for excellence.
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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