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RUFORUM Quarterly Report 1st October – 31st December 2021

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Summary

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.

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Mark Wamai

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Call For Abstracts: National Symposium on Climate Migration among Youths in Uganda

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Call For Abstracts: National Symposium on Climate Migration among Youths in Uganda. Submission Deadline: 9th June 2026

Makerere University, in collaboration with the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Tufts University, and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), invites researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and community actors to submit abstracts for the National Symposium on:

Climate Migration among Youths in Uganda: Local Voices for Policy Impact

Date: Wednesday, 12th August 2026
Venue: Makerere University Main Hall

The symposium will examine the drivers, patterns, and impacts of climate-induced youth migration in Uganda, while advancing evidence-based and community-informed policy responses.

Theme: Climate-Induced Youth Migration and Urban Futures in Uganda: Evidence, Voices, and Pathways for Action

Submission Deadline: 9th June 2026

Submit Abstracts To: citiesofyouth@musph.ac.ug

Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to contribute research findings, case studies, policy analyses, and practice-based experiences. Abstracts will be considered for oral and poster presentations.

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Call for Research Support Applications from Master’s Students who have Completed their First Year of Taught Classes at Makerere University

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Call for Research Support Applications from Master’s Students who have Completed their First Year of Taught Classes at Makerere University. Photo: Nano Banan 2

Makerere University, in partnership with Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Independent University of Bangladesh, Eduardo Mondlane University, and Pokhara University, with funding from Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development (NORHED), is implementing a project: ‘Co-creating Knowledge for Local Adaptation to Climate Change in LDCs (COLOCAL).

The expected outputs of the project include strengthened educational and research capacity, improved knowledge on inclusive Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) and Community Based Adaptation (CBA) including delivering skilled knowledge co-creators, and partnerships to support needs-driven, locally-based and contextually sensitive adaptation. The outputs are anticipated to influence policy, planning and practice around LLA and CBA through collaborative learning and knowledge translation.

In line with targets and activities for 2026/2027, COLOCAL project is offering research support for three (3) Master’s students who have completed their first academic year of taught classes at Makerere University and are interested in undertaking research under one of the following thematic areas. The students MUST have undertaken the course offered under the auspices of the project on Disability, Social Justice and Climate Resilient Development.

Requirements:

  • A first degree from a reputable university in a field related to the focus of the project
  • Ugandan citizen below 35 years
  • Good command of English (spoken and written)
  • Demonstrated interest in inclusive and climate resilient development
  • Evidence of practical experience in conducting relevant research during and after undergraduate level
  • Evidence of full payment of all university fees for the first academic year
  • The Masters programme being undertaken MUST have explicit content on climate change mitigation and adaptation
  • Special consideration will be given to students with disabilities, financial challenges, students from ethnic minority groups, internally displaced students, among others

Scholarship and study/research conditions

Availability to complete all research activities in a maximum of 10 months.

Scope of the scholarship

The project will specifically cover stipends and support for field activities only. Support with tuition fees, for the research year, will be provided for students who will complete and submit the research thesis for examination within 10 months from the date of receiving the scholarship offer letter.

How to apply

Interested and eligible candidates should submit the following documents: Application letter, research concept note of not more than 2 pages, academic transcripts/certificates, an updated CV (including contacts of at least two referees) and two recommendation letters.

Send applications via email to: colocal.caes@mak.ac.ug, not later than 20th May, 2026. This contact can as well be used for inquiries, where necessary.

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Request For Consultancy Services: Training & Digital Solutions Expert

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Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) Request For Consultancy Services: Training & Digital Solutions Expert. Makerere University, Kampala Uganda, East Africa

The Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) Limited implemented a Gates Foundation training program dubbed “Principle of Management Excellence for Research training” PRIMER in francophone countries, namely, Mali, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This training was delivered by content experts and experienced practitioners, not professionally trained experts. As such, limiting the quality of slide decks, which were largely fragmented with text rather than graphical and infographic elements that suit a mature audience. To effectively deliver a research training program, advanced, engaging, and efficient tools are critical for fostering audience engagement and participation, and for learning and assessment in research management excellence. To achieve this, IDI seeks to hire an expert to:

  1. design and deliver a set of integrated advanced slide decks combining text, visual learning materials (graphical and infographics) and case scenarios
  2. develop a virtual bilingual community learning platform (VBCLP), i.e. with in-built French and English to engage alumni,
  3. develop and automate a pre-course assessment system that potential trainees fill out, and it automates results that are presented in statistical form for easy interpretation and decision making.

Details: https://shorturl.at/Rzn8d

Apply to: EAkankwasa@idi.co.ug

Deadline: 5 June 2026, 5 PM EAT

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