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Call For Applications: Early-Career Research Fellowships under CECAP Program

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DIRECTORATE OF RESEARCH AND GRADUATE TRAINING (DRGT), MAKERERE UNIVERSITY SUPPORTED BY THE CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK

 PROGRAM TITLE: CONSOLIDATING EARLY-CAREER PROGRAM AT MAKERERE AND OTHER PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES (CECAP)

Call For Applications For Early-Career Research Fellowships

APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 13th May 2022, 5:00 PM

Makerere University received a postdoctoral fellowship development grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2022 – 2024. The grant will be aimed atconsolidating the research capacity of early career academics to enhance their research productivity and ability to contribute effectively to global knowledge generation at MAK and its four partner public Universities (Busitema, Gulu, Kyambogo, Mbarara). The Grant will support 25 fellows (15 MAK;10 PPUs) awarded on a competitive basis, to begin by 2022. We now invite applications from eligible staff employed at Makerere University or any of the four partner public University named above.

Women are strongly encouraged to apply. At least 50 percent of the fellowships will be awarded to female applicants on competitive basis.

Eligibility requirements

  • An employee of MAK or any of the four PPUs (Busitema, Gulu, Kyambogo, Mbarara) on permanent or contractual terms.
  • Possess a PhD degree in any discipline earned within the last 10 years.
  • At the rank of Assistant Lecturer or Lecturer
  • Atleast one peer-reviewed article/paper as evidence of publication experience
  • Not hold another on-going fellowship or major research grant (as PI) at the time of application.

Benefits of the Fellowship

The fellowship amount is USD $ 37,000 to cover expenses for the following activities:

  • Research costs (Lab/fieldwork expenses, procurement of minor equipment, consumables and supplies (reagents), research assistants, IRB fees)
  • Dissemination and outreach activities
  • Tuition and research funds for masters’ student attached to the project
  • Publication fees for an article published in reputable peer-reviewed journals
  • Organization of a seminar or workshop series in the fellow’s department
  • Professional skills enhancement training 
  • Conference attendance and travel costs to present papers at international conferences (travel expenses, visa fees, and subsistence allowance).

In addition, the academic department hosting a fellow will be eligible to apply for a grant of up to USD $ 6,000 to upgrade research infrastructure, for example augmenting internet access, adding to or replacing research technology, and developing new courses or teaching materials.

Obligations and deliverables of the fellow

Fellows must commit to undertake and complete the following activities:

  • Conduct research under the mentorship of a senior academic,
  • Dissemination of research results to academic (published articles/papers) and non-academic audiences (policy dialogues),
  • Organize academic activities in the department e.g. curriculum development/review seminars, lunch time seminars.
  • Supervise the master’s student attached to the project.
  • Participate in professional skills and competency development training workshops organized by Makerere University.
  • Publish atleast one article/paper in a peer-reviewed journal 
  • Submit regular quarterly progress reports, endorsed by the mentor and the final report no later than one month after the completion of the fellowship. All peer reviewed publications and submitted manuscripts must be attached to the report.

Application instructions and procedure

Required documents

  1. A research concept paper submitted in Microsoft Word in Arial font, size 11, single-spaced.
  2. A realistic budget with budget notes explain the different expenditure items
  3. Detailed work-plan and procurement Plan (max. 1 page)
  4. A current CV (max. 1 page)
  5. Softcopies of at least one article/paper published in a peer-review journal
  6. Recommendation letters from two academic referees, one of which must be from the Head of Department indicating the academic ability of the applicant and that once successful, the fellow will be granted protected research time during the fellowship period
  7. Electronic submission of application with supporting documents and two letters of academic reference (submit file name: surname_givenname_CECAP2022.doc) to the Director, Directorate of Research and Graduate Training, Makerere University; Email: director.rgt@mak.ac.ug  Copy to: conference.rgt@mak.ac.ug
  8. Hard copies should be addressed to the Director, Directorate of Research and Graduate Training, Makerere University, P.O.BOX 7062 Kampala, Senate Building Level 4, Room 410.
  9. Submission deadline: 13th May 2022, 5:00PM EAT.

Detailed information about the application and the application form for the fellowship can be obtained from the downloads below.

For further information regarding this call, please contact:

Mr. Nestor Mugabe
Research Grants Officer
Directorate of Research and Graduate Training
Lincoln Flats, Room B5
Makerere University
Cell: +256782770032
Email: nestor.mugabe@mak.ac.ug

Mak Editor

General

Directorate of Graduate Training concludes 9-day Phd Cross Cutting Training

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By: Moses Lutaaya

The Directorate of Graduate Training has completed a 9- day PhD crosscutting training course, inducting three groups of PhD students. The groups of students included those in Cohort 1, Cohort 2 and the Non Cohort PhD students. The number of PhD student participants were over 300 students learning via both face to face and online.

The training that started on Monday 2nd June 2025, took place in the New Library Building.

In his closing remarks, the Director of Graduate Training Prof. Julius Kikooma encouraged the PhD students to put up a spirited fight that would see them remain in the cohort up to the end of the three years of their doctoral studies.

“Get organized, show seriousness in your doctoral pursuit, stay together, make use of your supervisors as and when you need them. We will fully support you in your Doctoral academic journey.” Prof. Kikooma said.

Prof. Kikooma emphasized the need for PhD graduate training saying, “We need more research for the University and Country. This cannot be achieved without increasing the number of graduate students especially PhDs.”

At their different stages of PhD doctoral training, Prof. Kikooma encouraged the students to give feedback to the Directorate and the supervisors so that they are served seamlessly.

Prof. Kikooma further informed the students that going forward, they must cover all the three mandatory cross cutting courses meant to be taught under the three-year program of their doctoral studies.

“All three foundation courses including Scholarly Writing, Advanced Research Methods and Philosophy of Methods will be covered. Tighten your belts. We want to ensure that all these structured programs prepare you for the foundations you need for next two years of research. Success becomes easy when you undertake foundations.”

He challenged the students to use the program in guiding their research directions, making informed decision, improving their critical thinking and consumption of knowledge.

Dr. Dixon Knanakulya, one of the trainers of the doctoral students said, “At PhD level, it is no longer a normal research. It is at a level of knowledge production. The students must understand the main philosophical assumption behind the research methods they use and they must consider the ethical implications of their research. Philosophy of Methods enables them to go through that.”

“PhD students must be creative, innovative and start at the level of researching in the mind. This challenges them to think differently.” He added.

He further said that Philosophy of Methods helps in researches done at the different aspects of the national development plan. “Usually, the students question how the National plans are come up with and support improvement of government policies.”

Dr. Kanakulya added that the research output can be used by government for improvement because it is done by highly skilled researchers. Adding, “They come with very good insights which can be taken on to improve implementation of government programs such as Emyoga and Parish Development Model (PDM).”

He further said that policies are not enough without the social conditions and mindset of the people, saying that PhD scholars can help government know the social conditions and apply policies better.

The Cohort 1 PhD students’ president Mr. Wanyakoko Ebiru Moses said, “This training is extremely important for each student under taking doctoral studies and without it, they cannot acquire the fundamental skills they need to become independent researchers.”

He added that with the knowledge acquired in the Philosophy of Methods training, they will focus on research that aims to resolve societal and community problems.

Dr. Robert Kakuru, the President of Makerere University Academic Staff Association said that Philosophy of Methods is an important pillar in the doctoral journey of every PhD student.

“The Course, Philosophy of Method provides a critical foundation and Philosophical grounding for research methods that doctoral students use to undertake their respective studies. The course further underlines other critical issues that graduate students ought to know, integrate, adopt or adapt in their doctoral journeys.” He said.

Dr. Jim Spire Ssentongo, a senior lecturer and coordinator of the training said, “Philosophy of Methods builds a mass of critical researchers who are able to look at the world not from a narrow point of view but a holistic and broad based sense of understanding reality.”

He added, “Students understand how they can imagine the world to be. They take into account assumptions which inform the methods of research used, how they conduct themselves during research and how they approach respondents during the research process. Such assumptions are laid bear in this training and it helps participants to understand the things they have always held at the back of their minds without deliberately knowing that these are the assumptions they hold and this is how they affect and influence studies.”  

Dr. Ssentongo further said that once PhD students are engaged in reality in its broadness with right assumptions, they are then better placed as researchers to investigate such realities and that whatever they investigate, be it related to the National Development Plan and National Development Initiatives like Emyoga and Parish Development Model. This training positions, them at a more critical level as researchers not only in terms of assumptions but also being thinkers.

The Philosophy of Methods training was supported by the ICARTA – Institutionalization of Advanced Research Training in Africa, a NORHED II Project at Makerere University.

Mak Editor

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Research

CARTA Early Career Researchers in Action

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A photo montage of Dr. Godwin Anywar at the project ‘Traditional medicine in Transition (TMT)’ at the Institute of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany (ISEB) and Botanical Garden, University of Zurich, Switzerland. 4th-12th June 2025. Photo: LinkedIn/Dr. Godwin Anywar

Godwin Anywar, cohort 6, facilitated a brainstorming session on grant writing and application during the research planning and conceptualization workshop and exhibition from a cooperative research and exhibition project, ‘Traditional Medicine in Transition,’ at the Institute of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany (ISEB) and Botanical Garden, University of Zurich, from June 4 to 12, 2025.

Within the month, Godwin also joined the Rising Scholars as a mentor. Formerly known as AuthorAID, Rising Scholars is a global network offering free support, mentorship, training, and resources to researchers across the Global South.

Source: CARTA Newsletter Issue 90

Mark Wamai

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Research

Advancing Regional Health Priorities Through the CARTA Research Hubs

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Training of pre-service cadres in outbreak investigation. Photo: CARTA

Strengthening Research Capacity to Tackle Emerging Infectious Diseases in East Africa

Africa continues to shoulder over 80% of the global infectious disease burden, with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (EIDs and REIDs) like Ebola, COVID-19, tuberculosis, and Rift Valley fever posing serious threats to health systems, economies, and regional security. In biologically fragile regions like East Africa, home to dense populations, climate-sensitive ecosystems, and porous borders, multidisciplinary, cross-border responses are essential. 

To tackle this, the Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (TERID) Research Hub has been established under CARTA and is hosted at Makerere University. Led by CARTA graduate Charles Kato, TERID brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers to fill critical gaps in disease surveillance, policy, prevention, and rapid response, strengthening regional capacity through high-impact, locally relevant science. Learn more

Source: CARTA Newsletter Issue 90

Mark Wamai

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