General
Mak PhD Forum Inaugurates New Executive
On April 20, 2022, the Phd Fellows at Makerere University also known as Pf@Mak held a meeting at Senate Building where the outgoing executive members handed over to a new executive.
The purpose of this Fellowship is to cultivate and promote an enriching environment for conducting Doctoral Research that is of both academic and applied nature for Makerere University and the entire globe. Enshrined in the Pf@Mak Constitution, the forum’s mission is:
To bring together PhD fellows to actively provide each other with mutual academic support, producing timely high quality research through networking, peer reviewing, sharing funding opportunities and timely study completion.
The Pf@Mak has 500 registered students from the 10 Mak Colleges and Makerere University Business School (MUBS). The Fellowship Executive is comprised of a President, Vice President, General Secretary, Speaker, Finance Secretary, 11 College Representatives including MUBS, 3 Members of Academic Affairs Committee and 3 Members of Welfare Affairs Committee. The Pf@Mak objectives are to:
- Establish fora for the members to provide academic peer support at University,
- College/School and Departmental levels,
- To cultivate long term relationships that are vital for continued multidisciplinary research and academic work,
- Represent the opinions of the student body to the appropriate authorities,
- Assist one another to identify potential funders/research grants,
- Serve as an avenue/platform through which PhD fellows can network (academically and socially), share ideas, engage in collaborative research/ and access relevant information.
The Fellowship’s Patron and Prof. Mukadasi Buyinza said that the University acknowledges and appreciates this Forum as a springboard for Peer Learning where students take stock of shared challenges and benchmark amongst themselves best practices. He promised to continue engaging University Top Management to support PhD students with a Common Room for PhD Colloquium and provide orientation to new students. He thanked the outgoing executive for the many achievements despite the COVID-19 pandemic. He wished the incoming executive the best of success in their tenure.
The outgoing Pf@Mak Speaker Mr Nathan Tumuhamye thanked his colleagues for providing extra effort in advancing the Fellowship’s objectives and urged the incoming executive to leverage on the goodwill of University Management to ensure PhD Students learning landscape is enhanced.
The incoming Pf@Mak President Mr. Gerald Zihembire Ahabwe, a PhD Fellow in the Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, on behalf of the Executive Committee promised to build on previous successes to work tirelessly towards a vibrant PhD Community at Makerere University in line with the University’s strategic direction of being a research-led institution. He promised to constructively engage Management and other stakeholders within Academia, Government and Industry for a turn-around in the way PhD students are organized and supported in their doctoral journeys for the socio-economic transformation of their communities.
The meeting ended with the outgoing executive members receiving certificates of appreciation from Prof. Mukadasi Buyinza for their efforts in steering the Fellowship .
General
Makerere University and Xiangtan University Advance Strategic Partnership in Chemical Engineering
Makerere University and Xiangtan University are set to update their close to 20-year academic partnership, with a new focus on launching a joint Master’s degree program in Chemical Engineering and expanding student and staff exchange initiatives.
The commitment was reaffirmed during a recent visit by a delegation from Xiangtan University to Makerere University headed by Professor Dingyu Ou, in the company of Mr. Tang Fei and Professor Gilbert Gumshabe, the Chinese and Ugandan Directors of the Confucius Institute at Makerere University respectively.
While addressing the delegation, Professor Nawangwe highlighted that this initiative is part of a broader strategy to diversify academic offerings and contribute to national development through training in Chemical Engineering. Through this new initiative, the University will better prepare graduates for the petrochemical industry and support the country’s industrial growth.
The Vice Chancellor appreciated that the proposed collaboration aims to address Uganda’s growing need for industrial expertise, particularly as the country develops its petroleum sector. The two universities here are working toward a 1+2 training model, which will enable Makerere students to gain practical experience and access advanced laboratory facilities at Xiangtan University.
Professor Nawangwe further reiterated that “our relationship with the people of China, not just for Makerere but also for a big part of Uganda, has been opened wider by the establishment of the Confucius Institute, considering that many other collaborations like one being discussed now have come through this collaboration.”
The head of the Xiangtan delegation, Professor Dingyu Ou, expressed appreciation for the meeting, and acknowledged the history between the institutions. “As mentioned, we have a very long relationship and a very stable friendship between our two universities.”
Professor Ou extended appreciation for the support provided to the Confucius Institute at Makerere, the care shown to his colleagues, and looked forward to the successful start of the Chemical Engineering collaboration.
Assuring the delegation of Makerere’s readiness for the collaboration, Ms. Hawa Ndagire Kajumba the Lead, Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement, Makerere University Advancement Office, aligned with the Vice Chancellor’s emphasis of University goal to have both theory and practice imparted to the students.
She said “the curriculum of the university and Uganda as a whole is moving towards competence-based education training to ensure students are equipped to demonstrate those skills in the actual field, particularly regarding petroleum exploration.”
Ms. Ndagire Kajumba also emphasised a shift in strategy for the partnership office, saying, “we are moving away from just signing MOUs that collect dust, and moving towards those that are more collaborative to benefit our faculty and students, just like this one.”
Professor Gilbert Kumushabe aligned his remarks with those of the Vice Chancellor and Ms. Ndagire Kajumba, and described the method used at Xiangtan University as “actually competence-based teaching.”
Based on his recent visit, Prof. Gumoshabe shared that students in China are divided into groups with dedicated teachers to perform practical, hands-on work beyond the theoretical lecturers. He expressed gladness that the same was being adopted for the Ugandan context.
Both institutions are now working to finalise the specific agreements for the joint degree and exchange programs. Beyond academic training, the collaboration will advance cultural and professional exchange.
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