General
Prof. Serwadda’s Nostalgic Student Life, Impactful Research and Joy of Mentoring Leaders
When Prof. Serwadda travelled to universities in the USA and other countries in the 1980s, he realised that students struggled to buy books in those countries. “They work in restaurants to be able to buy books and then I said oh My God, we were so privileged,” he says.
When Prof. David M. Serwadda joined Makerere University as a student pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in August of 1977, the University was offering the best to its students.
This was both in terms of the institutional environment for academia, students’ basic needs, and the general eco-environment. Halls of residence were less congested, for instance, Prof. Serwadda, who was a Livingstone resident, says he only shared a room in the first year.
Like any other student of his time, Prof. Serwadda had an account in the bookstore that would guarantee the purchase of any book that he wanted. “I would just go there, I pick this book, they deduct from my account. I would have in my bookshelf very many books,” he says. “I would be a second-year student, but buying books for third year because if you didn’t finish your account that year, when you get into the following year, you forfeit it and reset the account to zero.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Prof. Serwadda, who is retiring this year after 31 years of teaching, discusses his time at Makerere, the challenges and opportunities for the institution that is celebrating 100 years. Prof. Serwadda was in 1985 the lead author of a research paper entitled “Slim disease; a new disease in Uganda and its association with HTLV-II infection” published in The Lancet, one of the global top medical journals that first confirmed HIV/AIDS in Uganda.
When Prof. Serwadda travelled to universities in the USA and other countries in the 1980s, he realised that students struggled to buy books in those countries. “They work in restaurants to be able to buy books and then I said oh My God, we were so privileged,” he says.
When Prof. Serwadda travelled to universities in the USA and other countries in the 1980s, he realised that students struggled to buy books in those countries. “They work in restaurants to be able to buy books and then I said oh My God, we were so privileged,” he says.
A medical doctor and professor of infectious diseases at Makerere University School of Public Health, Serwadda is a co-founder of the Rakai Health Science Program (RHSP) which has in the past three decades pioneered research on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. He was the first Ugandan academic coordinator of the Masters of Public Health program at Makerere University School of Public Health. He also served as Director of Makerere Institute of Public Health from 2003 and 2007 and Dean from 2007 to 2009 when the Institute became a School.
In December 2019, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the World Population Council and in the same month he was elected together with 36 others among the world’s most accomplished scientists living in or focused on the developing world by The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).
1970 and today’s generation of students, lecturers
Contrasting students and staff activism of his time, Prof. Serwadda says it was the time of President Idi Amin, the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979 who had crushed Makerere’s activism spirit.
Prof. Serwadda says the current generation of students have more space for activism but also opportunities to succeed because they have more freedom, liberty, and multiple platforms through which to speak out and make their demands. “You have a highly energised and a much larger population of students that can easily be organised to rally against any grievance they have,” he says.
Whereas students of his generation seemed much more obedient, students of today know their rights and are likely to talk and make staff members and management more accountable which is good if it’s not disruptive.
Students of his time were always busy. They had many job offers. He mentions for instance that during his campus days, he would never have time to idle around. From first year, Prof. Serwadda says he was on study projects working, in laboratories and wards thus many students had no time to engage in activism. For instance in my fourth year of Medical School, under Professor Charles Olweny, I was a student during the day and a research assistant throughout the night and all weekends including Christmas at Uganda Cancer Institute. “It is my perception that we were much busier than students of today and I feel that current context has made students much more demanding and engaged in more advocacy,” he says.
Regarding research and funding, Prof. Serwadda says the current generation of students and lecturers have better prospects to succeed. The internet has levelled the communication space, and created huge opportunity for global networks for research and learning. For example, if an organisation sends out a research fellowship, or scholarship opportunity, any person across the world can access the call and apply. But in the old days, only those countries with a functioning post office would receive information in a timely manner. “A new journal would come in the library and we were all booking to read them. But now, you go on the internet and download your journal,” he says.
“The world is flatter for all of us than it was. There are more funding opportunities and much easier ability to access them,” he adds.
For lecturers, as they complain about salary increments, they also need to broaden their concerns and to talk about the need for resources for research, health insurance, and expanding facilities for teaching. “They are in large part always complaining about pay, pay, we need to systematically advocate for a more comprehensive research and learning environment,” he says.
Out of the gates of Makerere, beginning of research career
After graduation in 1982, Prof. Serwadda reminisced about his internship at Nsambya Hospital after which he later joined Mulago Hospital, a National Specialised Hospital which was and still is the teaching facility of Makerere University College of Health Sciences as a Medical Officer in the Uganda Cancer Institute, UCI, in 1983. In 1985, Dr. Serwadda enrolled as a Senior Health Officer (SHO), studying a Masters of Internal Medicine at Makerere University. He would later graduate in 1989. He says he had a dead year at Makerere which he spent in the United Kingdom, the UK studying Metabolic Medicine at Newcastle Upon Tyne Medical School.
Prof Serwadda’s research in HIV/AIDS began when he was working at the Cancer Institute between 1983 to 1985. The institute was receiving patients of “Kaposi Sarcoma,” a disease which causes plaque-like lesions on the upper arms and legs and also in aggressive form involves the lymph nodes, internal organs, and mucous membranes lining the mouth, nose, and throat as often is seen with individuals with immune deficiencies, such as AIDS. This was strange then because the clinical manifestations of Kaposi Sarcoma were at the time what was being seen in the United States of America where “men were having sex with men.”
More intriguing was, according to Prof. Serwadda, as time went on, almost all patients with aggressive Kaposi sarcoma that were admitted at UCI come from Masaka and Rakai districts.
“There used to be a surgeon called Mr. J.W Carswell, who linked us to a virologist in the UK called Dr. Robert Downing and we were able to send blood samples of some patients from Uganda Cancer Institute, some of whom were residents of Masaka and Rakai districts,” he says. “The results indicated that of the 25 samples I had sent, 4 were positive for HIV, which at the time was referred to as HTLV-III,” he adds.
Though the first cases of patients with Kaposi Sarcoma had first been identified in around 1982, these were the first blood tests to confirm HIV/AIDS in Uganda. Prof. Serwadda and his colleagues knew they were on to something big, hence they travelled to Masaka and Rakai–self funded–tested more blood samples which confirmed more positive cases, and then drafted a paper for The Lancet based on results from the tests. It would take months of back and forth communication with editors, through snail-mail given that there was no internet.
The paper was published in October 1985. The paper brought visibility for Prof. Serwadda which consequently had positive and negative impacts.
There was political resistance at the time from the Obote government when stories of patients with Kaposi sarcoma signs and symptoms started emerging. When local newspaper The Start, published on December 29, 1984, the headline “Mysterious disease Kills 100 people in Rakai” Ezra Nkwasibwe, the then minister of health in Obote II government sent out a team to investigate, they concluded that this was typhoid.
On the positive side, it brought recognition to the authors. Prof. Serwadda together with co-authors wrote a big proposal that was eventually funded to establish the Rakai Health Science Program (RHSP) in 1988. “It’s like when you have built a house, and you want to build another one, it’s easy to get funding,” he said, explaining how easy it becomes for researchers to get funding once they have established a reputation.
With significant funding over the years, he says they generated an impressive number of high-impact publications in the HIV/AIDS field which has enabled Uganda and the world to understand the dynamics of transmission better. But most importantly provided HIV prevention and care to over 200,000 clients in Rakai and the greater Masaka region.
Immense research output, nurturing leaders
During his three decades at Makerere University, Prof. Serwadda says he along with colleagues has contributed immensely to research, policy, and practice. This work has underpinned some of the significant contributions to the reduction of HIV transmission and acquisition, through treatment and prevention. Prof Serwadda has on several occasions been the recipients of annual awards from Makerere School of Public Health as the most prolific publisher. he says. “We have contributed our part in uplifting Uganda and Makerere University. Makerere University is known as a place one can do excellent medical research, however, we should and must increase our effort to invest in young researchers if it is to continue to have a top ranking.”
Prof. Serwadda says seeing his former students climbing ladders in academia and leadership gives him boundless joy. “Dean Rhoda Wanyenze was my student, I supervised her Masters of Public Health, we have done a number of projects together with her, and she is now the Dean, School of Public Health,” he says. Prof. Serwadda says there is no head of the Department at School of Public Health who has not been his student at the undergraduate, post graduate level. “Now they are my bosses and I like that. That is building for the future and that’s what Makerere is all about. Seeing my students in positions of effective leadership and being able to help where I can give me enormous satisfaction.”
General
Strengthening South-South Academic Partnerships: Makerere University and Binary University Chart a Strategic Path for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Women’s Leadership
A New Chapter in Uganda–Malaysia Higher Education Collaboration
Makerere University has started preliminary discussions with Binary University of Management and Entrepreneurship (Malaysia) to deepen its global partnerships through high-level engagements, aimed at fostering innovation-driven education, entrepreneurship, and women’s leadership. Chaired by the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Prof. Sarah Ssali, the meeting explored a structured framework for collaboration that responds to Uganda’s urgent need for skills development, job creation, and industry-aligned learning.
This emerging partnership reflects a shared vision: to move beyond traditional academic models towards a practical, industry-integrated, and entrepreneurship-focused education system that equips graduates with real-world skills and global competitiveness.
Responding to Uganda’s Employment Challenge Through Entrepreneurship
“While chairing the meeting, Prof. Sarah Ssali noted that Makerere University and other Universities, together, currently graduate over 35,000 students annually, yet the private sector creates only about 700 new jobs per year. With an expanding population and intense job competition, where a single vacancy can attract over 4,000 applicants, the urgency for alternative employment pathways is clear.
Makerere’s Innovation Hub and Centre for Entrepreneurship have become critical pillars in addressing this challenge. Through platforms such as the Innovation Expo, now in its third edition and featuring over 600 student exhibitions, the university continues to nurture problem-solvers, innovators, and job creators. This ecosystem aligns strongly with Binary University’s entrepreneurial philosophy, making the Centre for Entrepreneurship a natural anchor point for collaboration.
Binary University’s Industry Specialist Professional (ISP) Model
Binary University brings a unique global model that directly integrates industry practitioners into the classroom. Its Industry Specialist Professional (ISP) programme, operational since 1999, ensures students graduate with skills tailored to specific industry needs. Industry experts with decades of practical experience teach across disciplines such as: Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, Oil and Gas, Renewable Energy, Engineering, Film and Media Production to mention but a few.
“ With over 10,500 practising entrepreneurs in its ecosystem in Malaysia, Binary offers students direct mentorship and exposure to active business environments, ensuring graduates are not only employable but also entrepreneurial.” Tan Sri Dato Professor Joseph Adaikalam, the Executive Chairman and Founder, Binary University of Management and Entrepreneurship, noted.
Key Areas of Proposed Collaboration
The discussions outlined a structured and scalable partnership model anchored on the following areas:
1. Dual and Joint Degree Programmes
- 2+2 Joint Bachelor’s Degrees in specialised fields through an International Department structure.
- 1+1 Joint Master’s Programmes including: MBA for Engineers, Renewable Energy MBA and Semiconductor MBA
- Dual award systems to ensure international recognition and student mobility.
2. PhD and Staff Development Programmes
- Winter/Summer PhD models in Renewable Energy and Waste Management
- Nominated students to benefit from 50% tuition waivers
- PhD pathways tailored for academic staff development
3. Executive Development Programmes (EDPs)
High-impact, short-term programmes targeting senior leaders, featuring joint certification with a focus on AI for CEOs, Global Issues & Entrepreneurship. These EDPs are designed to empower leaders with strategic insight into global trends, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Placing Women’s Leadership at the Centre
A key pillar of the proposed collaboration is engagement with Malaysia’s Centre for Women’s Leadership (CWL), which focuses on empowering women through entrepreneurship and gender compliance mechanisms.
Puan Sri Datin, Prof. Dr. Rohini Devi, the co-founder and Vice Chairman, Binary University, highlighted the unique opportunities this partnership presents for a Joint women’s leadership training initiative, feminist academic exchanges, gender-responsive entrepreneurship models and an initiative to strengthen Makerere’s Institute of Gender Studies as a regional hub.
This aligns with Malaysia’s progressive gender compliance policies for public funding and women’s leadership development, a model that holds strong relevance for African institutions.
Learning from Regional and Global Best Practices
The meeting underscored valuable lessons from global contexts, including Nigeria’s model, where every graduate leaves with a practical vocational skill, Zambia’s Winter-Summer academic model with tuition waivers, Malaysia’s government investment in higher education and entrepreneurship
These case studies reinforce the need for practical skills as survival tools while graduates transition into formal employment or entrepreneurship.
A Win-Win Partnership for the Future
This collaboration is envisioned as a mutually beneficial model that complements Makerere’s academic strengths while leveraging Binary’s industry-driven approach. It will enhance student mobility, staff exchange, joint research, innovation transfer, and entrepreneurship development, all while maintaining strong quality assurance mechanisms.
As Makerere University continues to reimagine higher education in a rapidly changing world, this partnership signals a transformative shift towards globally competitive, innovation-led, and socially responsive learning systems.
With optimism and strategic intent, both institutions commit to open dialogue, structured implementation, and long-term impact. The Makerere-Binary partnership stands as a powerful example of how South-South collaboration can redefine education, accelerate entrepreneurship, and empower future leaders, especially women, for Africa’s development trajectory.
Caroline Kainomugisha is the Communications Officer, Advancement Office, Makerere University.
General
Strengthening the Makerere–Nottingham Trent University Partnership: Building More Legs on a Stable Chair
On 21st November, 2025, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, hosted a delegation from the Nottingham Trent University (NTU). The meeting underscored the need to re-model what purposeful, equitable and future-oriented international collaboration can look like between Universities. What began as a 15 year focused engagement in Public Health is set to evolve into a mature, multi-dimensional partnership guided by a shared commitment to knowledge exchange, cultural sensitivity, innovation and community transformation. With the current Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) running until 2028, now in its third iteration, both institutions are deliberately reimagining the next phase of collaboration, extending its impact over the next 15 years and beyond.
Moving Beyond Public Health: A Broader Vision for Collaboration
While past collaborations have significantly advanced areas such as community health, microbial research, leadership among health managers and non-communicable diseases, the future partnership envisions a more diversified and resilient framework.
Prof. Neil Mansfield, the Executive Dean, Research and International Reputation, NTU, noted that this growth strategy is anchored in building additional “legs” onto the partnership chair; creating stability through cross-disciplinary engagement involving the School of Science and Technology, Department of Engineering, Business School, the Makerere University Gender Institute, and the creative arts at both Universities.
The expanded scope reflects a shared belief that sustainable development and innovation demand integrated approaches that bring together engineers, social scientists, anthropologists, business leaders, climate scientists and creatives among others disciplines.
Equitable Partnership as a Guiding Principle
Both institutions reaffirmed the importance of equitable partnerships that prioritise shared ownership, mutual benefit and contextual relevance.
Prof. Linda Gisbon, Director, Global Public Health, NTU highlighted the importance of the shared ownership model for joint projects. She further noted that this approach has already gained scholarly recognition through published work advocating for afro-centric collaboration models, positioning the partnership as a benchmark for ethical international engagement.
The NTU–Makerere shared ownership model ensures that all projects are jointly created, jointly led and jointly benefitted from. Both institutions participate equally in decision-making, resource management, knowledge generation and dissemination, ensuring the partnership strengthens capacity on both sides rather than reproducing unequal power dynamics.(Gibson et al., 2023)
Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurial Readiness
Dr. Hellen Karditsas, a senior lecturer at NTU, extensively shared about a possible flagship proposal which could be integrated within the expanded collaboration.
“NTU’s Engineering Challenge is an intensive three-week program engaging first- and second-year students in real-world product development. Students, supported by academic staff, conceptualise solutions, develop business models and transform ideas into market-ready products.” She noted.
Dr. Hellen, concluded by sharing that the Challenge engages students and staff from disciplines such as Mechanical, Electrical, Sport, Biomedical and Aerospace Engineering, this initiative exposes participants to the full innovation ecosystem, nurturing a generation of engineering entrepreneurs equipped for both industry and enterprise.
Prof. Sarah Ssali complimented the conversation when she noted, the growing interest in anthropological engineering and vernacular architecture – an interdisciplinary lens that examines how cultural practices and people’s way of life shapes their construction techniques and designs.
She further noted that, by recognising that “development is anti-people” when detached from lived realities, this partnership should seek to integrate cultural sensitivity into infrastructure design, ensuring that modernisation aligns with community needs and values.
Expanding into Arts, Design and Creative Industries
Another strategic leg of the partnership is strengthening ties between NTU and Makerere’s School of Performing Arts and Film. Plans include equipment-sharing initiatives, joint creative labs and collaborative production spaces aimed at enhancing capacity, storytelling and community engagement through visual and performing arts. These collaborations will also support public health communication through creative multimedia approaches and capacity building.
During the meeting, Makerere University Press partnerships and writing summer schools were also proposed to nurture scholarly publishing, academic writing and creative expression, further strengthening intellectual exchange between the two institutions.
Future projects will continue to integrate sociologists, anthropologists and social scientists to shape interventions that are not only technically sound but socially responsive and culturally aware.
Industry Linkages and Global Networks
Recognising the importance of industry engagement, the partnership seeks to connect with British-owned companies operating in Uganda as well as Ugandan enterprises with footprints in the UK. These linkages will enable practical learning opportunities, internships, applied research and joint innovation ventures.
Exchange visits for business students will also be prioritised to foster global exposure, entrepreneurial thinking and cross-cultural competence, equipping students to operate in increasingly interconnected economies.
A Partnership for the Future
The future Makerere–NTU collaboration will be defined by diversity, scalability and shared vision. By pulling together multiple schools and centres from Business and Natural Sciences to Engineering, Gender Studies and the Creative Arts the partnership is positioned to evolve into a holistic, long-term platform for knowledge production, innovation and people-centred development.
As both institutions reaffirm their commitment to constructive dialogue, joint planning and continuous evaluation, this partnership stands as a testament to how international cooperation can move beyond transactional engagement into transformative, sustainable impact.
In building more legs onto the partnership chair, Makerere University and Nottingham Trent University are not only strengthening institutional ties – they are shaping a resilient model for global academic collaboration that is equitable, agile and firmly rooted in shared purpose.
Reference;
Gibson, L., Ikhile, D., Nyashanu, M. & Musoke, D., 2023. Health promotion research in international settings: A shared ownership approach for North-South partnerships. In: L. Potvin & D. Jourdan, eds. Global Handbook of Health Promotion Research. Vol. 3: Doing Health Promotion Research. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp.263-272.
Caroline Kainomugisha is the Communications Officer, Advancement Office, Makerere University.
General
Makerere University Hosts Delegation from Nottingham Trent University to Deepen Collaborative Ties
Makerere University has hosted a delegation from Nottingham Trent University (NTU) for high-level discussions focused on strengthening and expanding the long-standing collaboration between the two institutions. The team that was received by Prof. Sarah Ssali, the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs was led by Prof. Neil Mansfield, the Executive Dean for Research and International Reputation, accompanied by Dr. Helen Karditsas, a senior lecturer in the Department of Engineering; Prof. Linda Gibson from Global Public Health at NTU; Ms. Mazeda Hossain, Director of the Eastern Africa Centre; and Dr. Damilola Omodara, Senior Lecturer in Public Health.
For over fifteen years, NTU has maintained a strong partnership with the Makerere University School of Public Health, working in areas such as community health, leadership development among health managers, and research on non-communicable diseases. This collaboration has supported student mobility, staff exchanges, and joint research initiatives that have contributed significantly to capacity building on both sides.
During the meeting, the NTU team expressed readiness to broaden this relationship beyond public health, noting that the existing achievements offer a strong foundation for expansion. Their vision is to build an interdisciplinary collaboration that brings together multiple colleges and fields of expertise, including engineering, environmental sciences, business, arts, and digital media. The team emphasized that diverse academic partnerships offer more stability and create wider opportunities for innovation, student training, and impactful research.
NTU is now seeking to establish a broader, university-wide Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will enable the two institutions to explore a wider range of synergies across disciplines. This approach is expected to make future collaborations more flexible, allowing different units to initiate joint projects, exchange programs, and research activities under one institutional framework.
Prof. Ssali welcomed the delegation and affirmed Makerere University’s commitment to deepening partnerships that strengthen teaching, research, and community engagement. She noted that an interdisciplinary model is essential for addressing emerging global challenges, and highlighted opportunities in areas such as climate science, engineering innovation, creative arts, and publishing.
The visit forms part of ongoing efforts to position Makerere University as a hub for impactful global collaborations that advance academic excellence and societal transformation.
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