Dr. Alice Nabatanzi a Lecturer in the College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS) has won the prestigious Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) award worth US$ 50,000. This prestigious award is purposed to support Dr. Nabatanzi to establish an environment at Makerere University where she can maintain an international standard of scientific research and attract scholars from all over the world to collaborate.
OWSD is an international organization founded in 1987 and based at the offices of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), in Trieste, Italy. OWSD is the first international forum to unite eminent women scientists from the developing and developed worlds with the objective of strengthening their role in the development process and promoting their representation in scientific and technological leadership. OWSD is creating a network of outstanding women scientists who can provide mentorship and be role models for the next generation of women leaders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).
Dr. Nabatanzi will for the next three years build on her leadership and management skills, and develop connections with public and private sector partners to convert her scientific research findings into marketable and patentable products. She believes unexploited biomolecules are the answer to the cure for new disease pathogens and health conditions affecting the majority of Ugandans and the world at large. Africa is a hub of biomolecules, majority of which have not yet been exploited. For her OWSD AWARD, Dr. Nabatanzi’s major research focus will be the burden of postpartum hemorrhage in Uganda.
Additionally, she is enthusiastic about undertaking society-changing research, especially in line with easing the burden of non-communicable diseases in African societies. Dr. Nabatanzi is keen on addressing nutritional deficiencies among the vulnerable marginalized groups, particularly pregnant women, school-going children, people living with HIV/AIDS, and the elderly.
Highly qualified applicants from all over the world are invited to apply for the PhD Program “Human River systems in the 21st century (HR21)”. The 15 positions are fully funded and the Doctoral Programme is providing additional resources for conference presentations, retreats etc.
The 15 PhD research topics are:
Topic 1: Role of hydrological extremes (floods) for sediment transport and morphodynamics in the human-river system
Topic 2: Material resources demand and flows of hydraulic structures to prevent societal impact of extreme events (social ecology, environmental history)
Topic 3: Intermittent flow – hydrological effects and impacts on benthic communities, ecological state and functioning of riverine systems
Topic 4: Drought, low flow and warming – hydrological effects and impacts on the ecological state and functioning of river systems
Topic 5: Water transit time distributions as indicators for the vulnerability of riverine ecosystems under different pressures from social metabolism
Topic 6: Analyzing possible contributions of re-activated former watercourses towards a more sustainable transformation of industrialized riverine landscapes in urban areas
Topic 7: The role of the latest industrial revolutions on instream processes and ecological vulnerability of IRL
Topic 8: The effects of infrastructure development on ecological and ecosystem service network properties in river systems
Topic 9: The impact of urban settlements on organic matter and nutrient flows in industrialized riverine landscapes – What can we learn from the past?
Topic 10: Urban metabolism, a river’s ecohydrology and industrialization: Vienna and the Danube, 1800-2000
Topic 11: Impact of external organic matter sources on nutrient, sediment and water transport from cropland into streams
Topic 12: Impacts of bioenergy crops used as riparian buffer strips on stream ecosystems’ functioning
Topic 13: Sustainable hydropower & and the water-energy-food nexus in multi-stressed IRLs: Challenges and solutions for science & management
Topic 14: Integrated modelling of farmers’ climate change impact and adaptation appraisal to inform regional human river nexus management
Topic 15: Strategic planning approaches to territorial governance of industrialized riverine landscapes
Dr Tugume Patience, a Lecturer in the Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology at the College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS), Makerere University is one of the 28 women who have been granted the 2023 OWSD Early Career Fellowship. These scientists will receive up to USD50,000 to lead research projects and establish research groups at their home institutions in 16 countries in the developing world, to maintain an international standard of research and attract scholars from all over the world to collaborate. Funding for the fellowships is generously provided by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
During the 3-year fellowship, fellows will receive specific training to build on their leadership and management skills and develop connections with a variety of public and private sector partners to potentially convert their research into marketable products or guarantee its impact on a broader scale. By improving their communication and outreach skills, fellows will also learn to effectively present their research to various audiences, thus attracting new collaborators and potential funders to ensure the sustainability of the research project.
Dr Tugume’s Project – Biological Systems and Organisms
This project will use various forms of bio-wastes from households and urban centres in Uganda as raw materials for production of biogas, as well as an eco-friendly bio-fertilizer and bio-pesticide. Large amounts of unconsumed food are often thrown away in homes and urban centres that could be converted into useful products that would supply energy, enhance agricultural productivity and reduce deforestation. This project will construct anaerobic bio-digester tanks to process different kinds of bio-waste into biogas, a renewable energy source, and evaluate yields of biogas from different bio-wastes and combinations of bio-wastes. It will additionally produce a bio-fertilizer to enrich soil and a bio-pesticide to manage agricultural pests. The project will also equip households with the skills to biologically convert wastes into value-added products, training women and youth in biogas production and usage.
Makerere University (MAK) in collaboration with Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Uganda Martyrs University (UMU) and Regional Universities Forum (for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) are implementing a five-year CoSTClim project (Collaborative Action for Strengthening Training Capacities in Climate Risk and Natural Resource management). The main goal of the project is to improve the quality of training, education and research at the partner institutions with a dedicated focus on climate risk, disaster risk management and natural resource management. CoSTClim builds on a range of other capacity development projects funded by the Norwegian Government at the partner institutions, and has a specific focus on education.
One of the components of CoSTClim is student mobility from Uganda to Norway and from Norway to Uganda. Therefore, we are inviting applicants from Makerere University for Masters student mobility scholarships to NTNU for the Autumn semester in 2024. There are five mobility scholarship slots available for this year. The scholarship will cover 5 months (August-December 2024) stay at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway. The successful candidates can enroll in selected course units at NTNU as well as leveraging the stay to write their master’s thesis. The width and breadth of available course units from which the candidates can select are found: https://www.ntnu.edu/geography/exchange-students
Limited research supervision will also be given by NTNU staff but the primary supervision responsibility stays with the allocated supervisors at Makerere University or Uganda Martyrs University.
Eligibility and requirements for the mobility applicants a) The applicant should be a fully registered student in a relevant Masters programme at Makerere University or Uganda Martyrs University, which aligns to the CostClim thematic focus area. b) The focus of the research of the applicant should align strongly to climate risk, disaster risk management, natural resource management or agriculture. c) The applicant should be progressing well on the masters programme and within the stated duration of the programme (2-3years).
Application procedure Interested and eligible Masters students should send the following; a) A one page application letter b) A motivation statement and plan for the time at NTNU (1-2 pages) c) A letter from the Head of Department attesting to your registration, study status and progress on your programme. d) Copies of your undergraduate transcript and partial transcript or HOD endorsed results for your current studies. Application with all the required documents should be submitted by email to the contacts below in one message.
Yazidhi Bamutaze (for applicants from MAK)- yazidhibamutaze@gmail.com
Runyararo Jolyn Rukarwa – r.rukarwa@ruforum.org
Charlotte Nakakawa Jjunju – charlotte.jjunju@ntnu.no
Joseph Sekandi sekjoseph@gmail.com Short listed applicants will be invited to complete educational procedures at NTNU under the exchange arrangement. A scholarship
The application deadline is Thursday 29th February 2024.